On the regulatory side of our flood mitigation policy, an area for improvement we identified soon after Hurricane Harvey was to formalize by ordinance our flood repair permit process, including how we apply the 50% Rule in making substantial damage determinations. In assisting affected homeowners post-Harvey, the Permit Office followed established procedures based on past practice and developed new ones as appropriate to the situation, such as by limiting the cumulative effect to past flood repair costs only. However, not all of that was actually spelled out in the Code. Since that time we’ve been working on updating these policies based on our experience in Harvey, and in fulfillment of one of the adopted goals of our citizen Flood Hazard Mitigation Task Force the City Council has now formally codified them.
