Friendswood has its sights set on $1.1 billion in federal funds to help with buyouts, elevation and other mitigation projects following the damage from Hurricane Harvey. This comes after the city was denied FEMA assistance through a separate grant in March. Friendswood has brought on consulting firm Jeffrey S. Ward and Associates in April to guide the city on the application process. Ward or a member of his team will also meet with individual homeowners, if necessary, during the cost-benefit process many homeowners will likely have to go through. Unlike the Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program, which had only $90 million available nationwide, FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has $1.1 billion for Texas alone. City officials speculated that the city was denied grant money because the program was too competitive. However, Friendswood was not eligible for a number of reasons, including one home not being within FEMA’s 100-year Special Flood Hazard Area, officials at the Texas Water Development Board said. The home was added to the application because of its tendency to flood, City Manager Morad Kabiri said. Other reasons included a glitch with the FEMA software and Friendswood having a different standard to measure severe damage than FEMA, officials said. While there is another chance at money for elevation and buyouts, it will not be easily won. Homeowners will have to prove to FEMA funding the project will be financially beneficial. “This is not an easy burden of proof,” consultant Jeffrey Ward said. “If you don’t already know you are going to meet one of those thresholds—you are not substantially damaged and interested in the buyout—it’s going to be an upward battle. I can’t change the guidelines; I’m just telling you what it is.”

Buyouts

FEMA’s requirements for the hazard mitigation grants call for projects that solve a problem, are cost-effective, have a beneficial effect, substantially reduce future risk and are environmentally sound, Ward said. FEMA will finance 75 percent of the cost of each grant-funded project, if Friendswood’s application is approved. The remaining 25 percent is locally funded, which may be funded by the homeowner. The city may be able to provide funds as well, Mayor-Elect Mike Foreman said at the May city council meeting. The city can help residents put together applications for either buyouts or elevations. As homeowners cannot have their names on two different applications, they must choose either buyouts or elevation, Ward said. However, residents who have applied for FEMA aid in the past are not prohibited from applying for the hazard mitigation grants. To be eligible for buyouts and elevation, the home must be in FEMA’s 100-year Special Flood Hazard Area, or a designated flood zone, according to FEMA’s website. The city determines these by using the 1999 maps, or the last flood maps that FEMA has approved, city officials said. However, if it helps the resident to use a later map that has not yet been approved by FEMA, the city will use those maps when assisting with the application, Kabiri said. “We reverted back to the 1999 maps to help you have more flexibility,” Kabiri said. The city of Friendswood has contacted those who have been severely damaged, city officials said. Those who have been severely damaged and live in the Special Flood Hazard Area may be eligible for a buyout. “The only permanent form of protection is buyouts,” Ward said. Those who do not have a substantial damage waiver but live in the special flood hazard zone can also qualify for a buyout if cost of the acquisition is less than $276,000. In a FEMA analysis of 11,000 buyouts and elevations, the average cost was $276,000 and $175,000, respectively. “We have to mathematically show FEMA that your depth in the floodplain would yield so many future damages, that it is worth doing it today,” Ward said. This formula takes into account the value of the house before the storm and subtracts flood structure damage cost. Several factors influence the home’s value prior to the flood, including location, the housing market and the home itself. FEMA buyouts are strictly voluntary, meaning no homeowner is required to sell and can back out of the deal at any time. FEMA also does not offer relocation assistance for homeowners who take the buyout option. “There is no downside to being presented an offer for a FEMA mitigation program and declining. You are not on a FEMA blacklist. You can still participate in a future program,” Ward said. From appraisal of the property to closing, the buyout process can go as quickly as 90 days. After Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, FEMA bought out 136 homes over six months, a feat touted as a FEMA success story on the city’s website.

The Elevation option

Elevation is typically more expensive and harder to obtain through FEMA grants, Ward said. However, it is a popular choice for those who do not want to be bought out. “This is becoming one of the most common retrofitting methods,” Ward said. To be eligible for a FEMA-funded elevation, the home typically has to be 8 feet below the flood plain, he said. “Mathematically, if you are not sitting 8-foot deep in the flood plain, deeper than you need to be, you are not going to be cost-effective,” Ward said. However, there is a cost-related waiver to raise the home as well. “If you are in FEMA’s special flood hazard area, there is a waiver. If you can elevate the home to standard for $175,000; it is deemed cost-effective,” Ward said. Unfortunately, home elevation projects often cost more, he said. Elevation will also be more expensive the higher and the heavier a home is, as well as how many square feet the home covers. Another cost consideration is utilities. An elevation by FEMA’s standards includes reconnecting a home’s utilities, Ward said. Once a home needs to be raised more than 6 feet, it is likely put on stilts. However, FEMA may also install a lift for older homeowners who need a lift or a ramp and qualify for that.

Block grants

Another stream of federal money is being funneled through the state level to help communities recover and avoid future flooding. The Texas General Land Office on April 10 announced plans for distributing $5 billion in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery for housing assistance and recovery. These funds will go toward housing repairs and reimbursement as well as future infrastructure plans. Over $1 billion of the program is allocated to homeowner assistance, and $413 billion is set aside for local infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated these funds for areas that sustained damage from Hurricane Harvey. Eighty percent of the funds will be given to areas the HUD has defined as most affected, including Galveston County. A separate $2.27 billion will be allocated to Harris County and the city of Houston, which will develop its own plans for how to distribute the funds. Funds under the state’s plan will be distributed through the Houston-Galveston Area Council under the guidelines the HUD has set, said Brittany Eck, press secretary for the Texas General Land Office. “Many of these communities, the amount of money that they are receiving is several times larger than their annual budget. They don’t have the staff that does the accounting, the work that is very technical. So, we are here to provide that assistance,” Eck said. “We will also be finding developers and construction contractors who can help with the repair program. So, we will be at every step, trying to help them implement these programs as quickly as possible.” However, 70 percent of those funds must go to low-middle income areas. Galveston County hopes to change these guidelines and for the freedom to oversee the housing program within the county, County Commissioner Ken Clark said. In order to change the 70 percent requirement, the county will have to petition HUD for the change, Eck said. According to Clark, these requirements mean very few in Pearland and Friendswood may get help. This is further compounded as Harvey left many without homes and jobs, perhaps putting some who were originally in a higher income bracket into a lower income bracket after the storm, he said. The General Land Office sent the proposal to HUD on May 8. According to Eck, HUD has 45 days to review the application, but they have been known to take up to five months. “We are very hopeful that will not be the case moving forward,” Eck said.