Dozens of Taylor County residents and business owners used a Jan. 15 FEMA workshop to press county and state officials for relief from building-code and electrical-elevation requirements they say are blocking the county’s recovery.

At the workshop, residents said Florida building-code provisions that require electrical systems and meters to be elevated above the base flood elevation plus one foot make it impractical or prohibitively expensive for some coastal businesses — particularly RV parks and small beach businesses — to reopen. Speakers asked county leaders to seek temporary variances or to press the state to change rules that they said force meters and service equipment 17 feet or higher.

Multiple speakers said the elevation requirement prevents them from resuming normal operations and damages county tax revenue. “I feel your pain, and I feel your frustration,” Commissioner Pate told attendees while expressing support for a faster solution. Several business owners and campers described stair and access concerns for elderly customers and said the cost of required elevation work forces them to delay reopening.

Residents asked for practical alternatives such as allowing temporary, removable service platforms or permitting lower-rated metering configurations while the county pursues regulatory relief. County and state staff repeatedly said parts of the requirement come from the Florida Building Code and ASCE 24 and that local ordinances must remain consistent with state and federal minimums for NFIP participation. A state program representative told the meeting the county’s options are constrained by those codes.

Attendees also raised related post-disaster issues: a resident said a formerly waived permit fee had been charged again after a waiver ended, others complained about delays and perceived poor follow-up from the Small Business Administration, and several speakers pressed for certainty about debris removal timetables. The county acknowledged ongoing debris operations and said it would seek to coordinate continued contractor work while pickup remains necessary.

In response to repeated requests for a technical forum, FEMA and state staff said they would work to convene a meeting of subject-matter experts — engineers, power-company representatives, building-code officials and state floodplain staff — so residents could present individual cases and receive specific answers. A FEMA representative said the agency had "set the goal to try to have you something within a week," and state staff expressed intent to organize a broader meeting within roughly two weeks to include additional agencies and recovery resources.

No formal county action or vote was taken during the workshop. Residents asked county officials to pursue regulatory relief and to consider temporary administrative steps (such as pausing permitting fees for storm-related repairs) while the county and state pursue longer-term solutions.