Kerr County homeowners are still figuring out the rules for rebuilding two months after the July Fourth flooding.
KERR COUNTY, Texas — James Tolliver’s home is more than 140 yards away from the Guadalupe River and it’s not in the 100-year floodplain. On July 4th, the Guadalupe River didn’t care.
Tolliver awoke at 4 a.m. to the sound of water pounding on his bedroom door. He and his wife realized what was happening and made a dash for hallway, which had a ladder to the attic.
“I didn’t even have time to get my shorts off of a bench and put them on,” Tolliver said.
His wife climbed the ladder first. Tolliver then climbed the ladder just seconds before several feet of water burst into the living room and rushed down the hallway below him.
“The sliding glass door shot off in the living room and water came through here. As I climbed up, this (ladder) was floating behind me.” Tolliver said.
Over the next hour, seven feet of water came through the house and took almost all of their possessions. The house survived.
The Tolliver’s home is not in a 100-year floodplain so there are no special regulations for rebuilding it.
However, the family did have a cottage on the regulatory floodway of the river and that building is subject to specific regulations.
According to Kerr County rules, you must get a permit to rebuild in in a floodplain and you may even need to elevate or demolish the property.
Kerr County has a flowchart on this page that outline homeowners requirements. Here is a summary:
1. Is your home or building in a floodplain?
Go to this FEMA website to find out if your home is in a floodplain. Properties in zone A or AE (the blue area) or in the floodway (the striped area) will require a permit to rebuild. Properties in the yellow area, which is the 500-year floodplain will not require a permit to rebuild.
2. Is your home or building “Substantially Damaged?”
You will need to get a damage estimate for your home or other building in the floodplain. If the cost to repair the structure to pre-damage condition is greater than or equal to 50% of the pre-disaster value of the structure, then the structure is “substantially damaged.”
This means you will need to submit a Floodplain Development Permit Application and possibly elevate the structure above the floodplain.
If the cost to repair the property is less than 50 percent of the pre-disaster value of the structure then it is not “substantially damaged.” This means it will be easier to get a permit and you will not be required to elevate the structure.
The value of the structure in these calculations does not include the value of the land it resides on.
3. Not all properties will be salvageable.
There are situations where it will not be possible to safety elevate a building and it will still need to be demolished or rebuilt in another location. A Kerr County spokesperson told KENS 5 property owners must go through the permitting process and that will help determine what options are available. The spokesperson said “structures must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”