- March 29, 2025
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Some residents of the mobile home communities Gulfshore and Twin Shores want to raise their units to prevent future flooding, scared after seeing Hurricane Helene’s surge. And they want to upgrade quickly.
Complications arose to what seemed like simple, almost routine work. After observing some unit owners raising homes without permits, the town of Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building (PZB) Department issued a stop work order.
This led to confusion for the property owners, nearly 50 of whom want to raise their units. Others want to make other improvements, too, like replacing tie-downs.
On Feb. 18, about 100 residents from Gulfshore and Twin Shores packed the town commission chambers. It was standing room only by the time the commission arrived at its public comment section.
First to speak was Kathleen Rylander, an owner in Gulfshore for 21 years.
“I feel let down and disappointed. There seems to be a lack of willingness to help,” Rylander told commissioners.
Her unit was one of the ones scheduled to be raised on Jan. 5, but the stop work order implemented on Jan. 2 halted the project.
From Jan. 8 to Feb. 11, Rylander met and corresponded with the PZB Department, went to a Federal Emergency Management Agency office in Sarasota and spoke with a FEMA agent in Washington D.C.
She was told by the PZB Department an engineering report was needed for improvements but claimed FEMA told her they hadn’t heard of that requirement.
When she received an engineering report from the community’s contractor, she said the PZB Department then required the plans to be in a larger font.
In the early weeks of February, she tried requesting a meeting with PZB staff but was unsuccessful.
Now she has concrete blocks sitting in her driveway, waiting to be installed.
Some residents, like Rylander, want to raise their units with concrete blocks and replace tie-downs to make the units more resilient to flooding.
Bill Long, a Gulfshore resident who has been coming to Longboat Key since the early 1970s, emphasized Rylander’s frustration with trying to get this work done.
“We’ve been met with roadblock after roadblock and now can’t even get a meeting with them to get the permit,” Long said. “We pay taxes; we have been for years. We’ve been treated unfairly by the building department, I believe, singled out. We’re trying to improve our park and make things easier.”
Long estimated that these past improvements would have saved 90% of the Gulfshore and Twin Shores homes flooded in Helene.
That’s why residents are eager to make these improvements as quickly as possible before the next hurricane season.
About 10 residents from the communities spoke at the commission workshop, expressing their desire to make these improvements and wanting the town to make the permitting process simpler — or waive them altogether.
PZB Department Director Allen Parsons addressed the crowd after everyone had an opportunity to speak.
“I’ll admit to being a little bit caught off-guard by the number of folks here and the issues,” Parsons said.
Parsons said he met with Rylander and a few other residents previously but was unaware of the larger ripple throughout the communities.
He explained the stop work order was placed because the town saw homes were being raised.
“When homes are elevated, we’re required by the Florida Building Code to ensure the foundations meet engineering requirements,” Parsons said.
That’s not something the town can waive, he added. The Florida Building Code requires the foundation to have an engineering report to take into account flood and wind loads.
The town of Longboat Key also participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, which requires the PZB Department to document properties that may apply to FEMA’s 50% rule and document all storm-related permit activity.
Parsons offered the insight to explain to residents why the stop work order was placed in the first place.
“I apologize that it has gotten to this place for you, but we certainly are working diligently to get everyone back in their homes,” Parsons said.
Town Manager Howard Tipton also admitted to being caught off-guard and apologized to the residents and commissioners for not being more aware of the situation.
Among the discussion that ensued, District 2 Commissioner Penny Gold asked if the PZB Department could simplify the process if there were many residents doing the same type of work.
“If the engineering report for this contract is going to be the same for everybody, can we do some sort of group authorization and let them proceed with that work,” Gold suggested.
The commission chambers erupted in applause.
That was the favored outcome by many residents, and Parsons suggested his staff meet with the Gulfshore and Twin Shores communities to talk about what to do next.
The day after the commission workshop, on Feb. 19, Rylander submitted a revised engineering report to the PZB Department.
Then, when PZB Department staff came to the Gulfshore community clubhouse on Feb. 20, both sides were ready for a new discussion.
“The goal is to understand the issues on both sides and come to an agreement,” Rylander said to kick off the meeting.
Parsons reiterated the town’s requirements through the National Flood Insurance Program and how the town could not waive permits altogether, though the fee waiver was still in effect.
Putting structures on new or improved foundations would still require an engineering report, but Parsons said if a large group of residents were using the same plans as Rylander’s unit, those plans could act as a “master plan.”
“I think we’re very, very close to having something that can serve as a model for all of these other mobile homes,” Parsons said.
If Gulfshore and Twin Shores residents are using this master plan for the same elevation projects, Plans Examiner Neal Mazzei said it would not be unrealistic to turn around the permits in a day or two.
After the contractor makes a few minor changes to the "master plan" for Rylander's unit, residents of the Gulfshore and Twin Shores communities will have a template they could follow to simplify the permitting process for these resiliency upgrades.
