TALLAHASSEE -- Aug. 3, 2006 -- Some federal grant money that normally goes for hurricane recovery could be used in Florida to help make older homes better able to stand up to storms.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plans to make nearly $1 billion available to Florida and three other Gulf Coast states through the Community Development Block Grant program. Florida wants to use its share of that money to harden older homes that were built when building codes weren't as strong.
The money hasn't been awarded yet and it's not clear how much Florida will get. But Florida officials recently made a pitch to HUD for some of the money with a proposal to use it for upgrading older homes. The money is separate from nearly $90-million HUD approved last week for various hurricane recovery projects in Florida.
Several state officials say making houses better able to withstand hurricane winds ultimately is the solution to the state's insurance crisis. Increasingly, Floridians are having difficulties buying homeowners' coverage.
Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said Wednesday that since the storms that hit Florida in 2004 and 2005, the state has taken care of many of the immediate restoration needs that typically arise after hurricanes.
Jennings said Florida and other states were asked by HUD officials what they would do if they had extra grant money, which is typically used for post-storm rebuilding and other relief needs.
"We brought them a whole new perspective," Jennings said. "Our approach was totally different, and it was all about making homes more durable during a storm."
State officials say that newer homes have proven to do better during hurricanes because of stronger building codes put in place in the last decade. But most homes by far are still older ones built under weaker codes. And many of those homes are owned by poor people who can least afford to upgrade them, Jennings noted.
The federal grant money is in addition to $11.5-billion in grant money HUD allocated earlier this year for Gulf Coast states that were hit by hurricanes last year. Four hurricanes hit at least a part of Florida in 2005.
Copyright © 2006 The St. Petersburg Times
