Calculating the 50% Threshold

Pursuant to the definition of "substantial improvement" in the Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations, the amount of improvement that can be done to a structure, that does not meet the minimum FEMA floodplain management requirements, is largely dependent upon establishing an estimate of the market value of the structure prior to the improvements being made. This page shows how the applicable values are calculated.

Market value estimation

The first step in the process is to determine the current market value of the structure to be improved. This is done in one of two ways:

• Using the latest tax roll from the Pinellas County Tax Assessor's Office, we multiply the assessed value of the structure (excluding any value attributed to the land) by 125% to estimate market value.

• An alternative source of market value is for the property owner to submit a structural appraisal conducted by a state-licensed real estate appraiser.

Under the Federal Regulations, it is the responsibility of the local building official to ensure that a market value established through the appraisal process is reasonably accurate and that estimated construction costs reasonably reflect the actual costs to fully repair or make improvements to an existing structure or to build a new one.

Determining the FEMA threshold

The market value determined, as described above, is then divided by 2 to establish the 50% of market value basis for any structure; however, an owner may not have the use of the entire 50% threshold in planning his project.  Each permit stands alone. The previous five-year cumulative period does not apply.

In order to help owners and contractors determine the construction items that are included in the project cost against the FEMA threshold, the city offers a worksheet that lists items that must be included and those that are excluded. This listing is reproduced on the FEMA Worksheet page.