FEMA Restrictions Keep Natomas Homeowners From Rebuilding Burned-Out Homes
NATOMAS (CBS13) — Imagine a fire destroying much of your home, and not being able to come back and rebuild?
It's a problem homeowners in Natomas are facing and want fixed.
Kim Lamb is helping Patti cope and get back on her feet after an early-morning fire scorched her two-story home.
Not only are Patti and her children looking for somewhere to say tonight, but they may never be able to rebuild their home.
In 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency increased the danger of flood zones in places such as Natomas. This has halted all construction due to flood concerns.
The mandate is leaving burned houses untouched for years after a fire.
"So right now, the de facto moratorium is de facto in the sense that you could build, but you have to build 33 feet off the ground," said City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who represents Natomas.
So unless you build your house on stilts, the burned-out homes will still be untouched.
"That's a two-story. What? That home is going to have to be jacked up now to a three-story by standards? When does it end," says frustrated neighbor Mike McWhorter.
And neighbors are stuck looking at these houses every day while the families who once lived there can't go home.
Much like other families who lost their homes, Patti and her kids wonder what's next, but even their friend Kim can't help them there.
There is permitting help from the city, if the damage is less than 50 percent of the home's value. But for most, they will have to wait until Congress approves a new water legislation package before building can resume.
"Once they accept the improvements that we've done, which is about 50 percent of which needs to be accomplished, then we will be out of that moratorium," Ashby said.
But until then, Natomas will have to wait, as there doesn't appear to be a hint of when that will happen.
