Deer Park

These timelines come from past FMA cycles. Future years may differ, so treat them as estimates.

1. 1. The City submits the application to the state.

1. 1. The state submits it to FEMA, typically in late January.

1. 1. FEMA identifies applications for further review, typically in late August. This is the first step toward approval.

1. 1. Final approval can take 10 to 20 months. That puts the award 16 to 26 months after the City’s initial submission.

1. 1. After the award, about 4 months are needed for homeowners to select contractors and for contractors to develop specifications.

1. 1. About 4 months later, funding arrives for the first group of homes. Each elevation takes roughly 3 months.

1. 1. Once 70 percent of the funds for the first group are spent, the City requests funding for the second group. That takes about 4 months, and each elevation again takes roughly 3 months.

In total, the process can take 33 to 43 months from application to project completion.

• • Architectural and engineering fees for the elevation design

• • Permitting

• • Clearing vegetation and preparing a path for lifting supports

• • Excavation around the home

• • Lifting the building and temporary support cribbing

• • Disconnecting, extending or modifying, and reconnecting utilities

• • Constructing a compliant foundation

• • Restoring the lawn, walks, driveways, and other surfaces outside the exterior walls (broom brushed concrete, no finishes)

• • Contractor bonding, insurance, and warranty

• • Elevating a structure that did not meet NFIP standards when it was built

• • Additions, auxiliary structures, or new decks and porches

• • Aesthetic improvements, unless required by the environmental review

• • Repair or replacement of utility components that are undersized, poorly designed, or unsafe

• • Exterior finish on the exposed foundation, unless required by the environmental review or local code

• • Landscaping beyond what existed before construction, such as new trees or shrubs

• • Superfluous warranty claims

You can stay in your home until utilities are disconnected, and you can return once they are reconnected. Utilities are typically off for about 5 to 10 days, and you cannot stay in the home during that period.

For primary, owner-occupied homes, the grant reimburses temporary housing up to a daily limit based on the local per diem rate set by the GSA, approximately $133 per night. Food is not covered, and receipts are required for reimbursement.

The City will issue a Request for Qualifications and pre-qualify between 2 and 4 contractors. Homeowners meet with the pre-qualified contractors and choose one to do the work.

Yes. You must have flood insurance in place when the grant application period opens, keep it throughout the elevation process, and maintain it on the home permanently afterward. Failure to maintain coverage could require you to repay the grant to FEMA.

Maintaining flood insurance is the primary condition. You will also sign the FEMA Declaration and Release and the Acknowledgement of Conditions listed on the questionnaire checklist.

Your home will be elevated to either: 

• The 500-year water surface elevation;
• Two feet above the centerline of the street; or
• One foot above the base flood elevation (BFE), whichever is higher.

You may elevate higher at your own expense, up to the limit allowed by the City’s zoning ordinance.

Contractors are licensed and insured. Damage caused by the elevation work is the contractor’s responsibility to repair.