Marco Island construction permits double due to Hurricane Irma

Drastic times call for drastic measures and this Monday afternoon, Marco Island is dealing with a massive backlog when it comes to construction projects.

Since Hurricane Irma, permit requests have doubled, and the building department’s desperately trying to stay afloat.

The city says they’re backed up on more detailed permits such as interior while roofing companies say they’re backed up on repairing the outside.

They are prioritizing roof repair permits but the problem is, once roofers get the permits they can’t do anything because there is a major tile backlog.

Homeowner Katy Tierney is waiting for roofers to put tile on her roof, “It totally went through my mind that we’re in hurricane season again and I don’t have any protection on my roof.”

Roofing companies say right now tile is tough to get, and there’s a major backlog. Moore Roofing says it’s taking an average of 14 weeks to get the tile after ordering it. Mainly because of demand in Southwest Florida.

Tierney says “Permitting on all types of post Irma projects are taking a long time so it does take a few weeks to get any kind of permit it seems these days.”

The city of Marco Island says permits for things like inside home repairs from Irma are doubling.

During peak season, they usually get 600 building permits a month but now they’re seeing 1,200. So, if you apply for a home repair, it could take about six to eight weeks before you get a permit.

Tierney says it’s scary to think homes won’t be fixed in time if another storm rolls through and the City shares that same concern.

To address the backlog of permits the city is hiring extra staff and is closing the department to the public on Fridays to try to get back on their feet.

“Marco Island is a small community but we’re close knit so things might take us a little bit longer to get done because we’re trying to catch up from something so catastrophic but we’ll make it work,” Tierney said.

The building department says they’ll be backed up in permits for the next eight to twelve months and are asking you to apply as soon as you can.