TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Davis Islands resident Jerry Britt has been granted the green light to reconstruct the home he and his wife have occupied for almost a decade after being severely impacted by two hurricanes.
“On the night of Sept. 28, Helene caused our house to flood,” Britt recalled. “Flood waters entered despite our sandbag efforts, destroying nearly all of our belongings. We managed to save just five pieces of furniture from our home.”
Britt said 13 days later, Hurricane Hilton came through and took off pieces of the roof and caused leaks, making the home uninhabitable.
“I work in home construction and manage several rental properties; altogether, two hurricanes affected 19 of our properties to varying degrees,” Britt stated.
After Hurricane Helene, Britt and his wife moved into one of his new construction homes and then later into an apartment on the island.
Nine months later, Britt was able to receive a building permit from the City of Tampa.
“It’s devastating to lose almost everything we owned, only to then navigate through the hurdles of ensuring FEMA compliance for reconstruction, obtaining a permit, and dealing with the added complication that Tampa modified its permitting process on Jan. 2 this year,” Britt elaborated. “It’s now slightly more time-consuming to secure a permit compared to a year ago.”
Britt also had to get aviation clearance as his home just a few houses away from Peter O. Knight Airport.
Britt now has design plans indicating the layout of the new home, and he intends to elevate the structure, making the ground floor a garage and the second floor the living space to mitigate potential future damage.
“All of our furniture and memorabilia will be located above the floodplain, meaning it would take a particularly severe hurricane to inflict significant damage on our home going forward,” he mentioned.
Britt expects the home to be completed by spring of 2026.
