I received a call from Dana in the planning department this afternoon. It was not from Ms. Schwarz, who is the Historic Preservation Officer in the planning dept, though as I had hoped. What Dana tells me is this:
We (and most of the East End) are 'blue' on the damage assessment map. http://www.cityofgalveston.org/_private/newstool/newsdoc/Map_11-13-08_25th_East.pdf
From what I understand, that means we were originally categorized as 'yellow' but since we fall under an historic exemption, and are therefore "excused" from having to elevate/comply, we are now 'blue' (which is the new 'green'). I explained to her what I had expressed to Ms. Schwarz in my emails: we want to be given the chance to be considered "substantially damaged" (those areas that are assessed "substantially damaged" are shown in red on the map) so that we may pursue the Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) rider in our flood insurance. The ICC can cover up to $30,000 to pay for mitigation of future flood damage, in our case - elevating the home.
As it stands now, there is no appeals process for 'blue' properties. You can appeal if you are any other color, it seems, besides 'blue'.
Dana has assured me that she will have Ms. Schwarz get to the bottom of this 'grey' area when she meets with the FEMA rep tomorrow afternoon (2pm). I will be following up with her and posting whatever I find out.
I don't know about you, but I'm about to go color blind!
