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Development
proposal stalls over pilot plan A
late amendment could unleash unregulated growth, foes say. By
REBECCA CATALANELLO AND MICHAEL VAN SICKLER The
impasse on HB 7203 could spell disaster for legislation that until last
week included elements that developers, cities, state growth leaders and
some environmentalists pretty much agreed upon. But
under an amendment introduced by Sen. Daniel Webster on Wednesday, several
urban areas would be relieved from requirements they submit their growth
plan changes to the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency
charged with regulating growth. The
Florida League of Cities agrees with the change in principle partly
because it strengthens local control and could enable municipalities to
avoid getting tangled in state bureaucracy. But
the Community Affairs Department, environmental groups and even some bay
area planners worry the measure could perpetuate unregulated growth and
damaging sprawl. "It's
kind of like a teacher and homework, " said Ray Chiaramonte of Sen.
Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, is trying to remove New
Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham met on and off with legislators
Thursday in an effort to find a pilot program he thought might work
better. Pelham wouldn't say whether he would ask the governor to veto the
bill if it makes it through the Senate. As originally crafted, it made
minor changes to a 2005 law that set up requirements for local government
agencies like schools and cities to coordinate expansion plans with the
county and with one another. Pelham
favored some of its earlier provisions, including one that changes the law
so that developers are responsible only for repairing their environmental
impact, not pre-existing problems. But,
Pelham said, "the good things the department came up with are not
necessarily enough to outweigh everything that's been added since." The
newly amended and increasingly confusing bill was on the House agenda
Thursday, but leaders postponed its discussion until today. It was unclear
whether it would make it into discussion before the session ends at 6 p.m.
today. Citizens
to require shutters on vulnerable, pricey homes By
JENNIFER LIBERTO The
Legislature sent to the governor a bill designed to force those in pricey
coastal homes to fortify against hurricanes. But the measure was so
watered down that its sponsor, Sen. Bill Posey, said he's not satisfied
and plans to continue to push for more widespread fortification in coming
years. "No,
I'm not satisfied, but it's the best we can do this year, " said
Posey, a Rockledge Republican. The
House bill passed the mitigation package by 90-28 Thursday, with
Republicans and Democrats in coastal areas opposing it. The governor has
indicated he supported the idea. The
mandate for buying shutters affects policyholders who live in homes
insured for $750, 000 in the state's wind-borne debris region - west of
U.S. 19 in Citrus, Hernando and Posey's
earlier version of the bill, which stalled Monday, had the insured value
of a home at $300, 000 and no value limit on building permits. Tax
inaction leaves home sales in limbo Realtors
fear the wait for a special session will stall a struggling real estate
market. By
TOM ZUCCO Not
just city and county governments are worried about what's going to happen
next. As
the Florida Legislature spends the next month and a half grappling with
the property tax crisis, the real estate industry fidgets on the
sidelines, watching sales figures fall and growing more anxious by the
minute. Their fear: "It's
not a perfect storm. More like a perfect calm, " Jim Knetsch, owner
of RE/MAX Realty Associates Inc. in Carrollwood, said of the legislative
uncertainty. The
Legislature will tackle property taxes in a special session June 12-22,
but it could be weeks or months before the full effect of the legislation
is known. The
timing couldn't be worse as the real estate market begins its busiest time
of the year. Over the past seven years, May and June have been the
strongest months for home sales in the As
of last month, a record 30, 000-plus single-family homes were listed for
sale in the Realtor
Nancy Baird doesn't mince words when asked about having to hang on another
six weeks or longer. "It's a huge problem because so many people are
waiting to see what happens, " Baird, a sales agent for Baird Realty
Group in St. Pete Beach, said Thursday. "They're scared they won't be
able to take their Save Our Homes cap with them. I have a customer who's
selling her condo and renting instead of buying because it's
cheaper." And
if losing the cap doesn't stop buyers, Baird said, the sheer amount of the
taxes will. Baird recently sold a home in But
the property taxes are $5, 600 a year, and when insurance is added on, the
two costs total more than the principal and interest on the loan. "The
buyers had no choice, " Baird explained, "because the house they
were living in was sold. Why? Because the taxes and insurance were so
high." Sen.
Daniel Webster, "Within
the tax structure there's not a whole lot of things you could do
immediately because of the budget years and the tax rolls that get set,
" he said. Other
lawmakers are hopeful taxpayers could get relief as early as this year
through a rollback. But solutions, such as allowing homeowners to take
their Save Our Homes cap with them when they buy a new house, or doubling
the homestead exemption, require statewide approval. That would delay
implementation. Another
problem, say those in the industry, is that property taxes aren't the only
roadblock. Nancy
Riley, a St. Petersburg Realtor and president of the Florida Association
of Realtors, met Thursday with House Speaker Marco Rubio and has been in
close contact with Senate President Ken Pruitt and Gov. Charlie Crist.
"There are three reasons the market has stopped, " Riley said.
"Taxes, insurance and the press. "The
fact the Legislature moved the issue back six weeks probably makes sense
so decisions are not made that would have severe ramifications." Riley
said that speculation by investors led to inflated home prices and that "If
it were just one thing, it'd be easy, " said Knetsch of RE/MAX Realty
Associates. "But people are waiting not only for more clarity with
property taxes, they're also waiting for any impact from insurance law
changes, they're looking at interest rates, the problems with sub-prime
lenders, and at the national economy." Knetsch
said that if even one was resolved, it could ease much of the uncertainly.
"We need something to stir things up in a positive direction." Times
staff writers Jim Thorner and Alex Leary contributed to this report. Tom
Zucco can be reached at zucco@sptimes.com
or (727) 893-8247. Legislature
passes plan to help wean By
STEPHEN MAJORS TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. (AP) -- Calling it a landmark for Florida, the Legislature on
Thursday sent the governor a comprehensive $62 million plan to help wean
the state off imported fossil fuels and inspire industry to produce
renewable alternatives. High
gas prices, national security concerns and urgent scientific reports on
humanity's effect on global warming pushed Gov. Charlie Crist and state
lawmakers this year to begin changing The
House and Senate each passed the plan (HB 7123) unanimously Thursday. Crist
is expected to sign the bill, which outlines a plan many other states
already follow. Two consumer-oriented facets - a sales-tax break for the
purchase of alternative-fuel vehicles and a tax holiday for
energy-efficient appliances - didn't make the final product because of
budget pressures in a tight fiscal year. "The
only break on the energy rocket was the budget," said Rep. Bob Allen,
Renewable
energy and environmental groups have largely supported the Legislature's
efforts this year, but still said the bill fell short in some areas. "It
would be nice if it had more weight in terms of conservation and promoting
solar," said Susie Caplowe, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club.
"When are we going to take the really tough steps to really push a
solar water heater in each House?" The
bill does have sales tax breaks for the production and distribution of
biofuels. It also calls for a greenhouse gas inventory to determine the
major pollutants of "This
is a huge step forward for the state of To
boost energy conservation, the bill promotes more stringent
"green" building codes, particularly for government buildings. In
a move to spur the individual use of renewable technologies, citizens who
purchase solar technology for their homes will be able to get a property
tax break for the cost and installation of the product. The bill also
creates a $20 million cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant, which will
be managed by the Experts
have said The
bill directs the state Public Service Commission to recommend an
appropriate renewable portfolio standard, which is a requirement that
power companies produce a certain amount of electricity using renewable
fuels. It also calls for a study on implementing a net-metering policy,
which gives electricity consumers an incentive to install renewable energy
technologies, such as solar, in their homes and businesses. They would
then be credited for any excess energy they send out on the grid with
their homemade energy production. At
least 20 states already have a renewable portfolio standard, and 35 states
have a statewide net-metering policy. Allen
said the House philosophy was to use incentives instead of mandates at
first to increase the production of alternative energies. But he said it's
likely the Legislature will implement a portfolio standard and a
net-metering policy as early as next year after seeing results from the
studies. State
Road 50 widening project delayed By
MICHAEL D. BATES Florida
Department of Transportation Spokesman Bob Clifford made the announcement
during Thursday’s Hernando County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
meeting. FDOT
trimmed $400 million out of its statewide five-year tentative work program
for fiscal year 2007-2008 and 2011-2012. That
resulted in a few “sizeable and significant” work program removals for
The
three local projects are: •
State Road 50 from U.S. 19 to west of •
Interstate 75 from the Pasco-Hernando County Line to S.R. 50 (taken off
the five-year plan indefinitely) •
I-75 from S.R. 50 to the Hernando-Sumter County Line (taken off the
five-year plan indefinitely) Clifford
said about $100 million was trimmed out of the project list for FDOT’s
District 7, which includes “It
could have been much worse, frankly,” County Commissioner David Russell
said. Among
other things, the road project delays were necessitated by the reduction
in gas tax revenue, increased construction and right-of-way acquisition
costs and the downturn in the housing industry, Russell said. “From
what I’ve seen, None
of the three projects are so crucial that a one-year delay will make a
drastic difference, Russell said. Other
needed projects, such as the widening of Escalating
gas prices are creating a paradox, Russell said. As more people try to
conserve gasoline and buy less gas, there is less tax money for roads. “That’s
a national trend right now, he said. County
Transportation Planning Coordinator Dennis Dix said I-75 is still
functioning at an acceptable level of service. However, FDOT removal of
the six-laning will still have a long-term effect. “It’s
probably going to impact the rate of development of projects along that
corridor,” Dix said. Because
of that, Dix said he doubts the I-75 projects will be “off the plate too
long.” The
delay of the S.R. 50 widening is more problematic, he said. These
latest project deferrals stress again the importance of finding alternate
funding sources for roads, he said. “We
need to look at the whole structure of the way we finance projects (and)
how we generate revenue,” Pascoe said. County
Commissioner Rose Rocco said the project deferrals are not a case of “This
is something they’re doing across the board,” Rocco said. “We’re
just going to have to see how they’re going to allocate the dollars and
do the best we can to move forward,” she said. It
is more pivotal that the widening of S.R. 50 be done from Mariner east to
the That
project is still on FDOT’s five-year plan. Reporter
Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290. State
is putting rail line in gear Transportation
officials will buy land along Jay
Hamburg Today's
Letters: Hickory Hill loss sad for residents Hernando
Times LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR How
sad. Our Hernando County commissioners had a chance to show how to
regulate responsible growth, which could benefit both developers and
residents. Instead, they approved a megadevelopment well outside the scope
of our comprehensive plan. Why
couldn't Sierra Properties have accepted the number of homes that fit into
our current plan? They didn't have to. They asked for the sun, moon and
the stars, and the county commissioners handed them over. The
commissioners said over and over how development was going to come anyway.
Didn't they realize they held the power to regulate that growth? There
seems to be no chance left for the "little man" trying to
preserve our "old Florida" way of life. Hickory Hill's team of
high-paid attorneys and lobbyists won. Future generations of Hernando
County residents lost. Nancy
Jergins, Brooksville Watch
campaign contributions I
have a few words for the county commissioners in regard to their votes on
Hickory Hill: "Money
talks." To
the residents of our community, watch the campaign contributions next
election. Gerald
Todoroff, Brooksville New
homes' lack of buyers 'troublesome' Builders'
decreased pace allows inventory to shrink Jerry
W. Jackson Water
board's leader leaving Palm
Beach Post Staff Writer Friday,
May 04, 2007 With
a severe drought bearing down on the region, the chairman of the South
Florida Water Management District's governing board, Kevin McCarty, said
Thursday he's stepping down to make way for a new gubernatorial
appointment. McCarty
sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday withdrawing his name for
reappointment. Former Gov. Jeb Bush put McCarty on the board in 2003, and
he was voted chairman in March 2005. The
district's board constantly weighs the conflicting water demands of
development, agriculture, flood control and the environment. As Palm Beach
County Commissioner Mary McCarty's husband, a Republican Party stalwart
and managing partner of Bear Stearns in Boca Raton, Kevin McCarty tilted
the governing board's balance toward the agenda of businesses, observers
said. Mary
McCarty said her husband stressed the importance of giving businesses
quick answers on whether to expect the environmental and water-use permits
they needed. "He
stressed that businesses deserved to have their issues resolved in a
timely fashion, whether the answer was yes or no," she said. "I
think that is something that has been appreciated." Kevin
McCarty asked his wife to speak on his behalf for this story. She
said her husband received word a week ago that Crist would not be
reappointing Bush's appointees, and so on Monday, he withdrew his name. Replumbing
the region's canal system must now be the priority, to sustain both the
environment and the urban areas, said Mark Perry, co-chairman of the
Everglades Coalition and executive director of the Florida Oceanographic
Society. South Florida's canal system was designed 60 years ago
specifically to drain the Everglades, so South Florida sends about 1.7
billion gallons of fresh water a day into the ocean, even during the
current drought, he said. "We're
dumping as much as we are consuming, and that's just not good water
management," Perry said. "We need to reestablish the natural
flow, and that's going to require some bold action from the water
management district board." Perry
praised Crist's newest appointee to the district's governing board,
Shannon A. Estenoz of Plantation, a regional director for the National
Parks Conservation Association. Crist
announced Estenoz's appointment April 27. Estenoz, a civil engineer by
education, said the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan has been the
primary focus of her career. "It's
a huge priority for me, and I hope that I will bring something to the
table," Estenoz said. She
is married to Richard Grosso, a land-use lawyer who successfully
represented environmental groups opposed to converting the Mecca Farms
orange grove into a biotechnology hub for Scripps. Kevin
and Mary McCarty, meanwhile, had been strong supporters of the Mecca Farms
biotechnology project. Mary McCarty said it's likely that Thursday's water
management district meeting will be her husband's last. "Whether
or not he'll be sitting in the audience or sitting in the chairman's seat
remains to be seen," she said. DeBary
adopts water ordinance By
BOB KOSLOW DEBARY
-- At the DeBary City Council's meeting Wednesday, the council narrowly
adopted a water-wise ordinance, with a 3-2 vote, that outlines water
conservation efforts, including hours of irrigation based on state water
district and county guidelines. It also allows the city's code enforcement
officer to enforce the regulations. Mayor
George Coleman opposed the ordinance because there are too many exceptions
for the city to water medians and ballfields and the city should feel the
same pains as homeowners. Councilman Danny Tillis agreed and voted no.
Councilman Jack Lenzen is concerned the ordinance is overbearing
homeowners but still voted yes. "We
are going to focus on the blatant violators, the ones watering in the
middle of the day with the sun blaring down," City Manager Maryann
Courson said. MIAMI-DADE
| AFFORDABLE HOUSING Condo
money came with few strings Even
after a developer told county commissioners that buyers of 'affordable'
units at a downtown condo were not screened by income limits, the county
gave the project $1 million anyway. By
MICHAEL VASQUEZ AND MATTHEW HAGGMAN In
the name of affordable housing, Miami-Dade County leaders steered $1
million in taxpayers' money to a high-rise condo in downtown Miami in 2005
-- well after the developer had acknowledged that it wasn't requiring
people who bought the units to meet any income-eligibility limits. In
fact, the lack of such income qualifications kept Miami-Dade from using
federal housing funds for the project, as it had promised the developer,
the Related Group. Instead,
the county paid $300,000 from its own general fund -- and an additional
$700,000 from the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust, money meant to spur new
businesses in struggling neighborhoods. The
Miami Herald reported on Tuesday that $1 million from the city of Miami's
Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $300,000 from Miami-Dade County's
general fund had gone into the condo, named Loft One. In return, the condo
was to offer 102 of its 196 units as lower-priced housing. Add
the Empowerment Trust contribution to that public subsidy and the total
public money that went to the project comes to $2 million. Related kept
its word to charge lower prices at Loft One, at 234 NE Third St. -- some
units started as low as $99,000 pre-construction. But it did not set any
income limits for the buyers. Earlier
this week, portions of an unfinished internal city of Miami audit of Loft
One's buyers showed that dozens had sold their affordable units within a
year of closing, sometimes at markups of 100 percent or higher. The draft
audit found only six units that stayed in the same hands for more than a
year and claimed a homestead exemption. The
findings suggested the taxpayer subsidies may have benefited investors
more than people struggling to buy their first home. CAUGHT
BY `SURPRISE' Minutes
from an August 2005 Miami-Dade County Commission meeting show
commissioners were told that relatively well-off buyers weren't
necessarily excluded from Loft One. County staffers publicly admitted they
had never told the developer to limit buyers' incomes until after the
condo sold out -- when it was too late. Commissioners
nevertheless deemed the condo worthy of public subsidies. ''It
caught me by surprise that people flipped the units,'' commission Chairman
Bruno Barreiro said this week. ``The intention was for workforce housing
-- you know, people who are teachers, firefighters.'' County
commissioners did set some income and resale restrictions -- though they
would have applied only in cases in which a presold deal fell apart and
the developer offered the unit for sale again. ''The
problem with that is everybody closed,'' Related Senior Vice President
Oscar Rodriguez said. ``It never became relevant.'' OUTRAGE News
of condo flipping at Loft One has enraged some local officials and members
of the public. City Commissioner Tomás Regalado is calling on Related to
return the city's $1 million. But
in a legal fight, the city would have to overcome the fact that Related
lived up to its pricing obligation -- the only significant requirement the
governments had set. Craig
Studnicky, president of International Sales Group, said that when Loft One
launched sales, many in the real estate community thought up to half of
the initial buyers were investors. The
project sold out quickly, Studnicky noted. If long-term residents, also
known as end-users, were buying, he said, sales would likely have been
slower and continued after construction started. ''End-users
usually like to kick the tires,'' said Studnicky, who sells condos across
South Florida. ``You don't usually see end-users buying until the building
is nearing completion, not two or three years in advance.'' The
difficulty for many developers is that to meet high presale requirements
demanded by lenders, they often must turn to investors. That's because
many end-users -- especially those in the middle-class -- don't have the
money to put down a 10 to 20 percent deposit and wait years for a unit to
be built. MORE
STRINGS In
response to this, some developers marketing to middle-income buyers are
now asking lenders to lower the presale requirements and let more condos
be sold closer to completion. The city and county have also launched down
payment assistance programs to help buyers make a deposit, and both
governments now typically attach more strings to money given to
developers. ''It's
over, as far as Miami-Dade County is concerned,'' County Commissioner
Barbara Jordan said of situations like Loft One. ``We've put safeguards in
place to prevent that from happening in the future.'' STANDS
BY DECISION Miami
Mayor Manny Diaz still stands by the million that City Hall gave Loft One
in 2003. Diaz says developers back then were hesitant to build
moderately-priced condos downtown. Miami's contribution, he says, got the
ball rolling. ''The
truth of the matter is this was the first of its kind,'' Diaz said. And if
some buyers are now renting out their units as an investment, the mayor
said that's OK, too. ''When
you buy cheap, then the amount of rent you would charge somebody can be
very low,'' he said. Miami
Herald staff writer Charles Rabin contributed to this report. Builder
may face additional counts By
GINNY LAROE ginny.laroe@heraldtribune.com By
TERRY WITT
Citing
a slowing home construction market, Citrus County builder George Rusaw has
pro-posed delaying higher impact fees for six to 12 months. Rusaw,
in an April 30 letter to County Commission Chairman Dennis Damato, said
the higher impact fees could worsen the problems of the industry. He
will speak to county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday. “If
we don’t take action it is a certainty that the local economy will
continue to deterio-rate, which will prolong the economic recovery,”
Rusaw wrote. Impact
fees for a single-family home of less than 2,000 square feet would rise to
$9,314 on June 1. County
commissioners adopted lower fees than recommended by their consultant. The
consultant recommended a $16,275 fee for a small single family home. Impact
fees are assessed against new residential and non-residential construction
to pay for a portion of the cost of growth in the county. Damato
has not made up his mind about Rusaw’s request, he said. While
it is true the home building market has declined since 2005, Damato said
he would have to give Rusaw’s letter “some serious thought” due to
the magnitude of the request. “It’s
quite a big decision,” he said. Damato
won’t be making the decision alone. Delaying the higher fees would take
a major-ity vote of the county commission. Rusaw
attached statistics to his letter showing the housing market statewide has
hit a slump. The statistics were taken from an industry publication,
“Market Update.” The
statistics show new residential starts in Citrus County declined 29
percent from 2005 to 2006 and the total dollar value of new residential
construction declined 26 percent in the same period. Jim
Crosley, director of sales and marketing for Rusaw Homes, said the company
has felt the slowdown. Rusaw
Homes marketed 130 sales contracts in 2005, but only 50 in 2006 and just 3
so far this year. “The
market has gone completely south,” he said. Colony
Stone, a subcontractor that handles stuccowork for Rusaw Homes and Citrus
Hills, has laid-off 60 employees, Crosley said. “That’s
going to be a big impact on the county,” he added. He
said the flat market was caused by a combination of factors, including the
rapid in-crease in the property values, which led to higher property tax
bills. He said some people are paying twice as much in taxes as they were
three years ago. Property
values were falsely inflated when investors “flipped” property for
quick profits in 2005, he said. Crosley
said high property insurance rates and uncertainty about what the
Legislature might do about property tax reform have influenced the market. He
said Citrus County is primarily a retiree market. Retirees tend to be
price-sensitive, and higher impact fees mean higher home prices. He
said the Florida Homebuilders Association would like to replace property
taxation with a higher sales tax. The group supports the proposal to raise
the sales tax from 6 cents to 8 1/2 cents on the dollar. The state would
get a penny and counties could keep 1 1/2cents. The
builders have also advocated rolling back the property tax rate and
property values to 2001 levels and capping impact fees at 5 percent of the
contract price, he said. The
Legislature will meet in special session on property tax reform from June
5 to June 15. Development
Services Director Gary Maidhof said single-family home permits have slowed
since the building boom of 2005. But
Maidhof also cited a different statistic that he found interesting. He
said more single-family housing permits were issued during the first three
months of 2007 than in the first or second quarters of 2006, respectively. In
the first quarter of 2007, the county issued 318 single-family permits
compared to 265 in the first quarter of 2006 and 291 in the second quarter
of 2006. Maidhof
said the trend in 2005 was for investors to sink money into real estate,
which was rising in value, but the reverse is true today. The stock market
is hot and investors are moving their money from land to stocks. “Keep
in mind, in 2005, that was an anomaly,” he said. But
he conceded the housing market is down. “I
think it’s starting to recover, but it’s not what it was,” he said. Damato,
a builder, said he has plenty of business, but he builds only three or
four homes a year and has always been blessed with plenty of work. He said
he is not a volume builder. He
said the national economy, higher interest rates, higher construction
supply costs, higher land costs and increased property insurance rates
have influenced the sagging home construction market. Damato
said he found it odd that the stock market shot above the 13,000 mark
recently as the housing market slowed. “I’ve
lived here for 35 years. It’s very difficult to put a finger on what’s
going on in the market,” he said. Storm
model raises doubts Palm
Beach Post Staff Writer Friday,
May 04, 2007 If
the U.S. were hit with a catastrophic hurricane, there is a 19.5 percent
chance it would strike the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area. Also
at risk are Jupiter and North Palm Beach (5.1 percent) and the Fort
Pierce-St.'Lucie area (1.3 percent). That's
according to the nation's largest hurricane modeling firm, Risk Management
Solutions, which released new details of its controversial risk model
Thursday at a conference in Palm Beach. Insurance
companies hire Risk Management Solutions and other modeling firms to help
determine premium rates. The RMS software looks at where a
"one-in-100-year" event is most likely to occur. In any given
year the chances of its striking are considered less than 1 percent. Regulators
use the 100-year event, among others, as a benchmark in determining how
much insurers can charge in premiums. But Florida regulators have rejected
the new model, which RMS first presented to its customers last May. The
conference, held at The Breakers, offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at
how insurers set rates. RMS officials, who were hosting hundreds of
insurance company executives who use its software, used the forum in part
to defend the model. Also present at the conference were state elected
officials and regulators. State
regulators have argued the new model strays too far from long-accepted
standards for determining risk. Industry software historically has relied
on data of weather patterns going back 107 years in forming assumptions.
The new software weighs the hurricane patterns of recent years more
heavily. The
model places the level of risk faced by Palm Beach and neighboring locales
second only to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, which has a 33.6 percent
chance of being hit, said Peter Nakada, managing director of RMS
Consulting, a subsidiary of RMS. The Tampa, St. Petersburg area was third
with a 7.8 percent chance. Not
surprisingly, Florida has slightly more than 80 percent of the nation's
hurricane risk when it comes to a single catastrophic windstorm. Insurers,
including Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-sponsored insurer
and the largest property insurance concern in Florida, all rely heavily on
modeling. Those predictions of storms are used in deciding other things,
including whether to shed policies in Florida's coastal areas. RMS
defines a one-in-100-year event as a storm resulting in a payout by
insurers of at least $52 billion. Insurers are estimated to have paid as
much as $60 billion for damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, but about $25
billion of that was considered the result of flooding when the levies
broke in New Orleans. As a result, the company considers Katrina to have
been a one-in-45 to one-in-70-year event. The
1926 hurricane in Miami is the only one-in-100-year storm in the past
century, Nakada said. It flattened much of Miami and cost $100 million in
losses. RMS estimates if a similar storm were to hit, the cost of insured
losses in today's dollars would be closer to $100 billion. The new risk factors for Florida revealed by RMS on Thursday are like |