ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — A St. Pete Beach man was left in limbo after receiving two damage assessment letters from the city – one saying he can repair his home and the other essentially saying it will need to be demolished.

The issue has since been resolved, though it took multiple inquiries to the city, including a request for clarification from Spectrum Bay News 9.

What You Need To Know

  • Sean Bryan received both a "Non Substantial Damage" and "Substantial Damage Assessment" determination letters from the city of St. Pete Beach 

  • Bryan was confused by this, as even a FEMA representative deemed Bryan’s property habitable and able to be repaired

  • A city official told Bryan his letter stating the house sustained substantial damage was correct, but upon inquiry from Spectrum Bay News 9, a city representative says that was a clerical error and Bryan can move forward with repairs

Sean Bryan moved into his St Pete Beach home in 2019. However, it was heavily damaged by storm surge during Hurricane Helene.

“I bought this house – I planned to retire here. Ultimately, when I did retire, I planned to live here forever,” Bryan said.

After the hurricane, he had to gut his home and remove dry wall. However, he was stuck in limbo as to what he could do next.

Then in mid-December, Bryan finally received a “Non Substantial Damage” determination letter from the city, essentially giving him the green light to start hiring contractors to begin to fix up his home.

“I got to do some electrical work. I got to get my dry wall back up, flooring in, appliances and get my personal property back,” Bryan said.

He started making appointments, first with an electrician, but then got another letter from the city.

This one was titled “Substantial Damage Assessment,” which meant his home either had to be raised, moved, or demolished.

Bryan said he was confused by this, as even FEMA said that his home wasn’t heavily damaged.

“We were able to get somebody out there – so, the FEMA representative came out and came in the property and they gave me like 300 dollars for cleaning and sanitation assistance because they deemed it was not substantially damaged during the hurricanes and was not uninhabitable,” Bryan said.

He reached out to the city – who he says told him that the 2nd letter – stating the house sustained substantial damage – is the correct one.

However, Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to the city for clarification and a representative said that 2nd letter was a clerical error and the first letter stating he did meet the threshold to start repairs is the correct one.

Bryan was thrilled that he can now move forward with his life and begin to fix up his forever home.

The city says it has been overwhelmed with assessments, and it made a mistake.

Since October 1, more than 1,700 permit applications have been submitted for storm related damages.

They say if to appeal any letters from the city, residents can contact the Community Development Department at (727) 363-9241 or email permits@stpetebeach.org.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated to contact Pinellas County to appeal letters, this has been corrected to direct residents to the city of St. Pete Beach.