TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The City of Treasure Island will consider waiving additional permit fees for those rebuilding their hurricane-damaged homes.

During a workshop scheduled for Tuesday night, commissioners will discuss potentially waiving permit fees for elevating an existing home and also waiving permit fees for new construction that would replace a hurricane damaged home.

City staff says an estimate on a value of work of $200,000 would mean waiving a roughly $2,400 permit.

Earlier this month, city commissioners approved continuing to waive permit fees for reconstruction projects like interior demolition, tree removal, fence replacement, roof repair/replacement, and fixes to electrical meters. Examination fees associated with storm damage have also been waved.

Sunset Beach remains one of Pinellas County’s hardest hit places with a number of homes still uninhabitable. Resident Dave Grant owns his home as well as two rental properties, and says permitting is really one of the smaller expenses in a huge and costly process.

“That’s nice,” he said. “But the biggest thing in the last 2-3 weeks that I’ve seen a lot more permits being issued. There was a lot of frustration built up with people because 4 months is a long long time and I understand some of the FEMA rules but we’re finally moving along so hopefully we can get people back in their homes.”

At Tuesday’s workshop, city commissioners will also discuss how to recoup the lost permit fees that are used to pay staff, among other things. Possibilities include getting reimbursed through a FEMA program, taking out a community disaster loan, borrowing from the city’s general fund, or increasing application fees in future years.