This is a guide to help in the elevation process to become compliant with the new requirements for the City of New Orleans and Metro area.

 Am I compliant?

According to the Post-Katrina guidelines,  the top of your bottom floor must be 3 feet above the centerline of the street AND at or above Base Flood Elevation for your area.  (These numbers may be found on your Flood Elevation Certificate explained in the permit section.) 

Am I eligible for Government assistance in elevation of my home? 

There are several programs offering up to $30,000 each to elevate your home.  There are others offering $100,000 or a percentage or your elevation cost.

1.  ICC - Increased Cost of Compliance is offering $30,000 to elevate your home to compliance.  You must meet all three criteria to be eligible.          

•  You must have had Flood Insurance before Katrina.      
•    You must be below the compliant height.       
•   You must have a damage assessment from the City of New Orleans greater than 50%.  If you decide to elevate and your only component lacking is the damage assessment is less than 50%,  you may go to the City of New Orleans Office of Permits (7th floor of City Hall) and request a reassessment to raise your damage level percentage.  Do not do this unless you are positive you are going to elevate because it will affect your future repairs.

• For more detailed information visit:  http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/floodplain/ICC.shtm  

2.  Road Home - also offers $30,000 to elevate your home. This grant is independent from ICC and may be combined with ICC to help cover your cost.  If you do not qualify for  ICC, yet Road Home offers you money for elevation, you should ask your Road Home agent how high you need to elevate to qualify for their grant.  At this time, we have not been able to find any written guidelines for Road Home.  The filing deadline was November 2007 to be considered for this program.

• OCD-DRU Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) provides up to $100000 --This is also a State grant.  You must have applied for Road Home before November 2007 and will receive a letter from the "State of Louisiana with FEMA Clearance to intitate work on mitigation activity".  This is a reimbursement program.  Some of their requirements:

1.  You must complete the elevation so that you can re-occupy the propery within 12 months of receiving an award.
2. You must comply with all applicable building codes, elevation standards, building permits in order to elevate to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) or Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE), whichever is higher.
3. You must maintain adequate flood insurance as required by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

 As a reimbursement program, as you complete work for the elevation you will submit receipts and cancelled checks.  They will be reviewed and paid back if they are eligible expenses.  Payments are made twice: the first payment is when they verify the structure has reached the elevation height and the second payment is once completion of the project has been verified.

If you qualified for ICC and also received a previous Road Home grant for elevation, those funds will be deducted from the project cost first and the balance wil be reimbursed by this grant UP TO $100,000 based on cost effectiveness for the size and foundation style of your home. 

Please visit the Office of Community Development site for more detailed information: http://www.mitigatela.org/

3.  Repetitive Flooding Mitigation Grants - are being offered by the individual parishes.  Some may be for $30,000 and others may be for a percentage of the elevation cost.  Most of these grants are being offered to repetitive flooders.   If you feel you qualify but have not received a letter, please call your parish office to inquire.  Solutients is the company handling the program for Jefferson Parish and Smart, Inc. is handling Orleans Parish. 

What do I need to get my permit?

Items needed for an elevation permit:

1.  Flood Elevation Certificate - this document can be requested from your Flood Insurance Provider.  It is a unique set of numbers for your  particular  property indicating the elevation of your lowest floor, the center line of your street, the base flood for your area, etc... If they do not have one on file, you will have to hire a survey company to shoot these elevations and furnish you a certificate before a permit can be requested.

2.  Construction Benchmark Certificate - Orleans Parish, as of February 2, 2009, requires this certificate which can be furnished by the survey company at the same time the Flood Elevation Certificate is being produced.

3.  Contract from a licensed contractor - once  you have decided to elevate your home you must have a licensed contractor write your contract to specify the elevation height and specifications if new foundations are necessary.

4.  Signed Stamped Engineering Drawings - if you are elevating more than 4 feet from the ground, the City of New Orleans requires these drawings to go before a planning and review committee.

5.  Money or check - to pay for the permit.  In Jefferson Parish, the contractor must apply for the permit. 

Purpose of an Abry Brothers visit

Please call our office and request a free verbal estimate.  Our friendly office staff will take your property address and a phone number to call you back with an appointment.  Mr. Abry will meet you at the property on the specified date and will measure the property for elevation purposes.  He will also check the foundations to make sure they have integrity to handle the elevation.  If he finds the foundations to be inadequate, he will also estimate a price to replace them.  If you have any questions, we will help you to the best of our abilities.