Pinellas County is exploring a plan to ease the burden on hurricane victims by eliminating permit fees for rebuilding efforts.

For families in parts of Pinellas County, the aftermath of recent storms lingers, with homes still in disrepair months later.

County commissioners are looking at a proposal to waive building permit fees for repair and reconstruction work tied to hurricanes Helene and Milton. The initiative could forgive nearly $4 million in fees, though it wouldn’t extend to outdoor features like pools, driveways, patios, or sheds.

This relief would apply to unincorporated areas of the county, including Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach, Oldsmar, Kenneth City, and Safety Harbor.

As visitors trickle back to these communities for the first time since the storms, the ongoing struggles are impossible to miss. One longtime beachgoer shared, “We’ve been coming here for years, and seeing all this devastation—it just breaks your heart.”

The county plans to request state reimbursement to offset the waived fees, according to the proposal. Commissioners are set to take up the issue at their Tuesday afternoon meeting.

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