Government Response to Hurricane Matthew Damage Comes Under Scrutiny by CAI

We are forwarding the Community Associations Institute’s comment on the damage wrought by the recent hurricane in Florida regarding its non-discriminatory nature and how the Federal Government should act likewise:

Hurricane Matthew did not discriminate between community association neighborhoods and non-association neighborhoods. Neither should our nation’s natural disaster response and recovery policy.

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, Tom Skiba, CEO of Community Associations Institute sent a letter to the White House asking President Obama to encourage FEMA to interpret their regulations to help all Americans; including community associations.

As devastated residents head back to their homes, they are faced with the wreckage of the storm; including damaged bridges, tunnels, causeways, and streets. For a resident living in a community association – also known as a homeowners association, condominium or housing cooperative – the recovery efforts can be even more challenging as The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) routinely denies community association requests for federal disaster benefits. FEMA has developed an arbitrary “public interest” standard and applies other unique, cumbersome requirements that must be satisfied prior to authorizing disaster recovery work to clear roads in community associations and waterways of threats to human health and safety and to prevent additional damage to property.

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