ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Nearly seven months ago Hurricane Matthew gutted Donna Wright’s Davis Shores house in St. Augustine, she’s still rebuilding so she has a place to call home again.
“I didn’t have any insurance, flood insurance,” Wright said. “I’m staying with friends and living in my car.”
Mom Kira Anderson and her family spent the last six months living in a fifth-wheel camper in their own driveway.
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They’re slowly moving back into their Davis Shores home as they rebuild.
“Living in a camper with your husband, kids and 110 pound dog (for six months) is awful,” Anderson said.
Monday, the St. Augustine City Commission approved the first steps to change a city ordinance to allow hurricane victims to temporarily live on their private property while repairing their home.
Neighbors would have until the city issues them a certificate of completion, or their building permit expires to stay. The city’s current ordinance does not allow this.
“We are not doing anything to move people or displace people,” St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver said.
St. Augustine leaders say 12 families still live in RVs and campers in their own driveways in Davis Shores, nearly seven months after Hurricane Matthew.
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The city does not have a hard count of how many victims left after the storm, or are rebuilding. Now the city is working with different organizations to get an official head count.
Neighbors say at least 50 individual hurricane victims total in Davis Shores are still living in their driveways.
“We will do everything in our power to identify them and get them on the right road,” Shaver said.
City leaders say the proposed change to the RV and camper ordinance for Hurricane Matthew victims must to go through a few more steps before coming official.
Cox Media Group
