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Flood Plan:Escambia County Looks To Purchase, Demolish Bristol Park Homes
December 8, 2016
Escambia County is considering the purchase of dozens of homes in the Bristol Park and Ashbury Hills neighborhoods. The homes would then be demolished to widen and improve waterflow in a creek to alleviate flooding.
The homes were mostly under water during the historic April 2014 floods.
Grant money would be used to purchase the homes on the bank of Eleven Mile Creek for stream restoration and flood plain expansion of Eleven Mile Creek.
The overall project goal is to effectively reduce the flood stage in Eleven Mile Creek to improve flood protection of homes and properties within the area of Bristol Park and Ashbury Hills subdivisions.
In order to comply with the FEMA regulations concerning acquisition, staff will be sending certified offer letters to residents which will be based off the appraised value of the property. Additionally, there are time restraints associated with the acquisition portion of this grant. Demolition of structures on properties acquired by the county must happen within 90 days from closing.
The properties eligible for the program, along with their parcel numbers, are:
031S314100000023 — 810 Tara Cir
031S311500015003 — 9950 Bristol Park Rd
031S311500015002 — 2705 Woodbreeze Dr
031S311500028002 — 2703 Silhouette Dr
031S311500013002 — 2701 Woodbreeze Dr
031S311500027002 — 2701 Silhouette Dr
031S311500014002 — 2703 Woodbreeze Dr
031S311500026002 — 2700 Silhouette Dr
031S311800000059/60 — 2703 Ashbury Ln (2 parcels)
031S311500016002 — 2707 Woodbreeze Dr
031S3118000000080 — Ashbury Ln
031S311500000100 — Bristol Pk Rd
031S311500034002 — 10108 Bristol Park
031S311500000200 –Pipe Line
031S313101002001 — Off Tara Cir
031S311800000058 — 2705 Ashbury Ln
031S311800000056 — 2709 Ashbury Ln
031S311800000029 — 3022 Ashbury Ln
031S311800000055 — 2711 Ashbury Ln
031S311500033002 — 10110 Bristol Park
031S311500032002 — 10112 Bristol Park
031S311500007003 — 10040 Bristol Park
031S311500008003 — 10030 Bristol Park
031S311500001003 — 10100 Bristol Park
031S311500002003 — 10090 Bristol Park
031S311500003003 — 10080 Bristol Park
031S311500004003 — 10070 Bristol Park
031S311500006003 — 10050 Bristol Park
031S311500005003 — 10060 Bristol Park
031S311500009003 — 10020 Bristol Park
031S311500010003 — 10010 Bristol Park
031S311500011003 — 10000 Bristol Park
031S311500012003 — 9990 Bristol Park
031S311500014003 — 9970 Bristol Park
031S311500013003 — 9980 Bristol Park
031S311800000034 — 3012 Ashbury Lane
031S314100000022 — 815 Tara Cir
031S311800000032 — 3016 Ashbury Lane
031S311800000057 — 2707 Ashbury Lane
031S31410000016 — 3925 Bentwood Lane
031S31180000052 — 2717 Ashbury Lane
031S31180000030 — 3020 Ashbury Lane
031S31180000054 — 2713 Ashbury Lane
031S31180000026 — 2752 Ashbury Lane
31S31180000035 — 3010 Ashbury Lane
031S31180000031 — 3018 Ashbury Lane
031S31180000028 — 3024 Ashbury Lane
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
15 Responses to “Flood Plan:Escambia County Looks To Purchase, Demolish Bristol Park Homes”
We lived in Bristol Park when the first flood hit in 1998. We moved 2 years later. It has flooded several times since then. The creek simply can’t contain the amount of water that these major storms produce and it has nothing to do with the paper mill. The amount of development in the area is a major problem.
People must consider what is at the headwaters of Elevenmile Creek – a huge paper mill with acres and acres of exposed ponds. IP knows that with about a 2″ rainfall, their effluent exceeds 50 million gallons a day. This is 20 millions gallons of water more than the amount they normally discharge. This is just with a 2″ rainfall. Just imagine a 10″ rainfall or in the case of April 2014, a 26″ rainfall. It is unfortunate that the developer built in the flood plain, but with IP’s exposed ponds sitting at the headwaters, it is a disaster waiting to happen.
And the current Hwy 97 Project is adding to drainage problems so does the county have any truly comprehensive plan for decreased flooding/increased drainage as new developments continue to be approvd?
Our county commissioner, Steven Barry, assured me that they would not purchase homes that had been rebuilt, they would only buy properties that had not been remodeled. I discussed this issue with him a week ago and he said they would rewrite the FEMA grant to purchase property in the back of the homes on the creek so they could widen and clean the creek out. He said it does not make sense to him to purchase only a few homes (only 11 homeowners have tentatively accepted the appraised price between Ashbury Hills and Bristol Park). So what has changed?? Why is the county trying to proceed with tearing only a few homes down? Because they have the money from a FEMA grant and it is the easy thing to do? But they need to ask themselves, is it the right thing to do? Will only tearing a few homes down solve the flooding issues?
Since a number of homeowners said they would not sell for the “appraised” price, it does not make sense to tear a home down, have a couple left standing, tear another home down, etc. I am not an engineer but how does this help the flooding issues in our neighborhood to do this? What needs to be done is the county needs to fix the holding ponds in the area and clean/widen the creek so that it can accommodate the water that is diverted to it from all the building going on in our area.
It DOES NOT make sense to tear down $250,000+ homes that have been rebuilt. I have lived on the creek for 21 years and my house has only flooded once and it was during one of the worst rain storms Pensacola has ever seen. Why would the county think it would make sense to tear my house down? Other neighborhoods and parts of the county flooded that night as well. Why not tear down the businesses on Palafox Street since they flooded? Because it doesn’t make sense! Fix the drainage problem, don’t tear down our houses!!
The property values have already suffered in Bristol Park. Who will want to come into our area and purchase a home if they see the county tearing down random homes.
The “appraised value” of our homes wasn’t adequate for us. I can’t speak for everyone, but we did not have adequate flood insurance because we never envisioned having 5′ of water in our home in this area. We had to pay over $100,000 out of pocket to remodel our home. Now the county wants to give us $120,000 less than what it would cost us to rebuild the home. Plus we would have to pay moving costs out of pocket and closing costs on a new home.
This just doesn’t make sense. If the county would just fix the drainage issues, we would be fine. Don’t waste taxpayers money tearing down beautiful homes
To Well: it is someone’s fault. The county for allowing the developer to plan so poorly and Todd Sweitzer, the developer for doing such a piss poor job of planning and then neglecting the retention ponds as well as the county again for letting him get away with it. The creek flooded thanks to the release of water from the paper mill for the second time and there has been no action taken against them. Now the home owners are paying for everyone else’s screw ups.
In the early 90’s when this neighborhood was developed before Cantonment grew so rapidly creating runoff, this was not a flood plain. Now it is because the county didn’t do urban developing plans to accommodate for the runoff created by all the building permits issued. Now the county wants to buy there way out with tax payers money, for me, 92$ a SQFT is not enough to be able to rebuild what I have and what I’ve worked for elsewhere.
Always someones fault.
Never the fact that it rained far more than anything could handle.
Why did the country let the houses be built in the first place. ? Now the taxpayer loses again
Just goes to show you that a property developer(s) you can’t trust. Do your own investigating before you buy property. They will build anywhere, I remember a story years ago…I think it happened in Georgia, when several hundred homes were built on a closed landfill, and shortly thereafter the residents started getting sick and the houses started to sink, and goo started leaching out of the ground.
Hay Mark …You are right…….BUT they will
Maybe the county will buy the property on Navy Blvd. where the empty tax collectors office sits empty? Or, hold those accountable for choosing that location.
This, after the county tried to make those neighborhoods pay to fix the problem. The families finally have their homes put back together and now they want to tear them down….. REALLY. I’d bet the $ amount isn’t right.
Last night on the news, a lady was interviewed about this, and she said that the offer was less than their cost of rebuilding. I got the impression that she wasn’t going to sell. This brings up and interesting question – if you live in an area where the surrounding properties were bought and condemned by the county due to flooding, what happens to your insurance? Seems to me they’re in a tough situation if they can’t get an offer that covers their costs.
They are being offered “appraised value” which likely means the tax appraisal. That money is coming from a grant, grant money comes from you and I, the taxpayer.
How about this, stop building houses at ground level in the flood plain of a waterway..
After the houses have been fixed? Fine with me, as long as it doesn’t cost any money.