Substantial Improvement / Damage

Improvement

Substantial Improvement means any combination of reconstruction, rehabilitation, or other improvements of a structure taking place during the life of the building, in which the cumulative percentage of improvement equals or exceeds 50% of the current market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. The costs for determining substantial improvement include the costs of additions. This term includes structures which have incurred repetitive loss or substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed.

Damage

Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure in a special flood hazard area whereby the cost of restoring the structure to it’s before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a 10-year period for with the cost of repairs at the time of each flood event, on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Permit

As previously mentioned, any construction, alteration, addition, or other construction to a property will require a permit from the Department of Community Development. In the case of substantial improvement or substantial damage, the Community Development staff will use Bolivar County tax assessed values unless the applicant provides a valid appraisal of the property in question during the time frame referenced.