The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has allocated approximately $22 million to its Hurricane Sally Voluntary Home Buyout Program with a maximum award of not to exceed $5 million.

The City of Panama City has the opportunity to apply for these funds through DEO for U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding in order to purchase qualifying properties in Low-and Moderate- Income Areas (LMA) that were directly impacted by Hurricane Sally.

This program will allow the City to purchase your property at the current fair market value for both the land and the house. The house will be demolished and the property will be held for conservation, recreation, or storm water management purposes in perpetuity. Participation in the program is completely voluntary and homeowners who are identified as eligible for the program are not obligated to participate in the program and sell their home.

After acquisition, the City would demolish the structure(s) on the property and the purchased land will remain the City’s property indefinitely. The purchased land in the designated area must be deed-restricted to remain green space in perpetuity. The property may be used for future potential mitigation projects.

The City has not yet been granted CDBG-DR Hurricane Sally funding by DEO, but must identify potential applicants and specific addresses willing to voluntarily sell so we can move quickly to complete the acquisition once funding is awarded. And made fully available to the City. Please understand there is no guarantee that funds will be available in the future to buy your property. Funding awards remain subject to the State’s consideration and final determination.

There will be a public kick-off meeting on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at City Hall (501 Harrison Avenue), Room 10, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. to discuss program details, address questions, allow for the collection of additional information, and to provide eligible homeowners with the ability to express interest in participation in the program. The meeting will also be offered via Zoom Meetings. The Meeting ID is 833 0214 2586 and Passcode is 416558.

If you have plan on attending in-person or by Zoom meetings, or have any questions, comments, and/or inquiries, please contact Jennifer Aldridge, Disaster Recovery Project Manager at (850) 872-3004 or through email at [email protected] to sign up and/or can address any questions or inquiries.