Reports - Mississippi Renewal

58 | AFFORDABLE HOUSING[I]t would appear that Gulfportand Biloxi (in Harrison County) and Pascagoula and Moss Point(in Jackson County) present the greatest challenges for rebuilding.First, these areas contained a larger percentage of olderhomes that were probably not designed to modern codes, andthus more likely to suffer wind- and water-related damageduring severe weather. Second, these cities contained a largerpercentage of lower-income households with limited ability toinvest in the rebuilding efforts themselves, and private, for-profitlandlords may see little incentive to reinvesting in the areas.While FEMA may be able to provideinitial assistance, the state should approacha consortium of modular housingdevelopers to participate in this pilotproject. The developers will recouptheir investment when the homes aresold and may also view this as a valuablemarketing opportunity to expandtheir prospects throughout the rest ofthe state.Building and Zoning Codeslar housing technologies can be usedto develop affordable, attractive, and efficienthousing. Because this approachis relatively novel, many residents andcommunity leaders may fear that modularhousing would look cheap and undesirable.To ease these fears, this pilotwould allow modular home developersto compete for the chance to designand build homes within a mixed-use,affordable housing development thatwould showcase the quality that canbe achieved in modular technology. Ifthe pilot is successful and the resultinghomes are both attractive and affordable,different communities along theCoast may feel more comfortable inadopting codes that allow for modularhousing technologies, and more sitescan be transitioned from temporary topermanent housing developments.The state government should workwith FEMA to identify the criteria andprocess for transitioning the sites fromtemporary to permanent housing. TheMississippi Home Corporation maytake the lead on this project. Modularhome builders will also be involved inthe design and building phases. Criteriaand site identification should happenwithin three months, and the designcompetition should take place withinsix months. Construction can beginsoon thereafter.While Hurricane Katrina struck withdevastating power, it appears that substandardbuilding codes and questionablezoning practices in certain areasexacerbated the destruction. Prior torebuilding, it is essential to address thesegaps – now apparent in hindsight – tominimize the damage that may resultfrom any future severe weather event tostrike South Mississippi.Recommendation 7: Stringent TemporaryCodes. It will take some time forcities and counties to evaluate and approvenew building codes, as well as forFEMA to create its new FIRMs. Untilthis process is completed, the Governor’sCommission recommends thatcities and counties adopt – and grantexpedited permits under – temporarycodes that combine FEMA’s advisoryflood map elevation advisories withFlorida’s stringent coastal hurricaneresistance building standards. If homeownersor developers meet these strictinterim codes, they can rebuild quickly.Any buildings constructed accordingto these interim standards would begrandfathered into any longer-termcode programs. This recommendationmust be implemented at the city andcounty level; however, the state couldpotentially “encourage” local governmentsto adopt this approach by withholdingcertain recovery aid from any