Politics & Government

FEMA Denies Capitola Flood Relief Request, Local Government Reacts

Capitola will not be receiving federal aid to make up the cost of the March flood damages.

It takes a Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide disaster relief. In the case of Capitola's , no such declaration will be made, leaving the City on the hook for the full cost of repairs.

The City of Capitola had requested that FEMA cover 75 percent of the recovery costs.

The California governor's office received a letter issuing the denial on June 21. City of Capitola officials got word from Sacramento on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Considering the magnitude of the floods, representatives of both parties expressed dismay over the news.

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I am disappointed that FEMA has denied the request for financial assistance to fund the recovery and repairs necessary due to the damage from the severe storms this past March," Assembly member Bill Monning said in a prepared statment. "With extremely limited fiscal resources, impacted local communities and local governments are struggling to address the damage.”

Capitola Community Development Director Derek Johnson took a similar stance.

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Of course we we're disappointed. If you were here locally, you know that this was a pretty significant event," he told Capitola-Soquel Patch. "We didn't see [the denial] coming. We were continuing to work with FEMA and representatives and remained optomistic all along."

They now have 30 days to appeal the decision. But the path towards an appeal is still not clear.

"We don't know if it is [the City] or the state that has to appeal," Johnson said. "We are working with our state legislators' office, including the governor's office, to figure out that next step to take."

City Manager Jamie Goldstein will be handling the situation going forward, Johnson said.


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