Jill Schramm/MDN Casey Hoff speaks to the Burlington City Council Wednesday regarding his building permit.

BURLINGTON – Errant calculations on a building permit have placed both a Burlington homeowner and the town’s council in the most unfortunate of situations.

Homeowner Casey Hoff placed the error and responsibility for finding a fix on the city council at an information gathering meeting of the council Wednesday. Council members met with Hoff and then in executive session with their attorney. They meet again Monday night, at which time a solution could be discussed.

Resolving the dilemma is a citywide concern because failing to do so could potentially impact flood insurance premiums for all residents in the flood zone. Because the building permit was issued out of compliance with the city’s flood ordinance, it has repercussions with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“I didn’t want to be caught in something like this, but here we are and it happens. But it’s not my fault it happened,” Hoff said. “All I can do is pull a permit from the city, fill out paperwork, abide by the guidelines, and that’s exactly what I did. I followed the rules.”

A problem exists because the city’s flood ordinance states if a significant improvement is made to a property in the flood plain, the entire structure must be elevated above flood level. Significant improvement is defined as more than 50 percent of the property value.

The problem developed when the city’s building inspector agreed to deviate from the traditional calculation of using an average $140 per square foot to determine the value of Hoff’s proposed home addition. Considering the $300,000 result to be too high, Hoff instead provided appraisals showing the difference between the original property and the improved property was $115,000. The $115,000 did not exceed the 50 percent trigger.

However, the original appraisal included land and not just the house, throwing off the calculations. Hoff said that’s an error that should have been caught when he presented his appraisal to the city engineer, who is charged with monitoring flood plain compliance.

Burlington building inspector Rod Schwandt said the permit essentially limits the construction value to $115,000.

“He just has to make sure the value upon completion is not over $115,000,” he said. “He tried to do that with those appraisals. Whether he’s going to accomplish that or not, I don’t know.”

Hoff had no current appraisal, causing the council to question whether he might still fall below the 50 percent. Hoff responded he has since learned from Ward County Emergency Manager Amanda Schooling that an appraisal isn’t adequate. Only an estimate of the materials and labor cost can be used in the calculation.

These are issues that should have been detected by the city engineer either through knowledge of the rules or in consult with Schooling before the building permit went to the council and was approved, Hoff said.

By simply finding Hoff in noncompliance, the city would render him ineligible for federal flood insurance. Should that happen, Hoff said, he could seek legal recourse to find the city at fault, thus placing the community at risk of losing its flood zone rating, forcing insurance premiums to $17,000 or more, according to some estimates.

City engineer Pat Samson said the city will have a better idea of its options after meeting with the state National Flood Insurance Program coordinator, but that meeting isn’t scheduled until after Monday’s council meeting.

Options mentioned include the city buying out Hoff or having him elevate his property above flood level. Hoff’s research indicated raising the property could cost $1.3 million.

Hoff also said his selling price would be well above appraisal to reflect the work put into the home and his family’s attachment to it.

“I’m supposed to sacrifice everything I’ve done and give up everything. I don’t think that’s fair to me and I don’t think it’s fair to my kids and my family,” Hoff said.