Marco Island votes to change construction rules to speed up Irma repairs

It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Irma ripped through Southwest Florida but several homes on Marco Island are still showing the aftermath.

The City of Marco Island voted 5-2 for temporary adjustments until Dec. 31 to allow additional construction repairs from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Foley says that if you just drive around the island, the construction is hard to miss.

“Every other house either has the roof off or is under construction, or has construction materials piled up in the driveway.”

But there might be a quick fix on the way to speed up the process of recovery. Right now, the City of Marco Island doesn’t allow construction work on most holidays, between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and no construction is allowed on Sundays.

The main reason is to cut down on truck and traffic noise.

But residents like Foley say that the noise might be necessary.

“If we don’t get things under control and we get another hurricane, we’ll be in real big trouble,” said Foley.

City council is proposing to allow work temporarily on Sundays from noon until 6 p.m. in an effort to help rebuild homes.

“I’d welcome it, just to get it done,” said resident Rick Popoff.

Popoff is still waiting for his roof to be fixed from Irma damage. He says it’s a great idea and he’s will to deal with just about anything to hurry it along.

“If it’s a little inconvenience on Sundays with noise and trucks running around, well that’s what it’s going to take, that’s fine with me.”