Hurricane shutters may no longer be optional

People who own homes along the coast valued at more than $300,000 may have to open their wallets a lot wider when they want to have a fence built, their roof repaired, or do any kind of work that requires a building permit. A bill passed out of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Monday proposes that starting Jan. 1 coastal homeowners who need a building permit for any reason must also buy hurricane shutters. The affected area includes nearly the entire Florida coast. In the Tampa Bay area, the region typically lies west of U.S. 19 in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. The region does not include Hillsborough County, but does include all of Pinellas. Shutters can cost anywhere from about $2,000 to more than $25,000, depending on the number of windows and type of protection. And forcing homeowners to buy them could present a financial burden for many.

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