Nathan Cobb|The News Herald
PANAMA CITY BEACH— There's really no way to know if condos across Panama City Beach are slowly sinking into the sand.
At least, not yet.
About a week since Champlain Towers South in Surfside partially collapsed, leaving at least 18 people dead and more than 140 others missing, local officials said condos in Bay County are not required to inspect height or track changes over time.
While it remains unknown exactly what caused the Miami condo to crumble, some believe the collapse is linked to the fact that the building was sinkingabout 2 millimeters per year.
"There's always a worry," Mark McWaters, building inspector for Panama City Beach, said of the possibility for a local collapse. "Things are man-made, they're not perfect and so there could be a flaw in something that's not seen. If something is seen, we will address it."
According to information provided by the Bay County Property Appraiser's office, there are almost 390 active "condos" in Bay County, split between high-rises, low-rises and townhomes that were converted into condos.
About 135 are high-rises, which boast five or more stories, that were built between 1965 and 2020. Almost 20 are as old or older than Champlain Towers South.
It was constructed in 1981.
The three oldest high-rises in Bay County are Fontainebleau Terrace, built in 1965; Pinnacle Port, built in 1970and Gulf Gate, built in 1973.
Though changes in height aren't tracked, McWaters said the Department of Business and Professional Regulation does require condos to perform biannual or triannual inspections to guardrails, along with annual inspections to elevators.
Information from PCB statesthe inspections are "generally conducted by third-party engineers at the request of the owner."
Panama City Beach Fire Rescue personnel also performannual life-safety inspections to check condo features, including fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, exit signs and egress paths.
David Jordan, division chief of fire inspection for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, said he believes thecollapse in Miami sparkeda need for steeper regulations.
It should be noted that at least 50 local high-risesweathered Hurricane Opal, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in October 1995, and Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane that devastated the area in October 2018.
"I think it should be a requirement for buildings that are over so many years old," Jordan said of tracking height. "We had Michael come through hereand a lot of our condos ... went through some evaluations from structural engineers, (and) some had to have some repairs done ... because of the erosion."
While many condos are located in Panama City Beach, others sit along the Gulf Coast in unincorporated Bay County.Joel Schubert, deputy county manager, saidthey are basically regulated the same as those on the Beach.
According to Schubert, Bay County does not proactively examine its condos. It is instead ultimately up to homeowners associations and property owners to spearhead inspections and repairs.
Still, the county will step in if it receives complaints from residents.
"If there's something egregious or obvious, we certainly have in our toolbox (the ability) to cite safe and unsafe buildings," Schubertsaid. "We (also) have the authority to actually shut a building down if we think there's an imminent threat."
For Robert Moors, a Panama City Beach resident, one of the main issues with condos is that many have homeowners associations filled with residents who don't have the experience needed to property oversee the buildings.
Moors saidthat he and his wife, Cheryle, own five rental properties across Majestic Beach Resort, Shores of Panama and Boardwalk Beach Resort.
"It's a political office," he said of the board of directors for associations. "They're elected, and a lot of them ... don't have the skillset to make good decisions about these kinds of things. They're not engineers. They're just regular folks."
Along with measuring changes in height, he was in favor of required inspections to assess if condos are tilting.
"When it gets down to technical issues and building issues ... there really needs to be more highly educated people involved in the process," Moors said.
In the aftermath of the Miami tragedy, Schubert said Bay County officials are investigating ways current condo regulations could be tweaked.
He added that Bay County and Panama City Beach leaders often work together to pass similar ordinances, since many residents and tourists view everything west of the Hathaway Bridge as the Beach.
"There are jurisdictions all over the state right now, such as us, that are looking to see what that process would look like," Schubertsaid.
