Chapter 8 › V.E Parks, Recreational, Other (Category G)

Will FEMA repair parks, pools, docks and beaches?

FEMA term

Category G: Parks, recreational, other

Short answer

Publicly owned parks, playgrounds, pools, docks, piers, golf courses, ports, mass transit and similar facilities are Category G. Beaches qualify only if engineered and maintained with a renourishment program; sand lost in the incident is then eligible.

What FEMA requires

Grass and sod are eligible when integral to restoring a recreational facility; trees, shrubs and landscaping are not.
Plantings required by a permit or code to offset environmental impacts can be eligible; long-term monitoring is not.
Beaches: not built under Corps authority, built with imported sand to a design, and maintained with periodic renourishment. One-time, emergency, partial or dredge-spoil placements don’t count.
Eligible sand is limited to the amount lost, shown with pre- and post-storm profiles to the depth of closure.
Beach access crossovers are eligible facilities.

Documentation

For beaches: original design and as-builts, the maintenance plan and funding, and every renourishment’s design and as-builts.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Keep a complete renourishment history. Without it, an engineered beach is treated as natural and its sand is ineligible.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.