Dive Brief:

• Contractors in Natomas, CA, were allowed to start building on Tuesday for the first time in seven years, as a federally imposed construction moratorium came to an end.

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency nixed any new building in the Sacramento community after Hurricane Katrina, saying its levees were insufficient to prevent flooding. The agenda announced in April that it would lift the ban and allowed the city to start issuing building permits.

• Officials in Natomas, once one of Sacramento’s hottest construction markets, have received more than 1,000 applications for permits from contractors wishing to finish partially completed projects that were interrupted by the ban in 2008.

Dive Insight:

Community leaders have said they expect FEMA to issue a new flood zone designation that allows for some construction. And they expect a continued flood of applications for building permits for hotels, businesses, schools, offices and homes.

The director of a local construction advocacy group told the CBS affiliate there that the wave of construction will create jobs and bring more energy- and water-efficient buildings to the area.