AGENDA

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER SERVICES

JUNE 12, 2001

Substitute Page

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Substitute Item 1 Minutes

Submittal of the Minutes of the March 13, 2001, and March 29, 2001 Cabinet Meetings.

(See Attachment 1, Pages 1-10.)

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Item 2 Philip Cochran, Jr., Aquaculture Lease

REQUEST: Consideration of authorization to issue a ten-year sovereignty submerged land aquaculture lease containing about 3.7 acres, more or less.

COUNTY: St. Johns

APPLICANT: Philip Cochran, Jr.

Application No. 55-AQ-840

LOCATION: Parcel is located in the Matanzas River southwest of Crescent Beach, within the local jurisdiction of St. Johns County, at the following coordinates: 29^o44.78"N / 81^o14.98"W (center point on eastern boundary in latitude and longitude; decimal minutes).

CONSIDERATION: $103.80 annually, representing (1) an initial lease fee of $63.80, at a rate of $15.95 per acre or fraction thereof; and (2) an annual surcharge of $40.00, representing $10.00 per acre or fraction thereof, for deposit in the General Inspection Trust Fund pursuant to section 597.010, F.S. Commencing January 1, 2005, the lease fees shall be adjusted every five years, based upon the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index.

STAFF REMARKS: The applicant is requesting approval of a commercial aquaculture lease to cultivate and harvest hard clams and oysters within a 3.7-acre aquaculture lease area on sovereignty submerged land in a tidal tributary on the western side of the Matanzas River. The project has been modified from the original lease application submitted by the applicant. The modification, which has been agreed upon by the applicant and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), reduces the original proposal from six to about 3.7 acres. The modified parcel is located within a larger parcel that was leased to Mr. Philip Cochran, Sr., in 1967, modified in 1979, and subsequently terminated around 1990. The proposed project involves the cultivation of hard clams on the bottom using soft bags and cover nets; the proposed cultivation methods are standard for the industry. Additionally, the project involves the cultivation of oysters by placing oyster shell on the bottom to provide a substrate for oysters; this method is also standard for the industry.

The proposed parcel includes about 3.7 acres of state-owned land in 0.5-4.5 feet of water, with an average depth of about 2.5 feet. The area includes an L-shaped polygon covering about 200 feet by 780 feet. The substrate is primarily a mixture of sand and silt. There are no privately-held upland properties immediately adjacent to the proposed site; the closest upland properties are located along the eastern side of the Matanzas River.

DACS gave notice of the application pursuant to section 253.70, F.S. Upland property owners within 1,000 feet of the proposed site were notified. No letters of objection were received; two of the six upland property owners provided letters of support for the project.

Board of Trustees

Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services

Agenda - June 12, 2001

Page Two

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Item 2, cont.

Section 253.68(2)(b), F.S., provides that "it shall be the policy of the state to foster aquaculture development when the aquaculture activity is consistent with state resource management goals, environmental protection, proprietary interests, and the state aquaculture plan." Additionally, section 253.68, F.S., provides that the Board of Trustees may lease submerged lands to which it has title for the conduct of aquaculture activities and grant exclusive use of the bottom and the water column for either commercial or experimental purposes.

A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plan was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process.

(See Attachment 2, Pages 1-25)

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