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AGENDA Item 1 Minutes Submittal of the Minutes from the May 21, 2002, June 12, 2002 and June 25, 2002 Cabinet Meetings. (See Attachment 1, Pages 1-39) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ****************************************************** Substitute Item 2 Clement/Ellis Option Agreements/Wekiva-Ocala Greenway Florida Forever Project REQUEST: Consideration of two option agreements to acquire 100.1 acres within the Wekiva-Ocala Greenway Florida Forever project from G. Edward Clement, Trustee and Jerry and Lucy Ellis. COUNTY: Lake LOCATION: Section 30, Township 17 South, Range 29 East; and Section 07, Township 18 South, Range 29 East CONSIDERATION: $308,400
* $2,976
per acre. The seller purchased the property in April of 1998 as a distress
sale. (Parcel not part of project in 1998) STAFF REMARKS: The Wekiva-Ocala Greenway project is an "A" group project on the Florida Forever Interim Report Full Fee Project List approved by the Board of Trustees on January 29, 2002. On December 6, 2001, the Acquisition and Restoration Council approved 5,083.26 acres, including the above parcels, as an addition to the project. The project contains 68,904 acres, of which 38,954.57 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired. After the Board of Trustees approves these agreements, 29,849.33 acres, or 43 percent of the project, will remain to be acquired. All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing. On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to DEP the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately. Therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for any title issues that arise prior to closing. Title insurance
policies, surveys, environmental site evaluations and, if necessary, environmental
site assessments will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing. ****************************************************** Substitute Item 2, cont. The Springs, rivers, lakes, swamps and uplands stretching north from Orlando to the Ocala National Forest are an important refuge for the Florida black bear, as well as other wildlife such as the bald eagle, swallow-tailed kite, Florida scrub jay, and wading birds. Public acquisition of the Wekiva-Ocala Greenway will protect these animals and the Wekiva and St. Johns River basins by protecting natural corridors connecting Wekiwa Springs State Park, Rock Springs Run State Reserve, the Lower Wekiva River State Reserve, and Hontoon Island State Park with the Ocala National Forest. It will also provide the people of the booming Orlando area with a large, nearby natural area in which to enjoy camping, fishing, swimming, hiking, canoeing and other recreational pursuits. The properties will be managed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry as additions to Seminole State Forest. These acquisitions are consistent with section 187.201(10), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment 2, Pages 1-31) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ****************************************************** Item 3 Johnson Option Agreement/Sebastian Creek CARL Project REQUEST: Consideration of an option agreement to acquire 16.62 acres within the Sebastian Creek CARL project from Cecil M. Johnson, Trustee. COUNTY: Indian River LOCATION: Section 14, Township 31 South, Range 38 East CONSIDERATION: $285,200
* $17,160
per acre STAFF REMARKS: The Sebastian Creek CARL project was ranked number 5 on the CARL Substantially Complete Project List approved by the Board of Trustees on February 9, 1999, and was removed from the 2000 CARL list because the project was 90 percent complete. The Sebastian Creek CARL project is funded under the Division of State Lands' (DSL) Land Acquisition Workplan as a 90 percent complete project and is eligible for acquisition pursuant to section 259.032(8), F.S. The project contains 22,493 acres, of which 22,046.80 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired. After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement, 429.58 acres or 2 percent of the project will remain to be acquired. All mortgages
and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing. There is no legal
access to the property however it can be accessed through the adjacent
state-owned property. The appraiser considered this in the final determination
of value. On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation
to delegate to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the authority
to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all Chapter
259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately. Therefore,
DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution
for any title issues that arise prior to closing. ****************************************************** Item 3, cont. A title insurance policy, a survey, an environmental site evaluation and, if necessary, an environmental site assessment will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing. Sebastian Creek, one of the most important aggregation sites for the endangered manatee on Florida's east coast, is surrounded by a large island of natural flatwoods, marshes, swamps, and scrub in a sea of agriculture and housing. Public acquisition of the Sebastian Creek CARL project will protect the manatee and the water quality of the creek by protecting the natural lands in the creek basin and will give the residents of the fast-growing cities of Brevard and Indian River Counties a large area for fishing, hiking, and other pursuits. Purchase of the parcel is consistent with the state's objective of providing a buffer for the St. Sebastian River part of the Indian River Lagoon - Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve, and protecting populations of listed species. Acquisition will eliminate the necessity of granting a lengthy, problematic access easement through existing state-owned land, thereby, preventing a conflict with prescribed burning, hydrological restoration, and visitor usage. This property will be managed by DEP's Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas as part of the St. Sebastian River State Buffer Preserve. This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(10), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment 3, Pages 1- 15) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ****************************************************** Item 4 John H. Ricard, Bishop/Diocese of Pensacola/Tallahassee Exchange Agreement REQUEST: Consideration of an exchange agreement under which the Board of Trustees would convey a 0.99-acre parcel of state-owned land in Leon County to John H. Ricard, as Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola/Tallahassee (Church), in exchange for an improved 0.38-acre parcel of land owned by the Church for the benefit of the Florida Board of Education and The Florida State University. COUNTY: Leon APPLICANT: The Florida State University (FSU) LOCATION: Section 35, Township 01 North, Range 01 West CONSIDERATION: Value-for-value
*This value was based on a parcel size of 1.04-acre. The parcel size was reduced and the value adjusted. STAFF REMARKS: This exchange was negotiated by FSU. FSU has requested,
with approval from the Florida Board of Education, to exchange a 0.99-acre
parcel of state-owned land for 0.38-acre of property owned by the Church.
This state-owned parcel was originally to be included as part of a larger
parcel that was exchanged with the Church and approved by the Board of
Trustees on April 11, 2000. However, it was ****************************************************** Item 4, cont. excluded in order to provide for a value-for-value exchange and the agenda item disclosed that it was anticipated that future land exchanges would be requested for the remnant parcel. The Board of Trustees' parcel is a flat unimproved parcel with grass and a few trees. The Church's parcel is located along the north side of West St. Augustine Street, between Woodward Avenue and Lorene Street. The church parcel consists of a 100-foot by 165-foot site improved with a 12 unit, two-story apartment building, a single-family residence, and a duplex. FSU intends to use the buildings for office and storage space. On October 15, 1998, the Land Acquisition and Management Advisory Council voted to recommend the exchange, which included the current remnant parcel 123A. William Carlton, MAI, SRA and State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, appraised the properties on August 16, 2001 (Parcel 155), and September 17, 2001 (Parcel 123A). Mr. Carlton estimated the market value of the 0.38 acre of Church-owned land at $410,000 and the 1.04 acre state-owned parcel at $432,000, indicating a difference of $22,000. In order to make the property values equal, FSU chose to reduce the size of the parcel to be exchanged by moving the eastern property boundary so as to leave the remaining FSU holding intact. This reduced size was arrived at using the unit value in Mr. Carlton's report of $9.50 per square foot for Parcel 123A multiplied by the revised survey of 43,155 square feet (0.99 acre), resulting in a value of $409,973 that was rounded to $410,000. This exchange will benefit FSU because Tennessee Street is the official northern boundary of the campus and FSU is not interested in developing this site. The Church's parcel is south of Tennessee Street and therefore, within the University's official northern boundary. DEP has determined that surplus land sales are not subject to the local government planning process. The acquisition of the Church parcel is consistent with section 187.201(01), F.S., the Education section of the State Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment 4, Pages 1-50) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ****************************************************** Substitute Item 5 Miami-Dade County Surplus REQUEST: Consideration of (1) a request to surplus a 13,000-square-foot lot in Miami-Dade County; and (2) acceptance of an offer from Mario Quadros. COUNTY: Miami-Dade APPLICANT: Mario Quadros LOCATION:
Altos Del Mar Lot 6, Block 6, Altos Del Mar No. 1, PB 31, Pg. 40 CONSIDERATION: $1,200,000 to be deposited in the Save Our Coast Trust Fund STAFF REMARKS:
On April 19, 1983, the Governor and Cabinet sitting as head of the Department
of Natural Resources, now the Department of Environmental Protection,
(Department) approved the placement of the North Shore Open Space project
on the Save Our Coast (SOC) priority acquisition list. The project was
sponsored by the City of Miami Beach (City) as an addition to North Shore
Ocean Front Park, which was administered by the City as a public recreation
area on Miami Beach. In order for the project to succeed, a sufficient
****************************************************** Substitute Item 5, cont. number of contiguous lots had to be acquired. The City and the Board of Trustees agreed that the City would acquire the lots within the project area either by negotiation, donations, or, if necessary, condemnation. However, in September 1986, a City bond issue referendum for acquisition funding for this project was defeated and on December 2, 1986, the Board of Trustees terminated the acquisition agreement with the City and adopted a new plan for pursuing the project. The City was to convey North Shore Open Park, which was not a part of the SOC acquisition project, to the state for management as a unit of the state park system. The lots between 76th and 77th Streets were to be acquired by the state for an interpretive center and support facilities. The lots between 76th and 77th Streets have been rezoned recreational by the City. The remainder of the properties in the SOC project (the lots between 77th and 79th Streets) were to remain in private ownership as an early Miami Beach historic district. The Altos del Mar Historic District was formally established by the City on April 9, 1987, and includes the lots located between 77th and 79th Streets. In 1989, the Department made a final effort to acquire the remaining lots in this project. However, none of the Department's offers were accepted by private owners and all further acquisition efforts were terminated. In order for the original purpose of this project to have been realized, a sufficient number of contiguous lots had to be acquired to provide adequate land area for the project. Because the Department was not able to acquire a sufficient number of contiguous lots for this project, the Department requested and was granted approval by the Board of Trustees on September 28, 1993, to dispose of the 22 lots acquired. The City has requested that the state convey the 11 contiguous lots between 76th and 77th Streets back to the City as part of the existing North Shore Open Park. The lot Mr. Quadros has requested to purchase is an unimproved oceanfront lot between 77th and 79th Streets and is one of 11 non-contiguous lots the state purchased when planning to extend North Shore Open Space Park on Miami Beach. This lot was purchased by the Board of Trustees from the City on January 6, 1984. The property was purchased with funds from the SOC Trust Fund; therefore, the proceeds from the sale of this lot will go towards retiring the outstanding bonds from this former land acquisition program. On September 2, 1999, the Land Acquisition and Management Advisory Council (LAMAC) voted to recommend 11 state-owned lots within the North Shore Open Space be declared surplus. This lot is one of the 11 lots declared surplus by LAMAC. The 11 lots being proposed for sale are non-contiguous and isolated. Each parcel is of inadequate physical size to constitute a manageable conservation or recreation area. The natural resource attributes of the area have been so compromised as to render them most practically utilized for oceanfront residential or other support purposes. There are no known listed species on the property and no known cultural resources in need of protection. The Department's Division of State Lands (DSL), received three bonafide offers for this lot and Mr. Quadros' offer was the highest. Mr. Quadros plans to build a personal family home on this lot. J. Mark Quinlivan, MAI, and State-Certified General Appraiser, appraised the property on November 10, 2001. Mr. Quinlivan estimated the market value of this lot at $825,000. Due to the location of this waterfront property and the high demand for residential property on Miami Beach, DSL staff believes this property merits a price above the appraiser's estimate of market value. In accordance
with sections 253.111 and 253.034(6)(f), F.S., Dade County and state agencies
were notified of the sale. ****************************************************** Substitute Item 5, cont. A consideration of the status of the local government comprehensive plan was not made for this item. The Department has determined that surplus land sales are not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 5, Pages 1-20) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ****************************************************** Item 6 Anclote Bar/Land Management Discussion REQUEST: Consideration of staff request for discussion of a land management issue involving Anclote Bar, an emergent barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. COUNTIES: Pasco and Pinellas LOCATION: Section 00,Township 26 South, Range 15 East STAFF REMARKS: Anclote Bar is one of several islands and shoals off the coast of Pasco and Pinellas Counties that have formed in recent times as a result of coastal accretion. The island continues to accrete rapidly and today constitutes approximately 20 upland acres of former sovereignty submerged land. It has become a significant area for nesting and wintering shorebirds including species listed as threatened by federal and state authorities. The island has been designated as critical habitat for the piping plover by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and was proposed by the Department for designation as a Critical Wildlife Area by the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission in 1994. Anclote Bar has also become a popular recreation destination. It is heavily used by boaters for swimming, picnicking, camping and other activities. Unmanaged public use of the island has adversely affected shorebird nesting and caused damage to seagrass beds on surrounding submerged lands. Anclote Bar is located approximately one-half mile north of Anclote Key Preserve State Park, managed by the Division of Recreation and Parks (DRP). Because of the state park's proximity to Anclote Bar, DRP has monitored resource conditions and public use patterns as the island has accreted. In June 2001, as a response to public concern over the environmental effects of unmanaged recreational use, DRP assumed management of Anclote Bar and approximately 8,417 acres of submerged land surrounding it and Anclote Key. This was effected by an amendment to DRP's lease from the Board of Trustees for the state park. The lease amendment was approved by the Division of State Land under a delegation of authority from the Board. Boaters who
used the island without any restrictions in the past have opposed the
application of standard procedures for managing public use in state parks.
The DRP has made exhaustive efforts to reach consensus on how recreational
use of the island should be managed. On July 1, 2002, DRP instituted a
three-year pilot program designed to protect the areas most important
for shorebirds while facilitating recreational use on all other parts
of the island. Although the boaters have committed publicly that they
will abide by the new management plan, they have expressed the desire
to pursue a land management program with little or no restrictions on
public use. Two specific provisions of DRP's administrative rules for
managing state parks are most contested: the requirement that dogs be
kept on leashes; and the prohibition on possession of alcohol (Section
62D-2.014, Florida Administrative Code). The DRP feels that removing these
provisions from the pilot program at Anclote Bar could affect the agency's
ability to enforce park rules in other state parks. ****************************************************** Item 6, cont. One alternative to management of Anclote Bar by DRP is to reassign the island to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) for management as a critical wildlife area. The FWCC does not generally prohibit the possession of alcohol in such areas, although it does require that dogs be restrained by their owners. Management by FWCC may also be more consistent with that agency's statutory mission of listed species regulation and protection. However, additional staff may be required before FWCC could assume management of the island. The following table compares the two agencies as potential managers of Anclote Bar.
DRP has protected the natural resources of Anclote Bar and the management interests of the Board of Trustees since assuming management of the island. Because of the public controversy that has occurred, the Department requests a discussion of the issue and staff direction on the most appropriate course of action to take. RECOMMEND DISCUSSION AND STAFF DIRECTION (See Attachment 6, Pages 1-3) |
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