Florida Administrative Code › 18 - BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND › 18 - Departmental › Chapter 18-24 - FLORIDA FOREVER LAND ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT › Section 18-24.001 - General and Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) This
				chapter is promulgated to set forth the procedures, standards, and criteria for
				the evaluation and selection of lands proposed for acquisition, restoration,
				and other capital improvements with funds from the Florida Forever Trust Fund
				pursuant to Section  259.105(3)(b),
				F.S., or funds deposited into the Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to s.
				28(a), Art. X of the State Constitution and to set forth the performance
				measures for all programs funded pursuant to Section
				 259.105(3),
				F.S.
(2) For the purposes of this
				chapter, the following terms are defined as follows:
(a) "Acquisition project" means a parcel or
				parcels of land proposed for acquisition in accordance with Section
				 259.105(3)(b),
				F.S., and this rule.
(b) "Board"
				means the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
(c) "Capital improvement project" means a
				proposed or approved activity which may be either a "restoration project" as
				defined in paragraph  18-24.001(2)(t),
				F.A.C., or "other capital improvement project", as defined in paragraph
				 18-24.001(2)(q),
				F.A.C.
(d) "Component of the
				Everglades restoration efforts" as used in Section
				 259.105(9)(i),
				F.S., means a project which assists in achieving the restoration or acquisition
				objectives outlined in Sections
				 373.4592,
				 373.470,
				 373.1501 and
				 373.4595, F.S., except as
				restricted by the terms of Chapter 259, F.S.
(e) "Council" means the Acquisition and
				Restoration Council, pursuant to Section
				 259.035, F.S.
(f) "De minimis lands" are lands that lie
				outside an approved acquisition project boundary when part of the ownership is
				within an approved project boundary. De minimis lands must not exceed ten
				percent of the cost or the size of that portion of the parcel that lies within
				the approved project boundary. These lands may or may not have the same
				resource values as lands within the project boundary. Additionally, the
				estimated cost of the de minimis lands must not exceed one million dollars. The
				cost of the de minimis lands shall be estimated by prorating the state-approved
				appraised, or tax assessed value based on the amount of acreage outside the
				boundary compared to that within the boundary, unless more definitive appraisal
				valuations are available for the de minimis lands.
(g) "Ecosystem management team" as used in
				Section  259.105(9)(h),
				F.S., means a team of citizens and agency representatives, formed and
				administered by the Department of Environmental Protection under its watershed
				or ecosystem management initiative.
(h) "Florida Forever Conservation Needs
				Assessment" refers to an analysis of the geographic distribution of Florida's
				natural resources as required by the Florida Forever Act and developed in
				December 2000 and continually updated for the Department of Environmental
				Protection by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory in collaboration with the
				Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
				Conservation Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
				the University of Florida, the water management districts, the Department of
				State's Division of Historical Resources, and other agencies and organizations
				with scientific or technical information on the natural, historical or
				recreational resources of Florida, incorporated herein by reference.
(i) "Florida Forever criteria" means the
				criteria outlined in Section
				 259.105(9),
				F.S., and further defined in Rule
				 18-24.0021, F.A.C.
(j) "Florida Forever goals and measures"
				means the goals and measures outlined in Section
				 259.105(4),
				F.S., and further defined in Rule
				 18-24.0022, F.A.C.
(k) "Florida Natural Areas Inventory" refers
				to a scientific organization that is used by private and governmental entities
				in biological resource evaluations of land acquisition, land management, and
				other environmental programs.
(l)
				"Fund" means the Florida Forever Trust Fund that is created by Section
				 259.1051, F.S., or funds
				deposited into the Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to s. 28(a), Art. X of
				the State Constitution.
(m)
				"Funding sources that are identified and assured through at least the first two
				years of the project" as used in Section
				 259.105(9)(e),
				F.S., means a funding source for a project for which a participating agency,
				entity, partner, or any combination thereof, has pledged in writing to pursue,
				through an identified funding source or sources, the resources required to
				manage or maintain the project for at least two years following the execution
				of a lease or management agreement, or for at least two years following receipt
				of specific authority from the Board to proceed with an approved
				project.
(n) "Less-than-fee
				acquisition", as used in Chapter 259, F.S., and in this chapter, means
				acquisition of an interest in property that is not a full fee simple interest,
				such as a conservation easement.
(o) "Natural areas" as used in Sections
				259.105(2)(a)2. and 3., F.S., means areas of land or water that either retain
				or have re-established the characteristics of natural communities.
(p) "Ongoing governmental effort" as used in
				Section  259.105(9)(b),
				F.S., means an ongoing initiative of a federal, state, regional or local
				government that contributes to the accomplishment of the Florida Forever goals
				and measures.
(q) "Other capital
				improvement project" means a proposed or approved capital improvement activity
				relating to the development of necessary infrastructure such as the
				"construction, improvement, enlargement or extension of facilities, signs,
				firelanes, access roads, and trails; or any other activities that serve to
				provide public access, recreational opportunities, or necessary services, " as
				enumerated in Section
				 259.03(3),
				F.S., but excluding restoration projects as defined in paragraph
				 18-24.001(2)(t),
				F.A.C.
(r) "Project Evaluation
				Report" means a report prepared in accordance with Rule
				 18-24.005, F.A.C., for use by
				the Council in determining the merits and characteristics of a proposal for
				funding through the Florida Forever program.
(s) "Resource-based recreation" or "natural
				resource-based recreation" or "resource-based public recreational and
				educational opportunities" means compatible outdoor recreation that is
				dependent on some particular element in the natural or historical environments
				and which require some natural condition that cannot easily be duplicated by
				people, as deemed appropriate in land management plans approved by the Council.
				Visiting historical and archaeological sites is also included because such
				sites, while not strictly natural resources, suffer the same limitations of
				being fixed in both quantity and location.
(t) "Restoration project" means a proposed or
				approved capital improvement project such as ecosystem restoration,
				hydrological restoration, or invasive plant removal that do not qualify as an
				"other capital improvement project" as defined in paragraph
				 18-24.001(2)(q),
				F.A.C.
(u) "Significant
				archaeological or historical value" as used in Section
				 259.105(9)(d),
				F.S., means a resource deemed of such significance by the Department of State,
				Division of Historical Resources.
(v) "Tax assessed value" means the county
				property appraiser's "just value", "just valuation", "actual value" or "value",
				all of which are defined as the price at which a property, if offered for sale
				in the open market, with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser,
				would transfer for cash or its equivalent, under prevailing market conditions
				between parties who have knowledge of the uses to which the property may be
				put, both seeking to maximize their gains and neither being in a position to
				take advantage of the exigencies of the other.