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 18-24.006 - Council Evaluation and Ranking

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Following
				full review, the Council shall develop a list of projects for consideration by
				the Board in accordance with the provisions of Sections
				 259.105(3)(b) 
				and  259.105(4), (8), (9), (10), (13), (14), (15) and
				(16), F.S.
(2) Following the full review of projects
				pursuant to Rule  18-24.005, F.A.C., the Council
				shall select projects for inclusion on the list. An affirmative vote of at
				least five council members shall be required to place a project on the list to
				be presented to the Board. The Council may provide recommendations to the
				Division of State Lands on which category or categories to place each land
				acquisition project, or portions thereof.
(3) The Division of State Lands shall
				categorize the list pursuant to Section
				 259.105(17),
				F.S., in preparation for work plan development. The Council shall evaluate the
				entire list of approved projects and rank them individually in numerical
				priority order within each category for consideration by the Board as follows:
(a) When assigning priority rankings to
				projects the Council shall give increased priority to those projects that meet
				the provisions of the Florida Forever criteria described in Sections
				 259.105(9)(j) and
				(l), F.S., as further described in
				subsections  18-24.0021(10) and
				(12), F.A.C. and Section
				 259.105(10),
				F.S., as described in paragraph (3)(b) of this rule.
(b) The council shall also give increased
				priority to those projects where the state's land conservation plans overlap
				with the military's need to protect lands, water, and habitat to ensure the
				sustainability of military missions including:
1. Protecting habitat on nonmilitary land for
				any species found on military land that is designated as threatened or
				endangered, or is a candidate for such designation under the Endangered Species
				Act or any Florida statute, as determined by Florida Natural Areas Inventory in
				coordination with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or
				Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
2. Protecting areas underlying low-level
				military air corridors or operating areas, as described in official military
				documents presented by the affected military installations; and
3. Protecting areas identified as clear
				zones, accident potential zones, and air installation compatible use buffer
				zones delineated by our military partners, and for which federal or other
				funding is available to assist with the project pursuant to subsection
				18-24.021(11), F.A.C.
(c)
				Priority Rankings for each project shall be determined by the Council based on
				the results of the full review detailed in Rule
				 18-24.005, F.A.C., a comparative
				analysis of each project's ability to meet the Florida Forever goals and
				measures and the Florida Forever criteria as identified in Rules
				 18-24.0021 and
				 18-24.0022, F.A.C., and
				additional information as identified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (d). As an
				initial information source for conducting this comparative analysis, the
				Department of Environmental Protection shall provide the council a comparative
				analysis and evaluation of each Florida Forever Project, which shall include
				rankings for each geographic-based resource type outlined in the subsection
				 18-24.0022(2),
				F.A.C., as well as rankings based on an efficient resource analysis using a
				computer modeling approach to conservation reserve design that involves
				iterative site selection, which describes those projects offering the greatest
				return in resource protection given the estimated acreage likely to be acquired
				by the Florida Forever Program. The Department also shall provide the council
				with a matrix of the criteria met by each project including the criteria
				described in paragraph (b), as well as information on the current status of
				negotiations to acquire property on the Division of State Lands work plan as
				described in subsection (6). The Council shall also consider any other
				contributing technical analysis of Florida Forever projects submitted by
				Council members, other organizations or persons in conducting its review of
				projects for priority ranking.
(d)
				The Council shall also consider the following when developing its priority
				list:
1. Projects that are considered
				priority resources, as described in subsection
				 18-24.0022(6),
				F.A.C., for multiple Florida Forever goals shall be given greater consideration
				than those that are considered priority resources for fewer or only one Florida
				Forever goal. Projects that meet multiple Florida Forever criteria, as
				described in Rule  18-24.0021, F.A.C., shall be
				given greater consideration than those that meet fewer or only one Florida
				Forever criterion.
2. Projects with
				the greatest percentage of acreage acquired, as measured by subparagraph
				 18-24.0022(2)(a) 
				4., F.A.C., shall be given greater consideration than those with a lesser
				percentage of acreage acquired if the remaining lands to be acquired contribute
				significantly to the Florida Forever goals and measures.
3. Projects that close a critical gap in a
				recreational or ecological greenway, or landscape linkage, shall be given
				greater consideration than those that do not.
4. Projects that provide the greatest
				opportunities for resource-based recreation as identified in the State
				Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which is prepared by the Department of
				Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation and Parks for the State of
				Florida pursuant to Section
				 375.021, F.S., shall be given
				greater consideration than those that provide fewer opportunities for
				resource-based recreation.
5. Lands
				that help to address the challenges of global climate change by providing
				opportunities to sequester carbon, provide habitat, protect coastal lands or
				barrier islands, and otherwise mitigate and help adapt to the effects of
				sea-level rise, shall be given greater consideration than those that do
				not.
6. Many factors, other than
				technical resource data, are important in the project evaluation, selection,
				and ranking process. For example threat of development or loss of resource
				values are difficult factors with no clear methodology for comparing projects
				numerically at this time. Similarly, public support, owner's willingness to
				sell at a reasonable price, management needs and other important factors takes
				on many forms that are not readily quantifiable. Additionally, other important
				information that may not be explicitly captured by the current Florida Forever
				goals and measures may be presented to the Council in the Project Evaluation
				Report, prepared pursuant to Rule
				 18-24.005, F.A.C., or during
				public hearings held pursuant to paragraphs
				 18-24.004(1)(c) 
				and  18-24.005(3)(c),
				F.A.C. The Council shall consider these and other factors identified during the
				project evaluation and public hearings of the council as additional information
				when deciding where to rank a project on the priority
				list.