62-817.002. Definitions

(1) “Acquisition” means the act of obtaining real property or interests and rights therein by various legal means to serve natural resource conservation or outdoor recreation.

(2) “Agent” means an authorized representative assisting the applicant or recipient to secure real estate services or to negotiate and acquire real property and may include, but not be limited to, attorneys, brokers, cooperating agencies and non-profit land conservation organizations. As required under Chapter 475, F.S., when real estate services are performed for another entity for a fee, an agent shall be licensed.

(3) “Applicant” means an entity eligible pursuant to Rule Chapters 62-815 and 62-816, F.A.C., to submit a proposal(s) for Preservation 2000 funds through the Florida Communities Trust.

(4) “Application” means a formal request on an approved form for Preservation 2000 funds from the Florida Communities Trust by an applicant, consisting of a project proposal with required documentation submitted pursuant to Rule Chapter 62-815, F.A.C.

(5) “Appraisal” or “Appraisal Services” means the services provided by Florida certified, licensed or registered appraisers that include, pursuant to Section 475.611(1)(a)1., F.S., an “appraisal assignment”, which denotes an engagement for which a person is employed or retained to act, or could be perceived by third parties or the public as acting, as an agent or a disinterested third party in rendering an unbiased analysis, opinion, review, or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value, or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real property.

(6) “Appraisal Foundation” means the Appraisal Foundation, established on November 20, 1987, as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of Illinois.

(7) “Appraisal Map” means a map of the project area with individual ownership and project boundaries identified showing acreage and other pertinent information needed for appraisal purposes.

(8) “Appraisal Report” means a written analysis, opinion, or conclusion issued by an appraiser relating to the nature, quality, value, or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real property, and includes a report communicating an appraisal analysis, opinion, or conclusion of value, regardless of title. The phrase “regardless of title” is interpreted to mean “disregarding matters of title that may have an impact on the conclusion of value.”

(9) “Appraiser” means any person who is a registered real estate appraiser, licensed real estate appraiser, or a certified real estate appraiser in the State of Florida.

(10) “Approved Appraisal” means an appraisal that has been reviewed by a review appraiser and approved by the Trust for use in determining the maximum approved purchase price that the Trust and the grant recipient will pay for property.

(11) “Approved Appraiser” means an individual whose name has been placed on the Florida Communities Trust list of approved appraisers, as further described in Rule 62-817.007, F.A.C.

(12) “Approved Survey” means a certified survey that has been reviewed by a review surveyor and approved by the Trust.

(13) “Area of Critical State Concern” means an area designated pursuant to Section 380.05, F.S.

(14) “Award” means a loan, grant or matching grant from the Trust authorized pursuant to the procedures developed in Rule Chapters 62-815 and 62-816, F.A.C.

(15) “Board of Trustees” means the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

(16) “Certified Survey” means a survey, as further defined in Rule 62-817.006, F.A.C., that is certified, signed and sealed by a registered land surveyor authorized to practice surveying in the State of Florida.

(17) “Confidential” refers to information that shall not be available for public disclosure or inspection and is exempt from the provisions of Section 119.07(1), F.S.

(18) “Department” means the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

(19) “Evidence of Marketable Title” and “Title Policy” means assurance of the marketability of the title of the land being acquired, in the form of a marketable title insurance commitment and policy.

(20) “Governing Body” means the governing body of the Florida Communities Trust established by Section 380.504, F.S., except where specifically referred to in this rule chapter as a county or municipal governing body.

(21) “Grant” means an award of funds made under a program of the Trust for the benefit of an applicant and used to acquire real property.

(22) “Grant Agreement” means a recordable document that restates all conditions that are being placed on the project site upon conveyance of title to the recipient.

(23) “Hazardous Materials Contamination” means radon, PCB’s, oil or other petroleum based products, chemicals, any noxious, hazardous, offensive, explosive or toxic substances or waste, or any hazardous materials or toxic substances as such terms are defined in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 USC 9601. et seq., Hazardous Materials Transportation, 49 USC 1801. et. seq., the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC 6901. et seq., and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(24) “Land Authority” means an entity created by the county pursuant to Section 380.0663, F.S.

(25) “Local Government” means county governments and municipalities of the State of Florida.

(26) “Local Match” means the provision of cash or project costs unfunded by the Trust, provided the match is from an eligible source as set forth in the applicable program rule chapter, and added to Florida Communities Trust matching grant by the applicant for the project costs.

(27) “Market Value” means the most probable price in cash or terms equivalent to cash for which the appraised property will sell in a competitive market under all conditions requisite to fair sale, with the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably, and assuming that neither is under undue duress.

(28) “Maximum Approved Purchase Price” means 100% of the market value of a property as determined by appraisals performed on a project site that have been reviewed and approved by the Trust.

(29) “Minimum Technical Standards” means the Minimum Technical Standards for Surveyors (Field and Office) as set forth by the Florida Board of Professional Land Surveyors pursuant to Section 472.027, F.S., and in Chapter 61G17-6, Florida F.A.C.

(30) “Non-profit Organization” means any private organization, existing under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which has among its principal goals the conservation of natural resources or protection of the environment.

(31) “Option Agreement” or “Option Contract” means a proposed agreement by the county or municipality and the Trust to purchase a piece of property, subject to the approval of the county or municipal governing body at a public meeting after 30 days’ public notice and the Trust after appropriate notice. The county or municipality will not be under any obligation to exercise the option unless the option contract is approved by the county or municipal governing body and the Trust at a public hearing.

(32) “Owner” or “Seller” means the fee simple title owner of the project site.

(33) “Preservation 2000 Funds” means proceeds from the Preservation 2000 Trust Fund created by Section 375.045, F.S., distributed to the Department pursuant to Section 259.101(3)(c), F.S., for the purpose of providing land acquisition grants through the Florida Communities Trust.

(34) “Project” means any work on, improvement to, or acquisition of real property, buildings, or any other property.

(35) “Project Cost” means the total of acquisition costs and may only include the cost of the following items prepared consistent with this rule chapter: purchase price for acquisition of all or a portion of the project site; certified survey or appraisal map containing an adequate legal description and acreage of the property; fee for any assessment or examination essential and necessary to determine project site boundary, if any; appraisal report(s); evidence of marketable title; title insurance premium; reasonable real estate fees or commissions paid by the applicant for acquisition services, if any; and costs of environmental assessment.

(36) “Project Site” means the specific area(s) defined by a boundary map and/or legal description and certified survey, where Trust funds and local match are proposed in an application or proposal to be used for acquisition.

(37) “Proposal” means a formal request on an approved form for Preservation 2000 funds from the Florida Communities Trust Area of Critical State Concern Program by an applicant, consisting of a project proposal with required documentation submitted pursuant to Rule Chapter 62-817, F.A.C.

(38) “Purchase Agreement” means the various types of contracts to purchase real property, including purchase agreements, option agreements, exchange agreements and other forms of such agreement, that become binding on all parties to the contract at the time the purchase agreement is duly executed.

(39) “Real property” means any interest in land and may also include any appurtenances and improvements to the land.

(40) “Recipient” means a local government that has executed an agreement with the Trust for a grant award for land acquisition funding.

(41) “Safe Upland Line” means a line at or above the mean or ordinary high water line used to calculate the acreage of a parcel of land.

(42) “State certified appraiser” means a real estate appraiser who has been certified by the State under the provisions of Chapter 475, F.S.

(43) “Surveyor” means Land Surveyor or Professional Land Surveyor who is registered in the practice of land surveying under Sections 472.001-.039, F.S.

(44) “Title Commitment” means a written agreement issued by a Florida licensed title insurer agreeing to issue to the recipient or the Board of Trustees, upon the recording of the deed to the recipient or the Board of Trustees, an owner’s policy of title insurance in the amount of the project site's purchase price insuring marketability of title to the project site, subject only to liens, encumbrances, exceptions or qualifications that are acceptable to the Trust and the recipient and those which will be discharged by the owner at closing.

(45) “Title Report” means a title report, including an adequate legal description of the property to be acquired sufficient to inform the Trust, the recipient and the appraisers of the status of ownership, encumbrances, exceptions, reservations, and previous ownership history.

(46) “Trust” means the Florida Communities Trust, a nonregulatory agency and instrumentality, which is a public body corporate and politic, created within the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to Chapter 380, Part III, F.S., or the governing body of the Florida Communities Trust.

(47) “Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice” means the most recent standards approved and adopted by the Appraisals Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation.

(48) “Voluntarily Negotiated Transaction” means an arms length market value transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer.

Rulemaking Authority 380.507(11) FS. Law Implemented 259.101, 375.045, 380.501-.515 FS. History–New 7-7-94, Formerly 9K-6.002.