Amendments to and Releases of Conservation Easements.

 

WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS
St. Johns River Water Management District

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
40C-1.1101: Amendments to and Releases of Conservation Easements.

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., FS., published in Vol. 38, No. 26, June 29, 2012 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

Reason for change: The purpose of the change is to clarify the scope of the new category of release or amendment requests (under new paragraph (1)(g)) that could not otherwise be released or amended by the District under the existing categories.

40C-1.1101 Amendments to and Releases of Conservation Easements.

(1) This section establishes the terms and conditions under which the District shall agree to amend or release all or part of a conservation easement conveyed to it, pursuant to Section 704.06, FS., solely for mitigation or in compliance with other regulatory requirements of the District or another governmental entity. It does not apply to conservation easements that were acquired by the District partly through purchase and partly through a regulatory program. The District’s decision to release or amend a conservation easement is a proprietary decision and does not result in any waiver of regulatory requirements. Property owners shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary permits for their construction activities, including any dredging or filling of wetlands. A request for the release or amendment of a conservation easement shall include a copy of the recorded conservation easement; a copy of any conservation easement over other property offered in exchange for the requested release or amendment; and a map showing the location of the recorded conservation easement and any conservation easement offered in exchange. For the District to agree to release or amend a conservation easement, the request for release or amendment shall satisfy the conditions of any one of the following seven categories and the general condition in paragraph 40C-1.1101(1)(h), F.A.C.:

(a) through (f) No change.

(g) Other Requests. For the purpose of this paragraph, “other requests” are all other requests for release or amendment of conservation easements that do not involve public projects as defined in paragraph 40C-1.1101(1)(c), F.A.C., or requests for release or amendment where the conservation easement that is the subject of the request is located on a single-family lot or within a permitted residential development. The District shall release or amend a conservation easement under this “other requests” category, under the following terms and conditions:

1. through 4. No change.

(h) No change.

(2) through (3) No change.

Rulemaking Authority 373.044, 373.113, 373.088 FS. Law Implemented 373.096, 373.089, 373.139(2), 373.088 FS. History– New 1-12-10, Amended________.