18-24.001. General and Definitions

(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.

Rulemaking Authority 259.035(1), (4), 259.105(9), (18) FS. Law Implemented 259.035, 259.04, 259.041, 259.045, 259.07, 259.105 FS. History–New 7-17-01, Amended 5-1-10, 2-8-17.