Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
The Department will follow the guidelines established by this
rule to solicit, evaluate and select lands to be acquired for the Florida
Greenways and Trails System.
(1)
Eligibility. Prior to submittal of an application, a sponsor must apply for and
receive a "Certificate of Eligibility, " DEP Form #OGT-1, effective July 10,
2003. The Certificate of Eligibility is prescribed for use with these rules and
is hereby incorporated by reference. The Certificate of Eligibility form may be
obtained by writing to the Office of Greenways and Trails, Department of
Environmental Protection, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Mail Station #795,
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000, or through OGT's website address,
www.floridagreenwaysandtrails.com.
A Certificate of Eligibility will be provided to the sponsor if the sponsor's
proposed project meets all of the following criteria:
(a) The project meets the definition of a
"greenway" or "trail" in Section
260.013, F.S.;
(b) The planned project corridor is located
within or adjacent to at least one opportunity segment on one or more of the
Recreational Prioritization Maps;
(c) At least 80 percent of the planned
project corridor has a landowner or landowners willing to negotiate OGT's
acquisition of their property; and,
(d) The project has a willing managing
entity.
A Certificate of Eligibility form may be submitted to OGT at
any time during the year, and will be valid for a period of twelve (12) months
from the date of issuance by OGT.
(2) Solicitation and Submission of Project
Applications. OGT will solicit and accept applications for acquisition funding
in the following manner:
(a) To initiate each
acquisition funding cycle, OGT will publish a "Notice of Project Solicitation"
in the Florida Administrative Register and on the Department's website address,
www.dep.state.fl.us, under the link
entitled "Official Notices, " to announce a period of not less than sixty (60)
consecutive days during which it will accept applications for acquisition
funding under the Florida Greenways and Trails program. The notice shall state
the commencement and deadline dates for application acceptance and the
approximate amount of funds available for acquisition projects. The amount of
available funds stated in the notice shall be based on the anticipated
allocation from the Florida Forever Trust Fund to the Florida Greenways and
Trails program reflected in the most recent Trust Fund Status and Activity
Reports of the Department's Bureau of Finance and Accounting.
(b) All requests for land acquisition funding
under the Florida Greenways and Trails program must be submitted on OGT's
"Application for Acquisition of Land, " DEP Form #OGT-2, effective July 10,
2003 (the "Application"), which is prescribed for use with these rules and is
hereby incorporated by reference. The Application may be obtained by writing to
the Office of Greenways and Trails, Department of Environmental Protection,
3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Mail Station #795, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000, or
through OGT's website address,
www.floridagreenwaysandtrails.com.
(3) Review for Completeness. Each timely
submitted acquisition application shall, within thirty (30) days after the
Application submission deadline, be reviewed by OGT to verify completeness of
information in accordance with this section. Incomplete Applications, along
with a letter citing each deficiency, shall be returned to the sponsor for
completion and resubmission within a period of not less than twenty-one (21)
days from the date of the letter. The submission deadline shall be stated in
the deficiency letter. A sponsor's failure to provide the requested information
shall be deemed a withdrawal of the Application from further consideration for
the advertised acquisition funding cycle. No additional information will be
accepted after the deadline stated in the deficiency letter, unless
specifically requested by OGT for purposes of clarification.
(4) Evaluation and Selection Criteria.
Following the Application submission deadline, OGT will evaluate all timely
submitted Applications for conformity with the criteria set forth in this
subsection and determine the individual and relative merits of the proposed
acquisition projects. During the evaluation period, OGT may conduct site visits
or request technical advisory comments from other state agencies, regional
planning councils, water management districts, not-for-profit conservation or
recreation organizations, or other public or private groups generally
recognized as authorities on certain aspects of the acquisition, development
and management of greenways and trails. Projects will be grouped as described
in subsection 62S-1.300(5),
F.A.C. OGT will utilize the information contained within the Application and
its attachments, unless such information is contradicted or superceded by data
obtained during a site visit or documentary evidence received from one of the
technical advisory bodies mentioned above.
(5) Project Grouping.
(a) Upon completion of the project
evaluations, OGT shall group each project based on the following criteria:
1. The rank (high, medium, or low) assigned
to the project based on the Recreational Prioritization Maps.
2. The percentage of any matching funds
available or committed to the project based on the estimated project
cost.
3. The percentage of acreage
within the planned project corridor that is proposed for less-than-fee
acquisition.
4. The project's
ecological values, including forest and wildlife resources.
5. The project's recreational
attributes.
6. The project's
historical and cultural resources.
(b) The projects shall be grouped as follows:
1. Group A: Those projects proposed for
approval that will receive the highest priority for acquisition, based on the
criteria in this subsection.
2.
Group B: Those acquisition projects proposed for approval that are considered
by OGT to be important, but not of the highest priority, based on the criteria
in this subsection.
(6) Evaluation Report. Upon completion of the
project grouping, OGT shall prepare a written evaluation report for
consideration by the Council. Upon completion, a copy of the evaluation report
shall be provided to members of the Council and the sponsor of each evaluated
project. The report shall state the total amount of funds available for
acquisition in the current Application cycle and any restrictions (time or
otherwise) on the expenditure of said funds. In addition, the report shall
provide the following information for each evaluated project, plus any
supplementary data relevant to the particular acquisition application:
(a) A general description of the project
(including proposed uses) and an area map depicting its location, size,
configuration, and connections with other greenways, trails, parks or corridors
(if any).
(b) Any condition(s) that
should be imposed on the project to protect or sustain the purposes for which
the project would be acquired or managed.
(c) A current estimate of the amount of
funding necessary to acquire the project.
(d) Any recommended modifications to the
project boundary needed for resource protection, acquisition planning, or
management.
(e) The project's
recommended grouping.
(7)
Council Review and Recommendation of Projects. Within sixty (60) days after its
receipt of the evaluation report and recommended project grouping from OGT, the
Council shall submit its recommendation to the Secretary in accordance with the
following provisions:
(a) The Council shall
hold at least one public meeting to discuss the evaluated acquisition projects,
during which the public may submit written or verbal comments in support of or
in opposition to any project. Notice of each meeting shall be mailed to the
sponsors of all evaluated projects, published in the Florida Administrative
Register, and published on the Department's website,
www.dep.state.fl.us, under the link
entitled "Official Notices, " at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting
date.
(b) At the noticed
meeting(s), OGT will present to the Council a verbal summary of the relevant
information submitted for each evaluated project and respond to the Council's
questions. Thereafter, the Council shall permit oral or written comments by
project sponsors, supporters, and members of the general public. These comments
shall be limited in duration if necessary to ensure equal time for all
interested parties and projects.
(c) Following the close of the comment period
at the final public meeting held for purposes of project review, the Council
shall consider the information submitted and either:
1. Approve the project grouping recommended
by OGT, or
2. Recommend
modification of the project grouping based on the Council's review of all
project applications submitted and evaluated during the current funding cycle,
oral presentations by OGT, and written or verbal comments by project sponsors,
supporters, or the general public. In addition, taking into account the amount
of funding available and types and sizes of projects proposed, the Council may
recommend a higher or lower funding level than requested by the sponsor of a
project and may also determine that a large project should be acquired or
developed in phases to permit a broader allocation of available acquisition
funds among projects.
(d)
The Council's recommendations must be ratified by a majority of Council members
present and voting at the Council's final public meeting held for purposes of
project review; a quorum must be present when the ratification vote is
taken.
(8) Secretarial
Approval of Acquisition Projects. Following receipt of the Council's
recommendation, the Secretary shall either approve the Council's
recommendations or modify them based on the Department's acquisition priorities
and thereafter approve a grouped list of acquisition projects. OGT shall
provide a copy of the final list of acquisition projects to the sponsors of all
evaluated projects and to the Division of State Lands. Upon approval of the
project grouping list by the Secretary, the Division of State Lands shall
proceed with the acquisition of the projects contained thereon in accordance
with the acquisition procedures of Chapter 259, F.S.
Rulemaking Authority
260.016(1)(c)
FS. Law Implemented 260.0142,
260.015,
260.016
FS.
New 7-11-00, Amended
7-10-03.
