§ 15-826. Early preservation of stewardship lands.

Property owners may elect to preserve stewardship lands earlier than immediately prior to platting on large areas of their property and then may assign credit for such preservation to subsequent purchasers or other successors-in-interest, subject to county approval, within the Innovation Way Overlay. If a property owner elects to preserve stewardship lands prior to platting pursuant to this section, and subsequent purchasers of land, or other successors-in-interest, within the Innovation Way Overlay provide proof to the county of assignment of credit for stewardship lands during the processing of development applications, some of the steps in the processing of development applications section will be unnecessary.

A property owner may process early preservation of stewardship lands through the following process:

(a)

The property owner must provide EPD with the following:

(1)

An ELS agreement that shall, at a minimum, include the following:

a.

A commitment by the property owner to pre-preserve stewardship lands;

b.

The specific location of stewardship lands to be pre-preserved, including a sketch and legal description;

c.

The acreage of stewardship lands to be pre-preserved;

d.

A description of the process for assigning credit for early preservation of stewardship lands; and

e.

The methodology for determining the purchase cost of the assignment of credit for early preservation of stewardship lands.

The ELS agreement shall be subject to board approval based on the recommendation of the EPO, and shall be recorded in the Public Records of Orange County, Florida at the sole cost of the applicant. The ELS agreement, and the obligations therein, and shall continue as a servitude running in perpetuity with the land, shall inure to the benefit of the land and shall be binding upon any person, firm, or corporation who may become the grantee of any or all of the land or who may otherwise become a successor or assign in interest, directly or indirectly to the land.

(2)

An ELSAD, subject to the approval of the EPO, that includes the following information:

a.

The specific location of stewardship lands to be pre-preserved.

b.

An identification of wildlife corridors throughout the property and existing preserved wildlife corridors adjacent to the property.

c.

The acreage of stewardship lands to be pre-preserved. Acreage must be broken down into surface waters, wetlands and uplands.

d.

A stewardship lands study. If proposed stewardship lands are those shown on the Innovation Way ELSP Map, no stewardship lands study is required.

e.

If applicable, a restoration plan that describes how lands proposed as stewardship lands that were altered after October 13, 2009, will be brought to an acceptable condition to be considered stewardship lands.

(3)

Baseline data on any wildlife and plant species listed in section 581.185, F.S. and Rules 68A-27.003, 68A-27.004 and 68A-27.005, F.A.C., that occur on the site. This inventory must be conducted using the FFWCC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey methodologies. Additionally, baseline data on non-listed wildlife and plant species shall be provided through a reconnaissance level survey. A hard copy, electronic copy, and GPS coordinates of the data shall be provided to the EPD in a format compatible with the EPD master species access database.

(b)

The property owner shall preserve the stewardship lands by either:

(1)

Conveyance to the county by plat, or in fee simple by warranty deed to include a one-time monetary contribution towards land management (as determined by the EPO); or

(2)

Conveyance to a county-approved environmental organization in fee simple by warranty deed; or

(3)

Recording of a conservation easement in favor of the county or a county—approved environmental organization. The conservation easement shall prohibit the activities listed in section 704.06(1)(a)—(h), F.S.

(c)

The property owner shall provide a management plan pursuant to the requirements of section 15-827.

(d)

When the stewardship lands have been preserved and the management plan has been approved by the EPO, the county shall issue a letter to the property owner acknowledging the acreage of stewardship lands that has been preserved.

(e)

The property owner may assign all or a portion of the credit for the preserved stewardship lands to a successor-in-interest. The stewardship lands assignment shall be in writing, executed by the property owner or authorized agent, shall identify the location and acreage of the stewardship Lands, and shall include a tabulation showing the total acreage of the previously approved stewardship lands, the portion of the previously approved stewardship lands being allocated to the current application, and the remaining acreage of the previously approved stewardship lands available for any future applications. Any stewardship lands assignment shall be subject to EPO approval.

(f)

An applicant who has received a stewardship lands assignment shall provide a copy of the assignment, including a copy of the tabulation referenced in section 15-827 (e), in lieu of the ELSAD.

(Ord. No. 2010-04 , § 1, 4-20-10; Ord. No. 2016-05 , § 1, 1-26-16)