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CCLAAC Minutes 06/12/2017 June 12, 2017 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CONSERVATION COLLIER LAND ACQUISITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, June 12, 2017 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 A.M. in REGULAR SESSION at Administrative Building "F", 3rd Floor, Collier County Government Complex Naples, Florida with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Bill Poteet VICE CHAIRMAN: Pat Sherry Michael Seef(Excused) Tracey Dewrell Susan Calkins John Psaras Jacob Winge ALSO PRESENT: Alexandra Sulecki, Conservation Collier Coordinator, Program Manager Jennifer Belpedio, Assistant County Attorney Colleen Green, Assistant County Attorney Melissa Hennig, Sr. Environmental Specialist Gary Bigelow, Operations Coordinator i June 12, 2017 I. Roll Call Chairman Poteet called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. II. Approval of Agenda Mr. Winge moved to approve the Agenda. Second by Ms. Sherry. Carried unanimously 6—0. III. Approval of April 10,2017 minutes Mr. Winge moved to approve the minutes of the Apri110, 2017 meeting as presented. Second by Ms. Sherry. Carried unanimously 6—0. IV. Old Business A. LDC Amendment—Offsite Preservation—Status Ms. Sulecki reported the proposed amendment to the County's off site preservation requirements is scheduled to be heard by the Collier County Planning Commission on July 20, 2017 and subsequently forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. V. New Business A. Property Applications—Previous Submittals 1. Gore a. Gore Fakahatchee Parcel Ms. Sulecki provided an application dated May 23, 2017 for proposed acquisition of parcels belonging to the Robert Gore, III Estate for information purposes. She provided an update on the application noting: • The lands were previously approved for acquisitions in 2007 and placed on the`B- List,"however were never acquired by the County. • The lands now offered are the original 65 contiguous parcels, 3 non continuous parcels, a 10 acre home site(Dr. Gore intended to retain the parcel) and the "Fakahatchee"parcel comprising 192.15 acres in total. • The properties are located north of I75, east of the Fakahatchee Union canal and there are no TDR's associated with the parcels. • The assessed value assigned to the Gore properties in 2007 has decreased to $418,572 for all parcels and $311,076 for the 65 contiguous parcels. • Staff recently conducted a site visit and updated the original Initial Criteria Screening Report(ICRS) and the application meets 5 of the 6 ICRS criteria receiving a total score of 251 out of 400. • No action is required today and the 65 originally offered parcels will move forward to the ranking cycle in December or 2017. Gore- Fakahatchee parcel Ms. Sulecki noted: • The parcel is newly offered and a stand alone parcel located easterly of the other lands. • Staff has contacted the Florida Department of Recreation and Parks to determine if they are interested in acquiring the parcel and is awaiting an answer. • In the interim, the application is being presented to the Committee to determine if they recommend the County acquire the parcel. June 12, 2017 • An ISCR was completed on the lands and the parcel meets 5 of 6 of the screening criteria. Mr. Winge moved for the County to not consider acquiring the parcel Second by Ms. Sherry. Committee discussion occurred noting it may be beneficial to await the response from the State of Florida before making a final recommendation. Mr. Winge amended the motion to defer consideration of the parcel until a determination has been made on the State's interest in acquiring the parcel Second by Mr. Sherry. Carried unanimously 6—0. Speakers Bobbi Lee Davenport presented a PowerPoint on the Gore parcels and supports acquisition of the parcels. The area could be used to develop a nature center, especially given the residence is now proposed for acquisition and could provide educational opportunities for children and adults. Jo Vaccarino spoke in support of the acquisition and noted letters favoring the concept have been submitted by organizations such as the Audubon Society, etc. There is also a potential for developing public/private partnership for the nature center and she recommended the parcels be moved from the`B-List"to the"A-List"during the upcoming acquisition cycle. Nancy Payton, Florida Wildlife Federation supports acquisition of the parcels and the organization is willing to partner with Conservation Collier in restoration of the lands. The properties provide an important wildlife corridor and the I75 Interchange previously proposed for the area will not be moving forward as it was rejected by the Florida Department of Transportation and other agencies. Meredith Bernard, Conservancy of Southwest Florida spoke in support of acquiring the parcels. Gore- Non Contiguous Parcels Staff queried if the non contiguous parcels should be incorporated into the qualified proposal. The Committee determined the parcels should be incorporated into the qualified proposal 2. Green and Green Investments Ms. Sulecki provided an update on the application for the Green and Green Investment parcel dated March 20, 2017 noting: • The 1.78 acre parcel is located north of Shell Island Preserve. • It was previously recommended for acquisition in 2003 and placed on the"A-List" however the applicant rejected the County's offer. • The ISCR has been updated with the parcel meeting 5 out of 6 of the required criteria and receiving a score of 276 out of 400. As the parcel is within the Rookery Bay NERR Boundary, staff will check with the State to see if the parcel must be removed. 3. Romak-Red Maple Swamp Ms. Sulecki reported the property was previously approved for acquisition and an offer accepted, however the owner passed away and it is in probate. She will provide updates as they become available. B. Property Nominations—Initial Review 1. Hack Living Trust Application-received May 9, 2017 June 12, 2017 Ms. Sulecki presented the application noting: • It involves 2 parcels totaling 28 acres in size located on Sandpiper St. adjacent to Haldeman Creek. • The properties were offered for acquisition in 2003 and placed on the"C-List"as they were deemed protected by a conservation easement. • In 2016, Clay Winfield entered into a contract to purchase the lands to develop residential units and boat docks. • Neighbors contacted the County with the understanding the lands were placed in a conservation easement in 1992 in accordance with the requirements of the Naples Sandpiper Bay Club development and couldn't be developed. • Investigation indicates there is a potential density of 6 residential units remaining on the property however there is concern the conservation easement may be faulty and the lands are able to be developed for high density residential pending a zoning change. • The property is being offered to the County again in 2017 and staff has updated the ISCR with the parcels meeting 5 out of 6 of the screening criteria. • The Real Property Division is reviewing the conservation easement to determine if it can be located on a map. • The Committee is required to vote on if acquisition of the property should be pursued by the County. Speaker Richard Klaas, attorney for the owner noted: • The parcels were previously part of the Naples Sandpiper Bay Club project and was utilized for density calculations for the residential units built in the 1990's and the lands were placed under a conservation easement, • The lands now are under contract by Mr. Winfield who was notified by the County 6 units per acre may be developed on the property and he entered into a contract to purchase the properties. • Subsequently,Mr. Winfield was notified the determination was in error and currently only 6 residential units may be developed on the lots. • The lands also have environmental value,however indications are the conservation easement may be faulty opening up the entire lands for use in density calculations. • If it is determined the conservation easement is faulty,the purchaser may seek a rezone for a much higher number of residential units located in high rise structures; if not the 6 residential units may be developed. • The property is being offered to the County and if not purchased,the perspective purchaser will proceed and develop the property in some format. Meredith Bernard,Conservancy of Southwest Florida noted it is unclear on what area the conservation easement encumbers. Ms. Sherry moved to defer consideration of the application to the next meeting. Second by Ms. Calkins. Carried unanimously 6—0. Chairman Poteet disclosed he has had past business dealings with Mr. Winfield and Ms. Belpedio opined he does not have a conflict of interest with the application. 2. Hussey Property Application-received May 23,2017 4 June 12,2017 Ms. Sulecki noted the application involves 3 parcels of land and Staff is clarifying if the acreage is 887.8 or 962 acres in total. Mining is not allowed on the property which has been cleared for agricultural purposes. The offer price for the lands is $75M. Speakers Nancy Payton, Florida Wildlife Federation spoke in support of the acquisition. Meredith Barnard,Conservancy of Southwest Florida spoke in support of the application. Mr. Dewrell moved to recommend the County move the application forward in the process. Second by Ms. Calkins. Carried unanimously 6—0. C. Offsite Monetary Donation—Bayshore Food Truck Park Ms. Sulecki noted the donation is for$225.19 for 0.001 acres of mitigation for the park. Mr. Winge moved to recommend the Board of County Commissioners accept the proposed donation. Second by Mr. Psaras. Carried unanimously 6—0. D. Committee Application—Carol Pratt Ms. Sulecki presented an application submitted by Carol Pratt for appointment to the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee. Speaker Carol Pratt spoke on her desire to be appointed to the Committee. Mr. Winge moved to recommend the Board of County Commissioners appoint Carol Pratt to the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Committee. Second by Ms. Sherry. Carried unanimously 6 —0. E. Sunshine Law/Ethics Presentation—County Attorney's Office Colleen Greene,Assistant County Attorney presented the PowerPoint "Government in the Sunshine"for information purposes. She provided an overview of the law highlighting: • The law provides requirements for public meetings and any decision making bodies including Advisory Boards and Committees. • Members should not communicate with each other on any business that may forseeably come before the Committee including utilizing other parties as a liaison between the Members outside of a publicly noticed meeting. • One-way communications by email should be directed to the County Staff Liaison. Pursuant to the Sunshine Law,no two-way communications between members is permitted(except during publicly noticed meetings). • It is a second degree misdemeanor to knowingly violate the Sunshine law punishable with a fine of up to $500 and/or up to 60 days imprisonment, removal from position, etc. • While you are serving on an advisory board,correspondence and emails to or from anyone,on any computer(private or government owned),relating to County business is a public record. • Public records must be maintained pursuant to State guidelines. You may save them on the computer, a disk, or as a hard copy. If you choose to communicate with members of the public concerning County business via email,please be aware that your name and email address, as well as the name and email address of the public person,becomes a public record. June 12,2017 She recommended any Member with questions on the Sunshine Law including any permissible activities, contact the County Attorney's office for clarification. VI. Coordinator Communications A.BCC Items 4/11/17— East Naples Storage donation approved($45,030.20) 5/23/17— A 3rd amendment to Starnes cattle lease approved for Caracara Prairie Preserve. 6/27/17— Land donation for Winchester Head(1.59 acres) approved; approved Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission grant requests for exotic removal for Freedom Park, Railhead Scrub Preserve and Red Maple Swamp. B. Misc Items Ms. Sulecki presented the Committee with copies of a book authored by Dr. Gore. The gifts were approved for acceptance by the Conservation Collier Program. VII. Subcommittee Reports A. Lands Evaluation &Management—Bill Poteet,Patricia Sherry,Tracey Dewrell,Michael Seef None B. Outreach-Jacob Winge,John Psaras,Susan Calkins,Michael Seef None C. Ordinance Policy and Rules-Jacob Winge,John Psaras,Patricia Sherry None VIII. Chair Committee Member Comments None VIII. Public General Comments None IX. Staff Comments Gary Bigelow was introduced as the new Operation Coordinator for the program. There being no further business for the good of the County,the meeting was adjourned by order of the chair at 11:37A.M. Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee 4/-4C / Bill Poteet,Chairman These minutesap roved by the Board/Committee on /0-17 as presented or as amended .