Subject:
Title
Direction, Re: Methodology to evaluate the benefit of each selected EEL property to the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River
End
Fiscal Impact:
$3,000,000 bond issue for initial land acquisition of additional conservation lands
Dept/Office:
Parks and Recreation/Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program
Requested Action:
Recommendation
Provide direction to staff on whether waterway net positive benefit property analysis should be used to evaluate the benefit to the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River for properties proposed for acquisition under the EEL referendum.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
On February 6, 2024, the Board expressed a preference for a methodology similar to the Save Our Lagoon Program to evaluate how each parcel acquired would directly benefit the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River.
To achieve the Board's direction that acquisition criteria include determining the net positive benefit to the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and the St. Johns River (SJR) provided by each parcel of land being considered for acquisition, staff recommends adopting the Save Our Lagoon Program criteria, which calculates the net benefit of each project based on the amount of nitrogen being removed from the IRL.
The EEL Program and the Natural Resources Management Office have identified a process for evaluating the amount of Nitrogen each parcel contributes to the Indian River Lagoon system. This process adds an additional evaluation component to the existing Conservation Value Matrix used by the EEL Selection and Management Committee to assess and prioritize land acquisition efforts. The added component documents the current and future Total Nitrogen (TN) offloaded to the Indian River Lagoon by each parcel in its undeveloped and future developed state according to its current future land use designation.
By using the existing Spatial Watershed Iterative Loading (SWIL) model, developed for the Natural Resources Management Department, parcels within the IRL watershed can be evaluated based on the Total Nitrogen (TN) loading in their natural state versus the pollutant load estimated if they were to become developed according to each parcel’s Future Land Use designation.
Ranking categories within the Selection and Management Committee Conservation Value Matrix are identified in the EEL Land Acquisition Manual. These categories, along with the Total Nitrogen (TN) offload values for each parcel, are included in the following rubric:
Green shading = Positive score Blue shading = Waterway-related categories
Orange shading = Negative score Yellow shading = Total Conservation Value Score
Gray shading = Indian River Lagoon / St. Johns River Total Nitrogen (TN) Impact if developed.
As a selection criteria, SMC ranking would be used to determine primary conservation value. SWIL data would be applied to determine TN discharged under current conditions vs developed conditions. Additionally, the estimated cost to remove the potentially discharged TN from the IRL if the property was developed, is included in the benefit analysis which will be included in the Board agenda package if a parcel is submitted to the Board for consideration to acquire.
If the EEL SMC determines that the parcel of land submitted for consideration by the landowner meets the criteria established the Land Acquisition Manual and is consistent with the current acquisition priorities, the SMC will vote to direct staff to begin the appraisal and negotiation process. If a purchase contract is negotiated with the landowner and has been determined by the County Attorney to meet all County legal requirements, the general terms of the contract receive a final vote from the EEL SMC before the contract is submitted for BOCC consideration.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Please return Board Memorandum to the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program.