§ 130-130. Tier Overlay District.

(a)

Purpose. The purpose of the tier overlay district is to designate geographical areas outside of the mainland of the county, excluding the Ocean Reef planned development, into tiers to assign ROGO and NROGO points, determine the amount of clearing of upland native vegetation that may be permitted, and prioritize lands for public acquisition. The tier boundaries are to be depicted on the tier overlay district map. Lands on Big Pine Key and No Name Key shall be delineated as tier I, II, or III. Lands in the remainder of the unincorporated county, excluding the Ocean Reef planned development, shall be delineated as tier I, III, and III-A (special protection area).

(b)

Tier boundaries. Tier boundaries shall follow property lines wherever possible, except where a parcel line or distinct geographical feature, such as a canal or roadway, may be more appropriate.

(c)

Tier boundary criteria, excluding Big Pine Key and No Name Key. The tier boundaries are designated using aerial photography, data from the Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study, the endangered species maps, property and permitting information and field evaluation. The following criteria, at a minimum, are used to evaluate upland habitats and designate boundaries between different tier overlays:

(1)

Tier I boundaries shall be delineated to include one or more of the following criteria and shall be designated tier I:

a.

Vacant lands which can be restored to connect upland native habitat patches and reduce further fragmentation of upland native habitat.

b.

Lands required to provide an undeveloped buffer, up to 500 feet in depth, if indicated as appropriate by special species studies, between natural areas and development to reduce secondary impacts. Canals or roadways, depending on width, may form a boundary that removes the need for the buffer or reduces its depth.

c.

Lands designated for acquisition by public agencies for conservation and natural resource protection.

d.

Known locations of threatened and endangered species, as defined in section 101-1, identified on the threatened and endangered plant and animal maps or the Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study maps, or identified in on-site surveys.

e.

Conservation, native area, sparsely settled, and offshore island land use districts.

f.

Areas with minimal existing development and infrastructure.

(2)

Lands located outside of Big Pine Key and No Name Key that are not designated tier I shall be designated tier III.

a.

The following conditions shall constitute a break in pinelands or tropical hardwood hammock for calculating the one-acre minimum patch size for designation of tier III-A boundaries:

1.

U.S. Highway 1, canals and open water;

2.

Any disturbed pinelands or tropical hardwood hammock with invasive coverage of 40 percent or more;

3.

Property lines of developed lots or vacant lots with a ROGO allocation award or an issued building permit, as of September 28, 2005, located within a Land Use District that allows only one unit per lot; or

4.

Property lines of developed parcels of less than 10,000 square feet in area with a ROGO/NROGO allocation award or issued building permit, as of September 28, 2005, located within a Land Use District that allows residential development of more than one dwelling unit per parcel/lot or non-residential development.

b.

Lots designated tier III-A (Special Protection Areas) on the November 29, 2005 maps may petition the county for a rezoning to tier III if the lot meets one of the following criteria:

1.

The lot will be served by a central sewer and the wastewater collection system has an approved permit that was effective March 21, 2006 to construct the system on file from the Department of Environmental Protection; or

Such lots may be granted a score of 30 points through an administrative determination made by the county biologist, the Director of Growth Management and rendered to the State Land Planning Agency until such time as the county sponsors a zoning map change to update the Tier Three Overlay Zoning Map and it is approved by the department of community affairs.

c.

Any hammock identified in the county's data base and aerial surveys as 1.00 to 1.09 acres in area shall be verified by survey prior to its designation as tier III-A. A hammock that is deemed by survey and a field review by county biologists to fail the minimum size criteria shall have the Special Protection Area designation removed from the subject parcel.

(d)

Big Pine Key and No Name Key tier boundary criteria. The tier boundaries shall be designated using the Big Pine Key and No Name Key Habitat Conservation Plan (2005) and the adopted community master plan for Big Pine Key and No Name Key.

(e)

Tier overlay district map amendments. The tier overlay district map may be amended to reflect existing conditions in an area if warranted because of drafting or data errors or regrowth of hammock. However, the clearing of tropical hardwood hammock or pinelands that results in the reduction of the area of an upland native habitat patch to less than the one-acre minimum shall not constitute sufficient grounds for amending the designation of a tier III-A area to tier III. The tier overlay district map amendments shall be made pursuant to the procedures for map amendments to this chapter. Unlawful conditions shall not be recognized when determining existing conditions and regulatory requirements.

(f)

Request for tier I designation. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 102-158(d)(2), an applicant may submit an application to the Planning and Environmental Resources Department containing substantial and competent documentation that an area meets the tier I criteria. Applications must be received by July 1 of each year on a form approved by the Planning Director for consideration by the special magistrate at a public hearing advertised at least 15 days prior to the hearing date. Said hearing by the special magistrate shall be held prior to November 1 of each year. The Planning Director will review the documentation and any other appropriate scientific information and prepare an analysis report for the special magistrate. The special magistrate will render a written opinion to the Planning Commission and BOCC either that the application meets the criteria for designating the lands as tier I or that the documentation is insufficient to warrant a map amendment. The posting, advertising and review will follow the procedures in section 102-158(d)(5), (d)(6) and (d)(7).

( Ord. No. 006-2016 , § 1(Exh. 1), 4-13-2016)