§ 138-54. Administrative Relief.

(a)

Eligibility. An applicant is eligible for administrative relief under the provisions of this section if all the following criteria are met:

(1)

The applicant has complied with all requirements of the nonresidential permit allocation system;

(2)

The application has been denied an allocation award for four successive years (first 16 consecutive quarterly allocation periods) in the NROGO Allocation System;

(3)

The proposed development otherwise meets all applicable county, state, and federal regulations;

(4)

The subject application has not been withdrawn;

(5)

The applicant has complied with all the requirements of the NROGO Allocation System;

(6)

The applicant has followed the procedures for administrative relief; and

(7)

The applicant has not received an allocation award.

(b)

Application. An application for administrative relief shall be made on a form prescribed by the Planning Director and may be filed with the Planning and Environmental Resources Department no earlier than the conclusion of the fourth allocation period and no later than 180 days following the close of the fourth annual allocation period.

(c)

Waiver of rights. Failure to file an application shall constitute a waiver of any rights under this section to assert that the subject property has been taken by the county without payment of just compensation as a result of the nonresidential floor area allocation system.

(d)

Exceptions. Monroe County shall preclude the granting of administrative relief in the form of the issuance of a building permit for lands within the Florida Forever targeted acquisition or Tier I land areas unless, after 60 days from the receipt of a complete application for administrative relief, it has been determined the parcel cannot be purchased for conservation purposes by any county, state or federal agency or any private entity. The county shall routinely notify the Department of Environmental Protection of upcoming administrative relief requests at least six months prior to the deadline for administrative relief.

(e)

Processing and review by Planning Director. Upon the filing of an application for administrative relief, the Planning Director shall prepare a written report with recommendation and forward the report to the BOCC along with all relevant files and records relating to the subject application. The Planning Director shall advertise and schedule a public hearing for consideration of the application by the BOCC.

(f)

Public hearing. At a public hearing, the BOCC may review the relevant application and application evaluation ranking, taking testimony from county staff and others as may be necessary and review documentary evidence submitted by the applicant.

(g)

BOCC action. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the BOCC may take any or a combination of the following actions:

(1)

Offer to purchase the property at fair market value as the preferred action if the property is location within:

a.

A designated Tier I area or within the Florida Forever (or its successor) targeted acquisition areas (unless, after 60 days from the receipt of a complete application for administrative relief, it has been determined no county, state or federal agency or any private entity is willing to offer to purchase the parcel);

b.

A designated Tier II area (Big Pine Key and No Name Key);

c.

A designated Tier III-A area (special protection area); or

d.

A designated Tier III area on a nonwaterfront lot for affordable housing.

(2)

Grant the applicant an allocation award for all or part of the nonresidential floor area requested in the next allocation award as the preferred option for buildable properties not meeting the criteria in subsection (g)(1) of this section.

(3)

Suggest such other relief as may be necessary and appropriate.

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