2010-252A (09) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element of an additional 500 acres of native uplands over the next ten years is a reasonable objective. Of those 500 acres, at least 100 acres should consist of pine flatwoods, the most common plant community under threat of development. Since the County has fulfilled its current environmental land acquisition objectives and funding for acquisition is limited, the County should shift its focus to management of and public access improvements to conservation lands that have been acquired. In doing so, the County should consider reserving a portion of remaining bond funds for initial restoration and public access improvements to such lands. • Upland Set -Asides In 1990, the Natural Resources section of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council's (TCRPC) Strategic Regional Policy Plan (SRPP) called for the preservation of a minimum of 25 percent of upland communities on development sites. At that time, the County initiated an alternative approach to meeting the same objective by adopting an Upland Habitat Protection ordinance (LDR Chapter 929), calling for the set-aside of upland conservation areas on development sites, combined with the County's environmental land acquisition program, to fulfill the SRPP's upland preservation objective. In 2007, the county's native upland set-aside land development regulations were revised. County regulations now require that a minimum of 15% of the native upland habitat on parcels 5 acres and larger be preserved on site. The previous minimum required native upland set-aside was 10%. Since 1996, approximately 500 acres of native habitat have been preserved in upland set- aside tracts related to private developments. The 2007 native upland set-aside revisions also included a provision prohibiting linear set-aside areas less than 50 feet wide. This change was based on the premise that the narrower an upland set-aside, the less the ecological value. As a result of the upland set-aside ordinance revisions, recent native upland easements have consisted of larger and more ecologically valuable tracts of land on development sites. These upland set-aside areas are, however, often small "islands" that are located far from the next nearest native upland area. In that respect, these island set -asides may serve to protect native trees on-site that may not otherwise be conserved, but the island set -asides do not have the value of contributing to wildlife corridors. To address that issue, the county should have policies that maximize the ecological value of required upland set-aside areas. These policies should include evaluation of similar set -asides on adjacent development sites and requirements that such set -asides be contiguous where feasible. With respect to development sites with small initial native upland areas (i.e., 5 acres or less), the county should allow, in lieu of on-site set -asides, an option for developers to enhance or recreate native uplands off-site on existing county conservation lands. That option would provide more ecologically valuable habitat than small "islands" within development sites. Community Development Department Indian River County 104