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Board of County Commissioners October 5, 2021 Page 2 Like in 2016, County staff's position is that the conservation easement is serving the public interest and resulting in the conservation and management of natural resources in a regional corridor warranting protection. Additionally, because the site is remote from the vast majority of County citizens, the public access benefits that could accrue from fee simple acquisition are minimal. Finally, County staff believes that fee simple acquisition of the property would result in acquisition and management costs that are unneeded to meet County objectives that are already being accomplished under the easement. On October 5, 2021, the Board requested information about 1) conservation easement restrictions, 2) Florida Wildlife Corridor purchases, and 3) a possible price for the County to purchase the property. Under the Deed of Conservation Easement, the use of the property is greatly restricted. The property owner maintains the right to have native fish and wildlife on the property, and to have non-commercial hiking, camping, and horseback riding. The property owner also has the right to continue to use, reconstruct and relocate existing buildings and structures on the property such as barns, dog pens and fences. Additionally, the property owner has the right to continue existing agricultural practices, including grazing of cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock. Of note, as discussed at the October 5, 2021 Board meeting, the property owner has the right to construct two new residences. The Deed of Conservation Easement also allows for utilities to be provided to the new or relocated residences. The Deed of Conservation Easement also contains a long list of prohibited uses. These include, but are not limited to; new construction of temporary or permanent buildings (other than the two residences provided above), commercial or industrial activity, exploration or mining of oil, gas, minerals and other materials, subdivision (aside from the two residential parcels), commercial timber harvesting, billboards, or activities detrimental to the fish and native wildlife habitat or that may reasonably be expected to adversely affect threatened or endangered species. Earlier this year, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 976, The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act. The legislation directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to encourage and promote investments in areas that protect and enhance the Florida Wildlife Corridor. On September 21, 2021, the Governor and Cabinet serving as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund approved purchase of a conservation easement over 6,665 acres located in Indian River County and Okeechobee County within the Kissimmee -St. Johns Connector Florida Forever project. The conservation easement purchase for $15 million had similar restrictions as those in the Deed of Conservation Easement, including the right to construct three additional residential areas, with each area limited to three residential buildings. The property owner is selling the roughly 701 acres for $5 million. I would anticipate that the property owner would expect at least that amount from the County. FUNDING. No funding is necessary at this time. If the County were to move forward with and offer to purchase the fee simple ownership of this property, staff would recommend the use of Local Option Sales Tax. No funds are budgeted for this purchase currently, so a budget amendment would be necessary to allocate this funding from Reserves. Staff would also pursue matching grant dollars for the purchase. 96