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Staff is proposing that the County buy (on its own) the St._ Sebastian SPUD property, and seek after -the -fact 50% cost -share funding reimbursement through the Florida Communities Trust program. The reason for this approach is that the seller, First Union .National Bank, has agreed to sell the property at a substantial discount (58% of the approved appraised value) if the County expedites closing within the next month. Since First Union National Bank recently accepted and executed a purchase contract Option Agreement for the project, appraisal results and other confidential information can now be released. •LAAC Recommendation The County Land Acquisition Advisory Committee (LAAO), at its meeting on October 1, 1996, voted unanimously to recommend that the Board approve the purchase contract, subject to adoption of a management plan for the property in conjunction with the adjacent "AGC Industrial Tract Scrub" property that the County has agreed to purchase. *Advertised Public Meeting This public hearing has- been advertised +30 days in advance to fulfill a State statute requirement that the County hold a public meeting after having provided at least 30 days advertised public notice to formally consider approving and exercising its purchase option for the St. Sebastian PUD property. The State requirement that the Board hold a public meeting to consider exercising its option after having provided 30 days advertised notice of the meeting applies because the County chose to keep its appraisals of the subject property confidential until the seller executed a binding option contract. Once that option contract had been signed, the appraisals were released and have been available to the public during the 30 day period prior to the advertised public meeting. Besides meeting State statute requirements, the hearing on the St. Sebastian PUD property will serve to meet a Land Acquisition Guide requirement that the County hold a public hearing prior to purchasing any property with land acquisition bond funds. . Site Characteristics The St. Sebastian PUD property consists of an undeveloped tract zoned for residential Planned Unit Development use. This property is approximately 312 acres in size, and is located at the north City limits of Sebastian. The site contains approximately 43 acres of coastal xeric oak and sand pine scrub, as well as approximately 61 acres of freshwater wetlands, plus +9 acres of open water. The site is particularly important from the ecological standpoint, in that the site supports listed rare species, including the Gopher tortoise and at least two families of: federally threatened Florida scrub'jay. In addition, the St. Sebastian PUD is west of and contiguous to an approved County/FCT project, the +76 acre "AGC Industrial Tract Scrub." The St. Sebastian PUD is bordered to the west by the Sebastian Municipal Airport and Golf Course, which also contains important scrub habitat. Protection of the site by means of public acquisition would substantially complement xeric scrub and wetland habitat on the abutting properties. *Existing Improvements & Access The St. Sebastian PUD property does not contain any physical improvements, with the exception a Florida Power and Light (FPL) powerline easement and a grid of abandoned subdivision roads on a +40 acre south-central portion of the property. The site also contains off -road -vehicle (ORV) trails. Access is available from Main Street (to the south) . There is also potential access from Gibson Street via the contiguous "AGC Industrial Tract Scrub" property (to the east), which the County Commission has recently agreed to purchase. BOOKS ��:Uc •�7�U OCTOBER 8, 1996 51