Substitute Item 2      Swarcomm Investments, LTD/Steincomm Investments, LTD Option Agreement/Charlotte Harbor Estuary Florida Forever Project

REQUEST:  Consideration of an option agreement to acquire 32.61 acres within the Charlotte Harbor Estuary Florida Forever project from Swarcomm Investments, LTD/Steincomm Investments, LTD.

COUNTY:  Charlotte

LOCATION:  Sections 33 and 34, Township 41 South, Range 20 East

CONSIDERATION:  $3,100,000

            APPRAISED BY            SELLER'S      TRUSTEES'

              Bowen   Catlett      APPROVED      PURCHASE      PURCHASE    OPTION

PARCEL      ACRES      (07/15/02)      (07/15/02)    VALUE         PRICE         PRICE           DATE 

Swarcomm/      32.61      $3,050,000      $3,410,000      $3,410,000        *      $3,100,000**      150 days after Steincomm                                      (91%) BOT Approval

*    Seller purchased the property in 1980.

**  $95,063 per acre

STAFF REMARKS:  The Charlotte Harbor Estuary project is an "A" group project on the February 2003 Florida Forever Small Holdings Project List being presented to the Board of Trustees on this agenda.  The project contains 48,720 acres, of which 38,167.2 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired.  After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement and another agreement in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary project on today's agenda, 10,540.81 acres or 22 percent of the project will remain to be acquired.

      Board of Trustees

      Agenda - February 25, 2003

      2nd Substitute Page Three

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Substitute Item 2, cont.

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for any title issues that arise prior to closing.

A title insurance policy, survey, environmental site evaluation and, if necessary, environmental site assessment will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.

The parcel is dominated by a vegetation community of scrub, which is listed as both state and globally imperiled by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.  Only two percent of the land in Charlotte County is scrub habitat, making it a rare community type for the county.  This site, with some management, could allow for the expansion of scrub jays on protected land.  Acquisition of this parcel will also help protect the surficial aquifer that flows into the adjacent Amberjack Slough and Lemon Lake, which in turn drains into the Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve.  Management of the parcel will be combined with the management of Amberjack Slough through a cooperative agreement with the county, which will provide the public additional recreational opportunities.  This site is zoned commercial general, which allows for a wide range of commercial uses including offices, hotels and multifamily residential.  It lies in the corridor between Englewood and Boca Grande, one of the fastest developing areas in Charlotte County.

The Charlotte Harbor Estuary project is a combination of three major Florida Forever projects: the Myakka Estuary, the Cape Haze, and the Charlotte Harbor projects.  The Swarcomm/Steincomm parcel was part of the former Cape Haze project.

Charlotte Harbor, one of the largest and most productive estuaries in Florida, supports an important recreational and commercial fishery, but is rapidly being surrounded by cities and residential developments, which could harm this important resource.  By conserving flatwoods and prairies behind the mangrove swamps and salt marshes along Charlotte and Placida Harbors, the Cape Haze/Charlotte Harbor project will help preserve the water quality of the estuary, protect habitat for the Florida manatee and other rare wildlife, and provide residents of and visitors to the area with opportunities for boating, fishing, and other recreational pursuits.

This property will be managed by the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas as an addition to the Charlotte Harbor State Buffer Preserve. 

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(10), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

(See Attachment 2, Pages 1-41)

RECOMMEND APPROVAL

*********************************************** Substitute Item 3      South Florida Land Holdings, LLC Option Agreement/Charlotte Harbor Estuary Florida Forever Project

REQUEST:  Consideration of an option agreement to acquire 11.99 acres within the Charlotte Harbor Estuary Florida Forever project from South Florida Land Holdings, LLC.

COUNTY:  Charlotte

      Board of Trustees

      Agenda - February 25, 2003

      Substitute Page Four

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Substitute Item 3, cont.

LOCATION:  Section 15, Township 40 South, Range 21 East

CONSIDERATION:  $653,400

            APPRAISED BY            SELLER'S      TRUSTEES'

            Stewart      APPROVED      PURCHASE      PURCHASE    OPTION

PARCEL      ACRES      (06/26/02)    VALUE         PRICE         PRICE           DATE 

South FL      11.99      $760,000      $760,000      $2,000*      $653,400**  150 Days after

Land Holdings                                      (86%)       BOT Approval

*     Seller purchased the property through a private distress/liquidation sale on December 22, 1999.

**   $54,495 per acre

STAFF REMARKS:  The Charlotte Harbor Estuary project is an "A" group project on the February 2003 Florida Forever Small Holdings Project List being presented to the Board of Trustees on this agenda.  The project contains 48,720 acres, of which 38,167.2 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired.  After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement and another agreement in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary project on today's agenda, 10,540.81 acres or 22 percent of the project will remain to be acquired.

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for any title issues that arise prior to closing.

A title insurance policy, survey, environmental site evaluation and, if necessary, environmental site assessment will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.

The parcel is one of pine flatwoods, juncus marsh, and creek shoreline.  The parcel lies between two forks of Sam Knight Creek on a four lane divided highway.  The Creek provides drainage into the Gasparilla Sound/Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve.  It is zoned commercial and is bordered by state lands on all sides.

Development of the South Florida Land Holdings parcel for commercial activity would affect the use of surrounding waters by manatees, wading birds, osprey and bald eagles that nest on adjacent state lands.  There is also a recreational fishery on the shallow creek, which would be better utilized by the public through use of non-motorized boats.  The site is of great interest for public access to adjacent waters, and if acquired, the site is being considered for a canoe launch site through a cooperative agreement with Charlotte County.  There is also a prehistoric site on this parcel that would be protected under state ownership.

The Charlotte Harbor Estuary project is a combination of three major Florida Forever projects: the Myakka Estuary, the Cape Haze, and the Charlotte Harbor projects.  The South Florida Land Holdings parcel was part of the former Myakka Estuary project.

Charlotte Harbor, one of the largest and most productive estuaries in Florida, supports an important recreational and commercial fishery, but is rapidly being surrounded by cities and residential developments, which could harm this important resource.  The Myakka Estuary project will protect the largest natural area left around northern Charlotte Harbor, conserving flatwoods, scrub, and salt marshes that support bald eagles, sandhill cranes, scrub jays, and manatees.  The project will also help protect an important fishery and provide residents of and visitors to the rapidly growing Charlotte Harbor area with opportunities for hiking, camping, and other recreational pursuits.

      Board of Trustees

      Agenda - February 25, 2003

      Substitute Page Five

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Substitute Item 3, cont.

This property will be managed by the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas as an addition to the Charlotte Harbor State Buffer Preserve. 

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(10), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

(See Attachment 3, Pages 1-30)

RECOMMEND  WITHDRAWAL

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Item 4            St. Martin's Island Preserve, LLC Option Agreement/Tiger Island/Little Tiger Island Florida Forever Project/Designation of DRP as Managing Agency/Modification and Confirmation of Management Policy Statement

REQUEST:  Consideration of (1) an option agreement to acquire 105.17 acres within the Tiger Island/Little Tiger Island Florida Forever project from St. Martin's Island Preserve, LLC, a North Carolina Limited Liability Company; (2) designation of the Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation and Parks as the managing agency; and (3) modification and confirmation of the management policy statement.

COUNTY:  Nassau

LOCATION:  Section 40, Township 03 North, Range 28 East

CONSIDERATION:  $2,550,000

            APPRAISED BY            SELLER'S      TRUSTEES'

            Goodman     Sutte      APPROVED      PURCHASE      PURCHASE    OPTION

PARCEL      ACRES      (10/08/02)      (10/08/02)    VALUE         PRICE         PRICE           DATE 

St. Martin's      105.17      $2,450,000      $2,900,000      $2,900,000      $2,250,000*      $2,550,000**      120 days after

Island                                        (88%)       BOT approval

*   Seller purchased in June 2000

** $24,246 per acre

STAFF REMARKS:  The Tiger Island/Little Tiger Island Florida Forever project is an "A" group project on the February 2003 Florida Forever Full Fee Project List being presented to the Board of Trustees on this agenda.  The project contains 1,280 acres, of which these are the first to be acquired.  After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement, 1,174.83 acres or 92 percent of the project will remain to be acquired.

The seller and the purchaser are parties to a lawsuit styled St. Martins Island Preserve, LLC. v. Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida, case no. 02-179-CA, pending in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in and for Nassau County, Florida.  At or before closing, the seller and the purchaser shall enter into an agreement settling the issues between them raised in the lawsuit.  The agreement shall be in a form acceptable to both parties.  At closing, the seller shall deliver its originally signed notice of dismissal with prejudice in the action.

The Plaintiff and Defendant both agreed to informally abate the legal proceedings to allow the parties to negotiate the purchase of the island.  The purchase of the island would substantially resolve the issues regarding ownership and the statutory way of necessity claim.  The main purpose of the settlement agreement is to ensure that the Board of Trustees obtain clear title to the island and to ensure that the legal issues regarding title to the land surrounding the island

      Board of Trustees

      Agenda - February 25, 2003

      Page Six

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Item 4, cont.

are resolved in their entirety at the time of closing.  The ownership of the subject 105.17 acres is not in dispute.

The only ingress to and egress from the island in which the property is located is over and across sovereignty lands, and there is no legal access to the island.  Once on the island, there is legal ingress and egress over public roads or valid recorded easements that benefit the property.  The parcel is improved with two residential structures that are in disrepair along with two water wells, two septic tanks and a damaged boat dock.  The appraisers took these improvements into consideration and determined they did not contribute to the value of the property.  DEP's Division of Recreation and Parks (DRP), the future managing agency, is willing to accept management of the property with these improvements.

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to DEP the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for any title issues that arise prior to closing.

An environmental site assessment will be provided by the seller.  A title insurance policy and a survey will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.

The acquisition of the Tiger and Little Tiger Island proposal will provide a missing link in a network of national and state preserves and parks that stretch from St. Andrews Sound in Georgia to the St. Johns River in Florida.  Roughly three-quarters of the proposal appears to be estuarine tidal marsh along the St. Mary's River, Amelia River, and a network of smaller connecting rivers and creeks.  The remainder primarily represents upland maritime hammock on the elevated islands in the extensive tidal marsh ecosystem.  The marsh and adjoining sand and mud flats are important feeding and nesting areas for many species of shorebirds, wading birds, and songbirds.  A recent survey by Florida Natural Areas Inventory biologists showed Little Tiger Island to have one of the highest nesting concentrations of Worthington's marsh wren and MacGillivray's seaside sparrow along the Florida Coast.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to designate the Cumberland Sound side of Tiger and Little Tiger Islands as critical habitat for the wintering populations of the piping plover.  The Tiger Islands have been occupied since aboriginal times and archaeological excavations in the area show that pottery-making aboriginal populations inhabited the coastal islands as early as the second millennium B.C.

Pursuant to section 259.032(9)(e), F.S., staff recommends that the Board of Trustees designate DRP as the managing agency for this site.  The site will be managed for preservation, conservation and recreation.

Section 259.032(9)(e), F.S., requires that the Board of Trustees, concurrent with its approval of the initial acquisition agreement within a project, "evaluate and amend, as appropriate, the management policy statement for the project as provided by section 259.035, F.S., consistent with the purposes for which the lands are acquired."  The management policy statement for this project was included in the 2002 Florida Forever Annual Report adopted by the Board of Trustees on August 27, 2002.  Staff recommends that the Board of Trustees confirm the management policy statement as modified:

To conserve and protect environmentally unique and irreplaceable lands that contain native, relatively unaltered flora and fauna representing a natural area unique to, or scarce within, a region of the state or a larger geographic area.  To conserve and protect significant habitat for native species or endangered and threatened species.  To conserve, protect, manage, or restore important ecosystems, landscapes, and forests, in order to enhance or 

                                 Board of Trustees

      Agenda - February 25, 2003

      Page Seven

**************************************************** Item 4, cont.

      protect significant water, coastal, recreational, timber, fish or wildlife

resources.  To provide compatible resource-based outdoor recreation opportunities and facilities.  Finally, to preserve significant archaeological or historical sites.

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(10), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

(See Attachment 4, Pages 1-42)

RECOMMEND APPROVAL *