Senate Bill 2616e1

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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Loxahatchee Groves Water

  3         Control District, Palm Beach County; codifying

  4         the district's charter, reenacting chapter

  5         76-455, Laws of Florida, as amended; providing

  6         for date of annual landowner's meeting and

  7         election of supervisors; providing that no

  8         person may be elected as a supervisor unless

  9         timely notice has been given of his or her

10         intent to be elected as a supervisor; providing

11         landowners with more than 1 acre are entitled

12         to one additional vote for any fraction of an

13         acre greater than one-half acre when all of

14         said landowner's acreage has been aggregated

15         for purposes of voting; providing for who may

16         be a hauling permit applicant; providing a

17         mechanism to enforce existing provisions for

18         fines for violation of hauling permit law

19         violations; allowing citations for such

20         violations to be issued by traffic enforcement

21         agencies and treating such citations in the

22         same manner as a noncriminal traffic

23         infraction; providing that no land within the

24         boundaries of the district, with the exception

25         of one identified parcel, may be annexed by any

26         municipality unless the municipality proposing

27         to annex said land agrees to annex all of the

28         real property comprising the district and such

29         annexation is subject to the provisions set

30         forth in s. 171.0413, F.S.; providing borrowing

31         authority to deal with declared disasters;


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  1         repealing all prior special acts of the

  2         Legislature relating to the Loxahatchee Groves

  3         Water Control District; providing that this act

  4         shall take precedence over any conflicting law

  5         to the extent of such conflict; providing

  6         severability; providing an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Chapter 76-455, Laws of Florida, as

11  amended, is codified, reenacted, amended and repealed as

12  herein provided.

13         Section 2.  The Loxahatchee Groves Water Control

14  District is re-created and reenacted to read:

15         Section 1.  Name and duration of district.--The name of

16  Loxahatchee Sub-Drainage District, created by chapter 298,

17  Florida Statutes, is changed to Loxahatchee Groves Water

18  Control District, hereinafter known as the Loxahatchee Groves

19  Water Control District. The corporate life of the Loxahatchee

20  Groves Water Control District is extended perpetually.

21         Section 2.  Landowner's meeting and election of

22  supervisors.--

23         a.  Election of supervisors.--Every year in the same

24  month that a supervisor's term expires as provided in ss.

25  298.11 and 298.12, Florida Statutes, the district shall call a

26  meeting of the landowners in the district for the purpose of

27  electing a supervisor for such vacancy or existing vacancies.

28  There shall be one ballot for each vacancy. To be elected, a

29  candidate must have a majority of the votes on that ballot. In

30  the event no candidate receives a majority of votes on the

31  first ballot, a run-off ballot shall be held between the two


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  1  candidates receiving the highest number of votes on the first

  2  ballot.

  3         b.  Number of votes; voting.--At such election, each

  4  and every owner of land in the district shall be entitled to

  5  vote, in person or by proxy in writing duly signed. Each

  6  landowner shall be entitled to one vote for every acre of land

  7  owned by him or her within the district. Landowners owning

  8  less than 1 acre shall be entitled to one vote. Where land is

  9  held in any form of joint ownership; votes may be cast by one

10  owner only. Landowners with more than 1 acre are entitled to

11  one additional vote for any fraction of an acre greater than

12  1/2 acre, when all of the landowners' acreage has been

13  aggregated for purposes of voting.

14         c.  Quorum for landowners' meetings.--At any

15  landowners' meetings those owners of lands in the district

16  present in person or voting by proxy shall constitute a

17  quorum.

18         d.  Membership of the board of supervisors.--The board

19  of supervisors of the district shall be increased from three

20  members to five members.

21         e.  Date of landowner's meeting; notice of intent to be

22  elected.--Notwithstanding any provision of s. 298.12, Florida

23  Statutes, to the contrary, for all elections held after 1999,

24  in order for a person to be elected as a supervisor of the

25  district, that person must notify the Supervisor of the Board

26  of Elections of Palm Beach County of his or her intent to be

27  elected as a supervisor at least 90 days prior to the annual

28  landowner's meeting, which shall take place on the 4th Monday

29  of June each year. The date of annual landowner's meeting may

30  be changed by majority of the board of supervisors of the

31  district provided that such change occurs at least 150 days


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  1  prior to the newly selected date of the landowner's meeting

  2  and further provided that notice of such change of the date of

  3  the landowner's meeting shall be published once a week for 2

  4  consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the

  5  county in which the lands of the district are located, with

  6  the first such publication to be not less than 10 nor more

  7  than 15 days after the vote of the board of supervisors to

  8  change the date of the annual landowner's meeting. No person

  9  who has not timely provided notice to the supervisor of

10  elections of his or her willingness to be elected, as set

11  forth above in this section, may be elected as a supervisor of

12  the district, unless no individuals have timely provided

13  notice to the supervisor of elections, in which event the

14  provisions of s. 298.12(1), Florida Statutes, shall control.

15  If the number of persons timely providing notice to the

16  supervisor of elections does not exceed the number of seats

17  for which supervisors are to be elected in that year, then

18  those individuals providing timely notice shall be deemed

19  elected as supervisors as of the date of the annual

20  landowner's meeting and no election, or notice of such

21  election, shall be held. If the number of persons providing

22  timely notice to the supervisor of elections exceeds the

23  number of seats for which supervisors are to be elected that

24  year, then elections shall proceed forward at the annual

25  landowner's meeting in accordance with the provisions of s.

26  298.12(1), Florida Statutes, as may be modified by this act.

27         Section 3.  Levy of assessments.--Levy of assessments

28  of land less than 1 acre. In the levying and assessing of all

29  assessments by the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District,

30  Palm Beach County, created under chapter 298, Florida

31


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  1  Statutes, each tract or parcel of land less than 1 acre in

  2  area shall be assessed as a full acre.

  3         Section 4.  Powers of the district.--

  4         a.  In addition to the powers provided for in chapter

  5  298, Florida Statutes, the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control

  6  District shall have the power to maintain roadways and roads

  7  necessary and convenient for the exercise of the powers or

  8  duties or any of the powers or duties of the district or the

  9  supervisors thereof; and in furtherance of the purpose and

10  intent of this act and chapter 298, Florida Statutes, to

11  maintain roadways and roads necessary and convenient to

12  provide access to and efficient development of areas made

13  suitable and available for cultivation, settlement, and other

14  beneficial use and development as a result of the reclamation

15  operations of the district, including all the roads shown on

16  the replat of Loxahatchee Groves, as recorded in Plat Book 12,

17  Page 29, Palm Beach County Public Records; and to provide

18  funds for this purpose in its annual levy of district

19  assessments.

20         b.  The Board of Supervisors of the Loxahatchee Groves

21  Water Control District in Palm Beach County, is hereby

22  authorized, empowered, and permitted to expend funds of the

23  district to pay for engineering studies and plans for the

24  purpose of developing a road improvement program for the

25  construction, maintenance, improvement, and repair of

26  dedicated roads and road rights-of-way, including the swales

27  thereof, within the district.

28         c.  In addition to the powers of Loxahatchee Groves

29  Water Control District, hereinafter referred to as the

30  "district," elsewhere provided by general or special law, the

31  district shall have the power to construct, maintain, improve,


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  1  and repair roadways and roads necessary and convenient for the

  2  exercise of any of the powers or duties of the district or the

  3  board of supervisors thereof, including all the roads shown on

  4  the replat of Loxahatchee Groves, as recorded in Plat Book 12,

  5  Page 29, Palm Beach County Public Records, or to provide

  6  access to and development of areas within the district, or

  7  both; to provide funds for such construction, maintenance,

  8  improvement, or repair through the levying of assessments

  9  pursuant to chapter 298, Florida Statutes, hereinafter

10  referred to as "drainage assessments," or special assessments,

11  or both; and to acquire land, including any interest therein,

12  by purchase, gift, exchange, or eminent domain, for such

13  construction, maintenance, improvement, or repair.

14         d.  The powers granted in this section may be exercised

15  without the necessity of modifying or amending the water

16  control plan for the district.

17         e.  The powers set forth in this section shall be

18  exercised by resolution adopted by a majority of the

19  membership of the board of supervisors, but the board of

20  supervisors shall not authorize the construction of any new

21  road or roadway or the improvement, other than routine

22  maintenance, of any existing roadway within the district,

23  except pursuant to a vote in favor of such construction or

24  improvement by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting of

25  the owners of lands within the district to be affected by such

26  construction or improvement. The board of supervisors shall,

27  prior to authorizing any such construction or improvement,

28  determine what lands within the district would be affected by

29  such construction or improvement, provided that any lands upon

30  which drainage assessments or special assessments would be

31  levied to finance such construction or improvement shall be


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  1  deemed to be affected and shall thereafter cause notice to be

  2  given to all such landowners of a meeting of landowners to be

  3  held for the purpose of voting upon such construction or

  4  improvement; at such meeting, each owner of land to be

  5  affected by such construction or improvement, present in

  6  person or by proxy, shall be entitled to one vote for each

  7  acre of such land or fraction thereof within the district

  8  owned by such owner. Notice of a meeting of landowners

  9  hereunder shall be given in the same manner as provided by law

10  for the giving of notice of the annual meeting for the

11  election of supervisors.

12         f.  The board of supervisors, in the exercise of powers

13  pursuant to this act, may establish different special

14  assessment areas within the district according to the benefits

15  received, and may revise such areas according to the benefits

16  received from time to time, so as to most equitably provide

17  for the levying of special assessments according to benefits

18  as are deemed desirable by the board of supervisors.

19         g.  The district shall have the power to adopt, by

20  resolution, a uniform standard for culvert crossings, bridges,

21  culverts, or other drainage systems that connect with or cross

22  over any of the works of, or lie within the rights-of-way of,

23  the district. If the district so establishes a uniform

24  standard, the district shall by resolution adopt procedures:

25         (1)  Which shall require notice of such uniform

26  standards to be given to persons owning lands upon which any

27  culvert crossings, bridges, culverts, or other drainage

28  systems that connect with or cross over any of the works of,

29  or lie within the rights-of-way of, the district and to such

30  other persons as the board of supervisors shall deem to be

31  necessary or desirable, or both.


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  1         (2)  Which shall, except as hereinafter provided,

  2  require not less than 60-days' written notice to be given to

  3  persons owning lands upon which any culvert crossings,

  4  bridges, culverts, or other drainage systems exist in

  5  violation of any such uniform standards prior to the taking of

  6  any enforcement action by the district.

  7         (3)  Which may provide for less than 30-days' notice,

  8  in writing or otherwise, of violations of the uniform

  9  standards in emergency situations.

10         (4)  Which may provide that if, after notice pursuant

11  to paragraph (2) or paragraph (3), any landowner shall fail to

12  conform to such uniform standards, the district may enter upon

13  such lands and take such action as necessary to cause such

14  violation to be corrected and may assess the owner of such

15  land for the district's costs in connection therewith.

16         (5)  Upon the failure of any property owner to pay any

17  assessment levied by the board of supervisors pursuant to

18  paragraph (4) within 30 days of receipt by such owner of

19  notice of said assessment, the district shall have a lien on

20  all lands and premises affected thereby. Such lien shall be

21  superior and paramount to the interest in such land and

22  premises of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee, or other

23  person except the lien of state, county, or district taxes and

24  shall be on a parity with the lien of any such state, county,

25  or district taxes. Such lien shall bear interest at an annual

26  rate equal to the interest rate due on judgments, pursuant to

27  s. 55.03, Florida Statutes, per year and shall, until paid,

28  remain in effect in perpetuity.

29         h.  The district shall have the power to require

30  maintenance of any swale, drainage ditch, culvert, or canal

31  connecting to any of the works of the district where lack of


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  1  such maintenance adversely impacts the district, its

  2  operations, or any of its works. The board of supervisors

  3  shall cause notice to be given to any person owning land on

  4  which such a swale, drainage ditch, culvert, or canal is

  5  located in the event such maintenance is required and, if the

  6  requested maintenance is not performed within 30 days of said

  7  notice, unless extended by the board of supervisors, the

  8  district may go upon such property and perform said

  9  maintenance and assess the owner of the property for the

10  district's cost thereof. Upon the failure of any property

11  owner to pay any such assessment within 30 days of receipt by

12  such owner of notice of the assessment, the district shall

13  have a lien on all lands and premises affected thereby. Such

14  lien shall be superior and paramount to the interest in such

15  land and premises of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee, or

16  other person except the lien of state, county, or district

17  taxes and shall be on a parity with the lien of any such

18  state, county, or district taxes. Such lien shall bear

19  interest at an annual rate equal to the interest rate due on

20  judgments, pursuant to s. 55.03, Florida Statutes, per year

21  and shall, until paid, remain in effect in perpetuity.

22         i.  The board of supervisors of the district, in order

23  to carry out any of the powers set forth in subsections c.-g.

24  may levy and impose special assessments against any or all of

25  the real property within the district upon a determination

26  that the construction, maintenance, improvement, repair, or

27  operation of the roads or roadways provide a benefit to such

28  real property. The assessments shall be imposed upon the

29  property specially benefited by such construction,

30  maintenance, improvement, repair, or operation in proportion

31  to the benefits to be derived therefrom, and the special


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  1  benefits shall be determined and prorated by a method

  2  prescribed by the board of supervisors.

  3         (1)  The board of supervisors, if it elects to assess a

  4  special benefit, shall declare by a resolution the nature of

  5  the proposed improvement or the services provided to existing

  6  improvements, shall designate the location of the improvement

  7  or the service provided to existing improvements, and shall

  8  state the part or portion of the expense thereof to be paid by

  9  special assessments, the manner in which said assessments

10  shall be made, when said assessments are to be paid, and what

11  part, if any, shall be apportioned to and paid from the funds

12  of the district. The resolution shall also identify the lands

13  upon which the special assessments shall be levied. The

14  resolution shall state the total estimated cost of the

15  improvement or service to be provided to existing

16  improvements.

17         (2)  Within 30 days after the adoption of the

18  resolution, the board of supervisors shall cause said

19  resolution to be published one time in a newspaper of general

20  circulation in Palm Beach County.

21         (3)  Upon the adoption of the resolution, the board of

22  supervisors shall cause to be made an assessment roll in

23  accordance with the method of assessment provided for in said

24  resolution, which assessment roll shall be promptly completed

25  and filed with the records of the board of supervisors. The

26  lands assessed, the amount of the assessment against such

27  lands, and, if said assessment is to be paid in installments,

28  the number of annual installments in which the assessment is

29  divided shall be entered and shown on said assessment roll.

30         (4)  On the completion of said assessment roll, the

31  board of supervisors shall by resolution fix a time and place


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  1  at which the owners of the property to be assessed, or any

  2  other persons interested therein, may appear before said board

  3  of supervisors and be heard as to the propriety and

  4  advisability of making such improvements or providing said

  5  services, as to the cost thereof, and as to the amount thereof

  6  to be assessed against each property so improved. Notice in

  7  writing of such time and place shall be given to the property

  8  owners.

  9         (5)  At a time and place named in the notice provided

10  for in paragraph (4), the board of supervisors of the district

11  shall meet as an adjustment board to hear and consider any and

12  all complaints as to the special assessments and shall adjust

13  the assessments on an equitable basis. After the special

14  assessments are so adjusted and approved by resolution, such

15  assessments shall stand confirmed and, until paid, shall

16  remain legal, valid, and binding liens upon the property

17  against which such assessments are made of equal dignity with

18  the lien for county taxes. However, upon completion of the

19  improvement, or provision of service to existing improvements,

20  the board of supervisors shall credit to each of the

21  assessments the difference in the assessment as originally

22  made, approved, and confirmed and the proportionate part of

23  the actual cost of the improvement or service to be paid by

24  special assessments as finally determined on the completion of

25  the improvement or service, but in no event shall the final

26  assessments exceed the amount of benefits originally assessed.

27  Promptly after confirmation, the assessments shall be recorded

28  in the public records of Palm Beach County and the record of

29  the lien shall constitute prima facie evidence of its

30  validity.

31


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  1         (6)  The special assessments shall be payable at the

  2  time and in the manner stipulated in the resolution

  3  authorizing the improvement or service. Such assessments shall

  4  remain liens, coequal in priority with the lien of county

  5  taxes, until paid. Assessments not paid when due shall bear

  6  interest at such rate or rates, not in excess of the maximum

  7  legal rate, prescribed by the board of supervisors in the

  8  resolution.

  9         (7)  Each annual installment of special assessments

10  provided for shall be paid upon the date specified in said

11  resolution, until the entire amount of said assessment has

12  been paid, and, on the failure of any property owner to pay

13  any annual installment due or any part thereof, or any

14  interest on any delinquent payment, the district shall have a

15  lien on all lands and premises affected thereby. Such lien

16  shall be superior and paramount to the interest in such land

17  and premises of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee, or other

18  person except the lien of state, county, or district taxes and

19  shall be on a parity with the lien of any state, county, or

20  district taxes. Such lien shall, until paid, remain in effect

21  in perpetuity.

22         (8)  If any special assessment made under the

23  provisions of this section to defray the whole or any part of

24  the expense of any improvement or provision of any service is

25  either in whole or in part annulled, vacated, or set aside by

26  the judgment of any court, or if the board of supervisors of

27  the district is satisfied that any assessment is so irregular

28  or defective that the same cannot be enforced or collected, or

29  if the board of supervisors omitted to make such assessment

30  when it might have done so, the board shall take all necessary

31  steps to cause a new assessment to be made for the whole or


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  1  any part of any improvement or service provided or against any

  2  property benefited by any improvement or service provided,

  3  following as nearly as possible the provisions of this act,

  4  and, in case such second assessment shall be annulled, the

  5  board of supervisors may obtain and make other assessments

  6  until a valid assessment is made.

  7         (9)  An informality or any irregularity in the

  8  proceedings in connection with the levy of any special

  9  assessment under this act shall not affect the validity of the

10  same where the assessment roll has been confirmed by the board

11  of supervisors, and the assessment roll as finally approved

12  and confirmed shall be competent and sufficient evidence that

13  the assessment was duly levied, the assessment was duly made

14  and adopted, and that all other proceedings adequate to the

15  adoption of the assessment roll were duly had, taken, and

16  performed as required by this act; no variance from the

17  directions hereunder shall be held material unless it is

18  clearly shown that the party objecting was materially injured

19  thereby.

20         j.  The district is authorized to provide from time to

21  time for the issuance of special assessment bonds of the

22  district to pay all or any part of the cost of a system of

23  roads and roadways and any improvements thereto. The principal

24  of and interest on any bonds shall be payable from special

25  assessments sufficient to pay the bonds in the manner provided

26  in the bonds, in this act, and the resolution authorizing such

27  bonds. The bonds shall be authorized by resolution or

28  resolutions of the board of supervisors of the district,

29  adopted by a majority of the supervisors present and voting at

30  a meeting of the supervisors. The bonds shall bear interest at

31  a rate or rates not in excess of the maximum rates permitted


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  1  by general law, may be in one or more series, may bear such

  2  date or dates, and may mature at any time or times not

  3  exceeding 40 years from their respective dates, may be payable

  4  in such medium of payment, at such place or places within or

  5  without the State of Florida, may carry such registration

  6  privileges, may be subject to redemption prior to maturity,

  7  with or without premium, may be executed in such manner, may

  8  contain such terms, covenants, and conditions, and may be in

  9  such form otherwise as such resolution or subsequent

10  resolutions shall provide. The bonds may be sold or exchanged

11  for refunding bonds, or delivered to contractors in payment

12  for any part of the work or improvements financed by such

13  bonds, or delivered in exchange for any properties, either

14  real, personal, or both, to be acquired for such works or

15  improvements, in such manner as the district in its discretion

16  shall determine. Pending the preparation of the definitive

17  bonds, interim certificates or receipts or temporary bonds in

18  such form and with such provisions as the district may

19  determine may be issued to the purchaser or purchasers of the

20  bonds issued hereunder. The bonds and such interim

21  certificates or receipts or temporary bonds shall be fully

22  negotiable and shall be and constitute negotiable instruments

23  within the meaning of and for all purposes of the law merchant

24  and the Uniform Commercial Code of the State of Florida. The

25  proceeds of the sale of any such bonds shall be used solely

26  for the payment of the costs of the district incurred or to be

27  incurred in carrying out the powers set forth in subsection

28  c., subsection d., subsection e., or subsection f., and shall

29  be disbursed in such manner and under such restrictions as the

30  district may provide in the authorizing resolution. The

31  district may also provide for the replacement of any bonds


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  1  which become mutilated or are stolen, destroyed, or lost, upon

  2  proper indemnification. A resolution providing for the

  3  issuance of special assessment bonds may also contain such

  4  limitations upon the issuance of additional bonds secured on a

  5  parity with the bonds theretofore issued as the district may

  6  deem proper.

  7         k.  All special assessments levied pursuant to this act

  8  may, in the discretion of the board, be collected by the tax

  9  collector of Palm Beach County at the same time as the general

10  county taxes are collected by the tax collector of Palm Beach

11  County, and the board shall in such event certify to the

12  county tax collector a list of all such special assessments

13  and a description of the lands and names of the owners of the

14  properties against which such special assessments have been

15  levied and the amounts to become due therefrom in the next

16  succeeding year, including any interest thereon for any

17  deficiencies for prior years. The board may in lieu of

18  providing for the collection of said special assessments by

19  the tax collector of Palm Beach County, provide for the

20  collection of the special assessments by the district under

21  such terms and conditions as the board shall determine. In

22  such event, the bills or statements for the amounts due at any

23  time and from time to time shall be mailed to the owners of

24  all properties affected by such special assessments at such

25  time or times as the board shall determine. All charges of the

26  county tax collector or of the district, and the fees, costs,

27  and expenses of any paying agents, trustees, or other

28  fiduciaries for assessment bonds issued under this act, shall

29  be deemed to be costs of the operation and maintenance of any

30  improvements in connection with which such special assessments

31  were levied and the board shall be authorized and directed to


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  1  provide for the payment each year of such costs of collection,

  2  fees, and other expenses from additional special assessments

  3  or from the maintenance tax as provided by general law.

  4         Section 5.  Permitting of hauling operations.--

  5         a.  Definitions.--As used in this act:

  6         (1)  "Haul" or "hauling" means to cart, pull, carry, or

  7  transport in a motor vehicle.

  8         (2)  "District" means the Loxahatchee Groves Water

  9  Control District.

10         (3)  "Excavate" or "excavation" means any act by which

11  material is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed,

12  displaced, relocated, or otherwise deliberately distributed.

13  Excavation excludes agricultural plowing and site grading and

14  demucking in preparation for construction.

15         b.  Application for hauling permit.--

16         (1)  In addition to the powers of the district

17  elsewhere provided by general or special law, the district

18  shall have the power to implement and enforce a permitting

19  system necessary and convenient for the exercise of any of the

20  powers or duties of the district or the board of supervisors

21  thereof pertaining to all roads and roadways maintained by the

22  district, pursuant to its legislative authority, to provide

23  access to or to restrict the use of roads or roadways within

24  the district for the hauling of excavated material where such

25  hauling exceeds 250 cubic yards of excavated material within a

26  1-year period to or from the property of any landowner.

27         (2)  In order to effect the regulation of hauling

28  activities and the protection of the condition of district

29  roads and roadways, the district:

30

31


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1         (a)  May require the following information to be

  2  supplied in an application for a hauling permit made to the

  3  district;

  4         (i)  Name and address of proposed hauling operator.

  5         (ii)  Type and number of vehicles to be operated.

  6         (iii)  Origin and destinations of hauling load.

  7         (iv)  Description of routes upon which the hauling

  8  operation will be conducted.

  9         (v)  Dimensions and maximum total weight of hauling

10  vehicles.

11         (vi)  Requested hauling schedule, including times and

12  dates of excavation and use of hauling route.

13         (vii)  Verification of notice to all utility companies

14  and municipalities along the proposed route and a copy of

15  their reply.

16         (viii)  Approval of Palm Beach County's engineering

17  department, if required.

18         (ix)  Name and address of permit applicant, which shall

19  be either the owner of the land within the district from which

20  the material is excavated or transported to or the person or

21  entity performing the excavation work in the district, if the

22  latter, the landowner must also sign the permit application.

23         (b)  Shall require that the recipient of a hauling

24  permit from the district coordinate with the district the

25  hauling routes and the times during which hauling activities

26  are permitted to take place.

27         (c)  Shall include, as a condition of the hauling

28  permit, that the hauling operator, permit applicant and

29  landowner (if not the permit applicant) not cause damage or

30  loss from the undertaking of hauling activities to the

31  property of the district, including, but not limited to,


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1  district roads and roadways and adjacent private property.

  2  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the hauling operator, permit

  3  applicant, and landowner (if not the permit applicant) shall

  4  be liable for the repair of any such damage caused by hauling

  5  activities and shall reimburse the district and any adjacent

  6  private property owners for any loss or damage occasioned by

  7  hauling activities.

  8         (d)  Shall require, as a condition of the approval of a

  9  hauling permit, evidence of insurance by the hauling operator

10  to remain in force for the duration of the permit.

11         (e)  Shall require a permit applicant, the landowner

12  (if not the permit applicant) and the hauling operator,

13  jointly and severally, to indemnify and hold harmless the

14  district and its agents, employees, officers, and supervisors

15  from and against all claims, damages, losses, and expenses,

16  including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees,

17  arising out of or resulting from the exercise of hauling

18  activities pursuant to the permit, provided that any such

19  claim, damage, loss, or expense arises or results, in whole or

20  in part, from the hauling operator's activities in connection

21  with the hauling permit, and to execute an indemnity agreement

22  so stating.

23         (f)  May assess and collect reasonable fees in

24  connection with reviewing permit applications and approving

25  the hauling permit.

26         (g)  May adopt rules to implement the purposes of this

27  section.

28         c.  Liability.--

29         (1)  Any person who, willfully or otherwise, hauls

30  material on district roads or roadways shall obtain a hauling

31  permit as required under this act and shall not violate the


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1  conditions of any hauling permit that has been granted by the

  2  district pursuant to this act.

  3         (2)  Any person who willfully hauls excavated material

  4  on district roads or roadways without a hauling permit as

  5  required under this act or who violates the conditions of a

  6  hauling permit granted pursuant to this act is liable to any

  7  person injured thereby for the full amount of the injury

  8  occasioned to any land or crops or other property by reason of

  9  such hauling activities, and shall be liable to the district

10  for double the cost of repairing any resulting damage to the

11  district's roads or roadways.

12         (3)  Any person who willfully hauls excavated material

13  upon the district roads or roadways without a hauling permit

14  as required under this act, or in contravention of the

15  conditions of a hauling permit granted pursuant to this act,

16  shall be subject to a civil fine of $500 per occurrence, with

17  each day that a violation occurs constituting a separate

18  occurrence. Any violation of this section may be treated in

19  the same manner as a noncriminal traffic infraction under

20  chapter 318, Florida Statutes, and citations for such

21  violations may be issued by traffic enforcement agencies in

22  the same manner as traffic citations are issued under chapter

23  316, Florida Statutes.

24         (4)  If a hauling operator, permit applicant, or

25  landowner (if not the permit applicant) upon notice, in

26  writing or otherwise, fails to repair any damage occasioned by

27  the hauling of materials on the road or roadways of the

28  district within 24 hours of receiving said notice, the

29  district may repair such damage and assess the owner of the

30  land in the district from which the material was excavated or

31  to which the material was hauled for the district's costs in


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1  connection with such repairs. Upon failure of any landowner to

  2  pay any assessments levied by the district pursuant to this

  3  section within 30 days of receipt of any owner of notice of

  4  the assessment, the district shall have a lien on all lands of

  5  such owner within the district. Such liens shall be superior

  6  and paramount to the interest in such land and premises of any

  7  owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee, or other person except the

  8  lien of state, county, or district taxes and any conservation

  9  easements and shall be on a parity with the lien of any such

10  state, county, or district taxes and any conservation

11  easements. Such liens shall bear interest at the annual rate

12  equal to the interest rate due on judgments, pursuant to s.

13  55.03, Florida Statutes, per year and shall, until paid,

14  remain in effect in perpetuity.

15         Section 6.  Restriction on annexation.--In view of the

16  unique rural community nature of the district and a

17  recognition by the Legislature of the appropriateness of

18  preserving the district as a unified community, no land within

19  the boundaries of the district may be annexed by any

20  municipality unless the municipality proposing to annex said

21  land agrees to annex all of the real property composing the

22  district and such annexation is subject to the provisions set

23  forth in s. 171.0413, Florida Statutes, including, but not

24  limited to, the requirement that the annexation be approved in

25  a referendum vote by the registered electors living within the

26  boundaries of the district. However, the restrictions on

27  annexation in this section shall not apply to that portion of

28  the district consisting of a parcel bounded by Southern

29  Boulevard on the south, the southern boundary of the

30  drainage/road right-of-way known as Collecting Canal on the

31  north, Folsom/Crestwood on the east, and the western boundary


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1  of the Palms West Hospital property on the west, said parcel

  2  being more particularly described as follows:

  3

  4         A parcel of land located in the County of Palm

  5         Beach, State of Florida, to wit:  The point of

  6         beginning being the intersection of the

  7         easterly line of Lot 4, Block K, Loxahatchee

  8         District, according to the plat thereof on file

  9         in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court

10         recorded in Plat Book 7, Page 81, of the Public

11         Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, and the

12         southerly boundary of the "Collecting Canal" as

13         shown on the Replat of Loxahatchee Groves

14         Subdivision according to the plat thereof,

15         recorded in Plat Book 12, Page 29, of the

16         Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida;

17         thence easterly along said southerly boundary

18         of the Collecting Canal to the easterly

19         boundary of said Replat of Loxahatchee Groves;

20         thence south along said easterly boundary line

21         of the Replat of Loxahatchee Groves to the

22         north right-of-way line of State Road 80,

23         thence westerly along said northerly

24         right-of-way line of State Road 80 to the

25         easterly line of Lot 4, Block K, Loxahatchee

26         District; thence northerly along said easterly

27         line of Lot 4 to the Point of Beginning.

28

29         Section 7.  Borrowing authority to deal with

30  disaster.--To allow the district to deal with the financial

31  impact of the repair, replacement, or reconstruction of works


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    SB 2616                                        First Engrossed



  1  of the district or other costs incurred by the district due to

  2  a "disaster," as defined in s. 252.34(1), Florida Statutes,

  3  the district is hereby authorized to borrow such funds as the

  4  district may reasonably determine are necessary to cope with

  5  the disaster. The district is also authorized to enter into a

  6  line of credit arrangement that will permit such borrowing,

  7  but funds can be drawn on the line of credit only after a

  8  state of emergency has been declared by Palm Beach County, the

  9  Governor, or the President of the United States. The district

10  may grant as security or collateral for borrowing under this

11  section any local, state, or federal disaster relief payments

12  (or similar type of payments) to be received by the district

13  or maintenance assessments levied by the district pursuant to

14  s. 298.54, Florida Statutes, or both.

15         Section 3.  Except as specifically provided herein,

16  chapter 76-455, Laws of Florida; chapter 79-540, Laws of

17  Florida; chapter 82-355, Laws of Florida; chapter 86-432, Laws

18  of Florida; chapter 87-519, Laws of Florida; chapter 88-502,

19  Laws of Florida; and chapter 92-259, Laws of Florida, are

20  repealed.

21         Section 4.  In the event any section, or provision of

22  this act is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, such

23  determination shall not affect the validity of or

24  enforceability of each other section and provision of this

25  act.

26         Section 5.  In the event of a conflict of the

27  provisions of this act, with the provisions of any other act,

28  the provisions of this act shall control to the extent of such

29  conflict.

30         Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

31  law.


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