House Bill 1795

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1795

        By Representative Jacobs






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the City of Boca Raton, Palm

  3         Beach County; providing certain findings;

  4         providing for a partial exception to

  5         transportation concurrency requirements for the

  6         Blue Lake development of regional impact

  7         project subject to a determination by the

  8         Secretary of Community Affairs that certain

  9         criteria have been satisfied; requiring certain

10         transit facilities and incentives, roadway and

11         intersection improvements, and transportation

12         demand management programs; providing for an

13         implementation agreement; providing for an

14         appeal to the Florida Land and Water

15         Adjudicatory Commission; providing an effective

16         date.

17

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

19

20         Section 1.  Legislative findings:

21         (1)  The City of Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and the

22  State of Florida suffered significant economic loss with the

23  departure of some 10,000 employees from IBM's Boca Raton

24  facility. A development of regional impact was approved by the

25  City of Boca Raton for the redevelopment and expansion of the

26  IBM facility as the Blue Lake Corporate Center. Blue Lake is

27  expected to provide employment for approximately 20,000

28  persons at buildout, creating significant positive impacts on

29  employment and the economy of the region and the state.

30         (2)  The Blue Lake property is within the Eastward Ho

31  initiative area as part of the state's sustainable communities

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1795

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  1  demonstration project under chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and

  2  the City of Boca Raton is one of the five demonstration

  3  sustainable communities under an agreement between the City

  4  and the Department of Community Affairs. The agreement between

  5  the City of Boca Raton and the Department of Community Affairs

  6  provides that the City will emphasize the creation of jobs,

  7  including at the Blue Lake project, and will encourage

  8  development in proximity to mass transit.

  9         (3)  The Blue Lake development of regional impact abuts

10  the Tri-County Commuter Rail line and Palm Beach County's bus

11  routes, and is adjacent to Florida Atlantic University, Lynn

12  University, and other large employment and residential areas.

13  The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, which

14  recommended approval of the Blue Lake development of regional

15  impact, concluded that the traffic management techniques for

16  the project should include rail and bus transit instead of the

17  usual road expansions only. Managing traffic impacts within

18  the Eastward Ho area of Southeast Florida only with the

19  expansion of the road system is not in the best interests of

20  the public and is an inefficient use of public and private

21  resources. Encouraging the use of transit and other

22  transportation demand techniques within the Eastward Ho area

23  is in the best interests of the public. Blue Lake represents

24  an exceptional opportunity to promote and increase the use of

25  public transportation and other transportation demand

26  techniques in furtherance of existing state policy.

27         Section 2.  (1)  The Blue Lake development of regional

28  impact project approved by the City of Boca Raton Resolution

29  No. 37-99, and as it may be amended, shall be entitled to an

30  exception from state, regional, and local concurrency

31  requirements for transportation facilities, notwithstanding

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1795

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  1  any other provision to the contrary under the law, upon a

  2  determination by the Secretary of Community Affairs that

  3  satisfaction of the following criteria has been assured:

  4         (a)  The project shall institute a variable work hour

  5  program;

  6         (b)  The project shall provide to the public commuter

  7  rail operator a parcel at the project site adjacent to the

  8  rail tracks for a station platform, ticket booth, and parking

  9  for at least 300 automobiles, and a bus stop facility shall be

10  provided to accommodate at least three public transportation

11  buses at a time, with a covered waiting area of sufficient

12  size to accommodate at least 100 passengers;

13         (c)  If and when the project has multiple buildings, it

14  shall provide an internal shuttle or tram system at least 14

15  hours per day, 6 days per week, with at least 20-minute

16  headways to provide passenger service between the commuter

17  rail parcel and the public bus transportation facility and the

18  other buildings and facilities on the project site;

19         (d)  A financial incentive in the form of a subsidy of

20  a percentage of the annual ticket cost shall be provided to

21  persons employed at the project site for riding on the

22  commuter rail system or public bus transportation system to

23  and from the project site a minimum of 200 working days per

24  year;

25         (e)  The project shall provide a ride-sharing

26  information service to persons employed at the project site;

27         (f)  Emergency transportation shall be provided by the

28  project for those employees using transit, sharing rides, or

29  riding bikes;

30         (g)  The project shall include bicycle racks, showers,

31  and bike lanes on the roads within the project;

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1795

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  1         (h)  The project shall attempt to coordinate its

  2  marketing efforts with the public commuter rail operator and

  3  the public bus provider;

  4         (i)  The project shall maximize to the degree

  5  reasonably practicable the use of shared access points where

  6  the project abuts a constrained roadway;

  7         (j)  The project shall provide external and internal

  8  pedestrian access to the project for persons with disabilities

  9  and other persons using alternative modes of transportation

10  other than the automobile; and

11         (k)  The project shall be responsible for the roadway

12  and intersection improvements.

13

14  Contracts for the improvements specified for a particular

15  phase shall be let prior to the issuance of a building permit

16  for development in that phase, and the improvements shall be

17  completed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy

18  for development in that phase. The Blue Lake development of

19  regional impact shall be exempt from traffic concurrency on

20  all other roadway links and intersections.

21         (2)  The Secretary may enter into any agreement

22  necessary to assure satisfaction of the criteria in this act.

23         (3)  The applicant shall be entitled to appeal the

24  determinations of the Secretary to the Florida Land and Water

25  Adjudicatory Commission pursuant to section 380.07, Florida

26  Statutes.

27         (4)  The final determination of the Secretary, or the

28  Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission in the event of

29  an appeal, shall bind all affected local governments and shall

30  constitute an amendment to all applicable development orders

31  and agreements.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1795

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  1         (5)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the

  2  contrary, no amendments to any comprehensive plan, rules,

  3  regulations, or ordinances shall be necessary to effectuate

  4  the final determination of the Secretary or the Florida Land

  5  and Water Adjudicatory Commission.

  6         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  7  law.

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