Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 938
       
       
        
       By Senator McClain
       
       
       
       
       
       9-01008-26                                             2026938__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to conservation easements; amending s.
    3         704.06, F.S.; requiring a water management district to
    4         release a conservation easement upon application of
    5         the fee simple owner of a parcel of land if certain
    6         conditions are met; requiring that the ad valorem
    7         taxes of the property be based on the just value of
    8         the property; authorizing such property to be used for
    9         development consistent with the zoning designation of
   10         the adjacent lands; providing that the property owner
   11         assumes responsibility for any stormwater requirements
   12         if the property is developed; requiring a property
   13         owner to comply with certain ordinances; requiring the
   14         property owner to seek the water management district’s
   15         approval for stormwater permit modifications;
   16         providing applicability; providing an effective date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Subsection (14) is added to section 704.06,
   21  Florida Statutes, to read:
   22         704.06 Conservation easements; creation; acquisition;
   23  enforcement.—
   24         (14)(a) Upon application to a water management district by
   25  the fee simple owner of a parcel of land subject to a
   26  conservation easement, the water management district must
   27  release the conservation easement if all of the following
   28  conditions are met:
   29         1. The land subject to the conservation easement is fewer
   30  than 15 acres and is bordered on three or more sides by
   31  impervious surfaces.
   32         2. Any undeveloped adjacent parcels of land are fewer than
   33  15 acres and similarly bordered on three or more sides by
   34  impervious surfaces.
   35         3. The land contains no historical, architectural,
   36  archeological, or cultural significance.
   37         4. The applicant has secured sufficient mitigation credits
   38  and has compensated the water management district by using the
   39  uniform mitigation assessment method from a mitigation bank
   40  located in this state to offset the loss of any wetlands located
   41  on the land subject to the conservation easement pursuant to s.
   42  373.4135.
   43         (b) Upon the water management district’s release of the
   44  conservation easement, the ad valorem taxes on the property must
   45  be based on the just value of the property, and the property may
   46  be used for development that is consistent with the zoning
   47  designation of the adjacent lands.
   48         (c) The property owner assumes responsibility for any
   49  stormwater requirements if the property is developed.
   50         (d) The property owner shall comply with all local
   51  ordinances related to stormwater management for any development
   52  proposed for the subject parcel and, if applicable, seek the
   53  district’s approval for the modification of any stormwater
   54  permits upon which the conservation easement was a condition.
   55         (e) This subsection does not apply to conservation
   56  easements located within residential developments or to
   57  proprietary conservation easements held by a district.
   58         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.