The Florida Senate

¹373.4149  Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan.--

(1)  The Legislature hereby accepts and adopts the recommendations contained in the Phase I Lake Belt Report and Plan, known as the "Miami-Dade County Lake Plan," dated February 1997 and submitted by the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan Implementation Committee.

(2)(a)  The Legislature recognizes that deposits of limestone and sand suitable for production of construction aggregates, cement, and road base materials are located in limited areas of the state.

(b)  The Legislature recognizes that the deposit of limestone available in South Florida is limited due to urbanization to the east and the Everglades to the west.

(3)  The Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area is that area bounded by the Ronald Reagan Turnpike to the east, the Miami-Dade-Broward County line to the north, Krome Avenue to the west and Tamiami Trail to the south together with the land south of Tamiami Trail in sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18, Township 54 South, Range 39 East, sections 24, 25, and 36, Township 54 South, Range 38 East less those portions of section 10, except the west one-half, section 11, except the northeast one-quarter and the east one-half of the northwest one-quarter, and tracts 38 through 41, and tracts 49 through 64 inclusive, section 13, except tracts 17 through 35 and tracts 46 through 48, of Florida Fruit Lands Company Subdivision No. 1 according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 2, page 17, public records of Miami-Dade County, and section 14, except the west three quarters, Township 52 South, Range 39 East, lying north of the Miami Canal, sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25, Township 53 South, Range 39 East and Government Lots 1 and 2, lying between Townships 53 and 54 South, Range 39 East and those portions of sections 1 and 2, Township 54 South, Range 39 East, lying north of Tamiami Trail.

(4)  The identification of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area shall not preempt local land use jurisdiction, planning, or regulatory authority in regard to the use of land by private land owners. When amending local comprehensive plans, or implementing zoning regulations, development regulations, or other local regulations, Miami-Dade County shall strongly consider limestone mining activities and ancillary operations, such as lake excavation, including use of explosives, rock processing, cement, concrete and asphalt products manufacturing, and ancillary activities, within the rock mining supported and allowable areas of the Miami-Dade County Lake Plan adopted by subsection (1); provided, however, that limerock mining activities are consistent with wellfield protection. Rezonings or amendments to local comprehensive plans concerning properties that are located within 1 mile of the Miami-Dade Lake Belt Area shall be compatible with limestone mining activities. No rezonings, variances, or amendments to local comprehensive plans for any residential purpose may be approved for any property located in sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25, Township 53 South, Range 39 East until such time as there is no active mining within 2 miles of the property. This section does not preclude residential development that complies with current regulations.

(5)  The Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan Implementation Committee shall be appointed by the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District to develop a strategy for the design and implementation of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan. The committee shall consist of the chair of the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District, who shall serve as chair of the committee, the policy director of Environmental and Growth Management in the office of the Governor, the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, the director of the Division of Water Facilities or its successor division within the Department of Environmental Protection, the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development within the office of the Governor, the secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, the executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the director of the Department of Environmental Resource Management of Miami-Dade County, the director of the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department, the Director of Planning in Miami-Dade County, a representative of the Friends of the Everglades, a representative of the Florida Audubon Society, a representative of the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club, four representatives of the nonmining private landowners within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area, and four representatives from the limestone mining industry to be appointed by the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District. Two ex officio seats on the committee will be filled by one member of the Florida House of Representatives to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among representatives whose districts, or some portion of whose districts, are included within the geographical scope of the committee as described in subsection (3), and one member of the Florida Senate to be selected by the President of the Senate from among senators whose districts, or some portion of whose districts, are included within the geographical scope of the committee as described in subsection (3). The committee may appoint other ex officio members, as needed, by a majority vote of all committee members. A committee member may designate in writing an alternate member who, in the member's absence, may participate and vote in committee meetings.

(6)  The committee shall develop Phase II of the Lake Belt Plan which shall:

(a)  Include a detailed master plan to further implementation;

(b)  Consider the feasibility of a common mitigation plan for nonrock mining uses, including a nonrock mining mitigation fee. Any mitigation fee shall be for the limited purpose of offsetting the loss of wetland functions and values and not as a revenue source for other purposes.

(c)  Further address compatible land uses, opportunities, and potential conflicts;

(d)  Provide for additional wellfield protection;

(e)  Provide measures to prevent the reclassification of the Northwest Miami-Dade County wells as groundwater under the direct influence of surface water;

(f)  Secure additional funding sources;

(g)  Consider the need to establish a land authority; and

(h)  Analyze the hydrological impacts resulting from the future mining included in the Lake Belt Plan and recommend appropriate mitigation measures, if needed, to be incorporated into the Lake Belt Mitigation Plan.

(7)  The committee shall remain in effect until January 1, 2002, and shall meet as deemed necessary by the chair. The committee shall monitor and direct progress toward developing and implementing the plan. The committee shall submit progress reports to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District and the Legislature by December 31 of each year. These reports shall include a summary of the activities of the committee, updates on all ongoing studies, any other relevant information gathered during the calendar year, and the committee recommendations for legislative and regulatory revisions. The committee shall submit a Phase II report and plan to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District and the Legislature by December 31, 2000, to supplement the Phase I report submitted on February 28, 1997. The Phase II report must include the detailed master plan for the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area together with the final reports on all studies, the final recommendations of the committee, the status of implementation of Phase I recommendations and other relevant information, and the committee's recommendation for legislative and regulatory revisions.

(8)  The committee shall report to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District semiannually.

(9)  In carrying out its work, the committee shall solicit comments from scientific and economic advisors and governmental, public, and private interests. The committee shall provide meeting notes, reports, and the strategy document in a timely manner for public comment.

(10)  The committee is authorized to seek from the agencies or entities represented on the committee any grants or funds necessary to enable it to carry out its charge.

(11)  The secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, the secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, the secretary of the Department of Transportation, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the executive director of the South Florida Water Management District may enter into agreements with landowners, developers, businesses, industries, individuals, and governmental agencies as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.

(12)(a)  All agencies of the state shall review the status of their landholdings within the boundaries of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt. Those lands for which no present or future use is identified must be made available, together with other suitable lands, to the committee for its use in carrying out the objectives of this act.

(b)  It is the intent of the Legislature that lands provided to the committee be used for land exchanges to further the objectives of this act.

History.--s. 21, ch. 92-132; s. 5, ch. 94-122; s. 1010, ch. 95-148; s. 10, ch. 97-222; s. 1, ch. 99-298; s. 22, ch. 2000-197; ss. 1, 2, ch. 2000-285.

¹Note.--Section 2, ch. 2000-285, provides that "[a]ny rights a person may have acquired pursuant to [former] subsection (5) of s. 373.4149, shall be extinguished [December 14, 2000]; unless, prior to such date, that person has filed an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce such alleged rights and has recorded a notice of lis pendens."