§ 5.7. Existing Regulatory Framework

5.7.1 Federal Coastal Management Zone Act

In 1972, the U.S. Congress passed the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) to address the increasing conflict between protection and use of our nation's coastal zone. The legislation encouraged the nation's coastal regions (collectively referred to as the "coastal states" or "states") to develop and implement federally-approved coastal management programs (CMPs) based on that state's unique coastal characteristics. The management programs were to assist states to achieve wise use of the land and water resources of the coastal zone, giving full consideration to ecological, economic, cultural, historic, and aesthetic values. The program was to be a comprehensive statement (in words, maps, illustrations, or other media of communication) that was prepared and adopted by the state in accordance with the provisions of the CZMA. It sets forth objectives, policies, and standards to guide public and private uses of lands and waters in the coastal zone. The CZMA requires the state CMPs to describe:

• The boundaries of the state's coastal zone;

• The coastal land, water and natural resources that have a direct and significant impact on coastal waters;

• Geographic areas of particular concern;

• The authorities and enforceable policies of the CMP;

• Guidelines on usage priority;

• The organizational and enforceable policies for implementing the CMP, including the responsibilities and interrelationships of local, area-wide, state, regional, and interstate agencies and management process;

• Shorefront access and protection planning. This includes access to other public coastal areas of environmental, recreational, historical, aesthetic, ecological, or cultural value;

• New energy facility planning;

• Shoreline erosion/mitigation planning.

Once a state develops a CMP approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that state becomes eligible for annual implementation funds. The state is also given the authority by Congress to review certain federal activities that have reasonably foreseeable effects on any land use, water use, or natural resource in its coastal zone to make sure that the federal actions are consistent with the enforceable policies of the state's federally-approved CMP. This authority is referred to as "federal consistency." Some examples of "coastal land or water uses" include such activities as public access, recreation, fishing, historic or cultural preservation, development, energy infrastructure and use, hazards management, marinas, floodplain management, scenic and aesthetic enjoyment, and resource creation or restoration. (Source: Florida Coastal Management Program Guide, 2015, FDEP.)

5.7.2 The Florida Coastal Management Program (CMP)

In 1978, the Florida Legislature adopted the Florida Coastal Management Act, codified as Chapter 380, F.S., Part II, Coastal Planning and Management. This legislation authorized the development of the Florida Coastal Management Program (FCMP) and its submittal to the federal government. In 1981, the FCMP was approved by the Secretary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is designated as the lead agency for the FCMP pursuant to the CZMA. DEP's Florida Coastal Office, is charged with overseeing the state's coastal management program and handles the following FCMP activities:

• Compiles and submits the federal applications for receiving funds pursuant to the CZMA.

• Adopts rule procedures and criteria for the evaluation of Coastal Partnership Initiative (CPI) and state agency sub-grant applications for funds allocated to the state under the CZMA.

• Administers the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP), a federally-funded land acquisition program.

• Conducts the CZMA Section 309 assessment and strategies for coastal resource issues.

• Administers the Beach Access Sign Program, the Beach Warning Flag Program, and the Rip Current Awareness Program.

• Prepares routine program updates to incorporate annual statutory changes.

• Maintains informational materials and procedural guidelines.

• Provides education and outreach materials.

• Guides the coordination of the Federal Consistency review process.

• Conducts training workshops for those entities involved in the federal consistency process.

• Provides, to the practicable extent, financial, technical, research, and legal assistance to effectuate the purposes of the Florida Coastal Management Act.

• Acts as a resource for the partner agencies in the Coastal Management Program.

The CZMA requires a state CMP to identify the boundary of its coastal zone, which includes the area of land and water from the territorial limits landward to the most inland extent of marine influences. Following is a description of the seaward and interstate boundaries for the state of Florida:

• Seaward Boundaries—The CZMA16 defines the seaward extent of a state's coastal zone as "to the outer limit of state title and ownership under the Submerged Land Act17 ….". Under the Submerged Lands Act, Florida's title and ownership extends three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and, in accordance with United States vs. Louisiana, et.al., 364 U.S. 502 (1960), three marine leagues (approximately nine nautical miles) into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Interstate Boundaries—The western lateral boundary of the FCMP is defined by the adjudicated boundary between Florida and Alabama. The coastal zone boundary in Alabama is the continuous 10-foot contour in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The northern lateral boundary of the state coastal program is the adjudicated boundary between Florida and Alabama and Florida and Georgia. Each state, with the development of its own coastal management program, has consulted with one another to ensure compatibility between each state's respective boundary designations.

Based upon the geography of Florida and the legal basis for the state program, the entire state of Florida is included within the coastal zone. Geographically, Florida has low land elevation, a generally high water table, and an extensive coastline with many rivers emptying into coastal waters. Few places in Florida are more than seventy miles from either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. The result is an interrelationship between the land and coastal waters, which makes it difficult to establish a boundary that would exclude inland areas. Because of this interrelationship, the state boundaries include the entire area encompassed by the state's 67 counties and its territorial seas. The only exceptions are lands the federal government owns, leases, holds in trust, or whose use is otherwise by law subject to the sole discretion of the federal government, its officers, or agents. Lands held by the Seminole and Miccosukee Indian Tribes are also exempted.

Note: For planning and developing coordinated projects and initiatives relating to coastal resource protection and management and for completing federal consistency reviews of federally-licensed and permitted activities, only the geographical area encompassed by the 35 Florida coastal counties and the adjoining territorial sea is utilized. This would include Santa Rosa County as a coastal county. (Source: Florida Coastal Management Program Guide, 2015, FDEP.)

5.0 Coastal Management Element Goals, Objectives, and Policies

Goal 5.1: To protect Navarre Beach, the built environment, and the citizens that live in Santa Rosa County's coastal areas while maintaining and improving estuarine environmental quality.

Objective 5.1.A: Protect people and property by limiting public expenditures in areas subject to destruction by natural disasters.

Policy 5.1.A.1: Public expenditures on Navarre Beach not directly paid by users, necessary for evacuation, or necessary for the insurance of public safety shall be limited to the following: the development of parks and recreational facilities; the enhancement or protection of natural resources; or increasing the public's access to the shoreline.

Policy 5.1.A.2: Coastal High Hazard Areas shall be defined as the area below the elevation of the Category 1 storm surge line as established by a Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) computerized storm surge model. A generalized map of the Coastal High Hazard Areas (CHHA) in Santa Rosa County is located within the Support Documentation for this Element. Within the CHHA, the following provisions apply:

A)

New development of adult congregate living facilities, nursing homes for the aged, total care facilities, hospitals, correctional facilities and similar developments shall be prohibited;

B)

Except as provided in (A) above, there is no prohibition on development or redevelopment seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line provided that the applicant for such development or redevelopment has obtained all necessary State and/or Federal permits;

C)

Within the CHHA, structures damaged more than 50% by coastal storms may be rebuilt provided that the redevelopment meets current building code and Land Development Code requirements.

D)

Densities and intensities of use to guide development and post-disaster redevelopment within the CHHA are as established in this Plan.

E)

Sizing of infrastructure shall be consistent with that needed to support the densities and intensities established by this Plan for those areas within the CHHA.

Policy 5.1.A.3: New development and redevelopment shall comply with current Florida Building Code construction standards and with the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code's Coastal Management/Conservation provisions.

Policy 5.1.A.4: The County shall consider the relocation, mitigation or replacement of infrastructure currently present within the CHHA where state funding is anticipated to be needed. As identified in the Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) Priority List. An analysis of this need will be included annually in the evaluation of this Plan.

Policy 5.1.A.5: New roads, pipelines and other public infrastructure within the Coastal Area shall be planned and constructed in a manner that will minimize their impact upon coastal marshes, wetlands and surface waters.

Policy 5.1.A.6: Reduce the exposure of human life and public and private property to natural hazards through implementation of the Santa Rosa County current Local Mitigation Strategy Plan.

Policy 5.1.A.7: Santa Rosa County shall continue to implement the local Flood Mitigation Plan for the purposes of reducing flooding hazards.

Policy 5.1.A.8: The County shall maintain an inventory of areas within the County that have experienced repeated damage from coastal storms and shall seek grant funding or assist property owners to limit redevelopment within these areas.

Policy 5.1.A.9: The County shall utilize the Santa Rosa County Cultural Resource Management Geographical Information System to identify possible resources during the development review process. If resources identified as a Florida Master Site File archeological or structural resource is located within the area to be developed, the County shall require a site specific survey and avoidance during construction or mitigation. Consistent with Policy 1.1.D.7 of the Future Land Use Element, the County will require the cessation of land disturbing activities any time artifacts with potential historical significance are revealed during construction activities. The purpose of the cessation is to allow time to determine the significance of any artifact or historical evidence found on the site. The cessation may be lifted upon such determination. Normally, determination will be made by those approved to make such determination by the Office of the Secretary of State, Division of Historical Resources.

Policy 5.1.A.10: The County shall allow no new development in the Coastal Area (or elsewhere) unless LOS standards are maintained and infrastructure needs are fulfilled in compliance with the County's Concurrency Management System.

Objective 5.1.B: The County shall direct population concentrations away from the Coastal High Hazard Area.

Policy 5.1.B.1: The County shall limit the densities and intensities of land use as defined within this Plan. Such limitations will assure generalized low density use of land within the majority of the Coastal High Hazard Areas of Santa Rosa County.

Policy 5.1.B.2: The County will work with the Local Mitigation Task Force to identify and prioritize coastal properties so they may be acquired as part of the state's land acquisition programs subject to property availability by willing sellers. Priority will be given to properties subject to repetitive flood losses, environmentally sensitive properties subject to development pressure, and properties subject to coastal flooding.

Objective 5.1.C: Preserve and protect the environmental quality of estuarine environments, coastal wetlands, wildlife habitat and living marine resources by restricting development, or by limiting the impacts of development or redevelopment.

Policy 5.1.C.1: New developments with the potential to impact the quantity or quality of natural resources will be required to obtain the necessary permits from all applicable state and/or federal agencies (Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Northwest Florida Water Management District and/or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) prior to the authorization of a building permit by the County.

Policy 5.1.C.2: The shorelines of the Gulf of Mexico, Santa Rosa Sound, Escambia Bay, Blackwater Bay, East Bay and the basins and bayous will be protected from the negative impacts of development by limiting development within 50 feet of the shoreline, requiring a minimum 15-foot vegetated buffer between development activity and the shoreline, and by limiting the maximum amount of impervious cover allowed to 75 percent.

Policy 5.1.C.3: Any storm water detention or retention areas located near an estuary or estuarine systems or other water bodies within the County shall be designed so that the shorelines are sinuous rather than straight and so that water/land interfaces are curvilinear and maximize space for growth of littoral vegetation.

Policy 5.1.C.4: No septic tanks shall be permitted near any functioning estuarine system until the applicant for such septic tank has received approval from the Florida DOH/County Health Department, and then only if a central sewer system is not available pursuant to the Florida Statutes. The use of septic tanks in Garcon Point and areas South of East River will be further limited as detailed in Policy 4.1.B.7.

Policy 5.1.C.5: With respect to acquisition, the County, where feasible, shall protect sensitive coastal areas unduly threatened by development, through acquisition, establishment of public or private conservation easements, or through other available means as deemed appropriate.

Policy 5.1.C.6: The County shall coordinate and provide technical assistance to Federal and State agencies preparing applicable studies which will maintain and/or increase water quality, based on established water body classification.

Policy 5.1.C.7: The County shall coordinate, through the Bay Area Resource Council, with adjacent counties and municipalities to protect estuaries which are located within the jurisdiction of more than one local government to ensure adequate sites for water dependent uses, prevent estuarine pollution, control surface water runoff, protect living marine resources, reduce exposure to natural hazards and ensure public access.

Policy 5.1.C.8: The County will continue to protect the Outstanding Florida Waters located within the County. Components of this protection include, but are not limited to public ownership of conservation areas, stormwater management requirements and implementation of the wetlands protection provisions of Policy 6.1.A.1.

Policy 5.1.C.9: When considering new land use designations along shorelines other than the Garcon Point Peninsula or Escambia Bay, priority will be given to low density residential, conservation uses, recreation uses, water related or water dependent uses. In Navarre, higher density residential and tourist related uses will be allowed consistent with the Future Land Use Map.

Policy 5.1.C.10: Siting of marinas will be coordinated with all applicable state and federal agencies using the most current available data regarding locations of seagrass beds or other environmentally sensitive habitats. Before additional marinas are developed they must demonstrate compliance with the following criteria:

a.

Land use is compatible with surrounding land uses;

b.

Upland support services are available;

c.

Water quality concerns have been addressed;

d.

The facility is designed to avoid impacts to seagrass beds and other important fish and shellfish spawning and nursery areas; and

e.

A plan is in place for mitigation activities in the event that the environment is adversely affected.

Objective 5.1.D: Require development to protect beaches and dunes, to restore altered beaches and dunes, and to comply with construction standards which minimize the impacts of man-made structures on beach and dune systems.

Policy 5.1.D.1: Ensure compliance with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) regulations that require location of construction a sufficient distance landward of the beach to permit natural shoreline fluctuations and to preserve dune and beach stability. It is not the intent of this policy to prevent a development from receiving a variance to these regulations if deemed necessary by the FDEP.

Policy 5.1.D.2: The Future Land Use Map shall contain a Conservation/Recreation Land Use Category. At least 34 % of the developable land within the Navarre Beach Zoning Overlay District shall remain in this category.

Policy 5.1.D.3: The removal of white sand from within the Navarre Beach Zoning Overlay District shall be prohibited.

Policy 5.1.D[.4]: The County will encourage activities that protect and rebuild coastal dunes. This will be accomplished by continuing, or supporting the continuation of, activities by private and public agencies for dune restoration purposes, installation of sand fences on public and private properties, and enforcing restrictions regarding the destruction of sea oats and requiring the planting of sea oats by new development in coastal areas.

Policy 5.1.D.5: The County will encourage existing development and require new development to plant or replant native vegetation where appropriate, including sea grass beds and other types of shoreline, aquatic, and upland vegetation.

Objective 5.1.E: To maintain or reduce hurricane evacuation times when considering applications for Future Land Use Map amendments.

Policy 5.1.E.1: The County shall continue to support critical roadway segment improvements through participation with the Florida-Alabama TPO and interaction with the Florida DOT to further reduce and improve hurricane evacuation times.

Policy 5.1.E.2: The County shall annually review evacuation route needs to assure that the necessary improvements are incorporated within the Capital Improvement Program, the Capital Improvement Element, the Transportation Element and the FDOT five-year work program.

Policy 5.1.E.3: Santa Rosa County shall limit the density in the Coastal High Hazard Area as allowed by law. The intent of this policy is not to nullify any existing leases on Navarre Beach that specify density.

Policy 5.1.E.4: Where shelter deficits exist in excess of 200 shelter spaces the County will consider the construction of additional spaces during its annual Capital Improvements Program review.

Objective 5.1.F: Maintain the Santa Rosa County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) to and reduce or eliminate the exposure of human life and public and private property to natural hazards.

Policy 5.1.F.1: Santa Rosa County's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan shall be used as the operational guide to prepare for the response to, and recover from, a tropical storm, hurricane and/or other natural or man-made disasters.

Policy 5.1.F.2: The County shall update its Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan every four years, and shall re-evaluate its effectiveness immediately after a major disaster event to recommend and adopt appropriate modifications.

Policy 5.1.F.3: The County shall coordinate its Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan with adjacent counties and municipalities.

Objective 5.1.G: Increase or maintain the amount of public access to the beach or shoreline consistent with estimated public need.

Policy 5.1.G.1: Shorelines re-nourished or protected at public expense shall be made available for public use.

Policy 5.1.G.2: The County shall continue to maintain County owned shoreline or open space access sites and provide adequate parking facilities for each site.

Policy 5.1.G.3: The County will continue to seek all available federal and state financial assistance to increase public access to the shoreline.

Policy 5.1.G.4: The County will not vacate or relocate existing easements, walkways or other access points to Navarre Beaches without requiring the grant or dedication of equal or greater access points or easements.

Policy 5.1.G.5: Private landowners adjacent to public beach or other waterway access points, including easements, will not be allowed to restrict public access to the beach through such access points.

Policy 5.1.G.6: Existing public owned ramp facilities shall be maintained and improved as necessary and as economically feasible.

(Ord. No. 2016-25 , § 1, 12-12-16)