DUVAL COUNTY
I.
Background
1.
County: Duval County
2.
Contact: Mark Middlebrook
3.
E-mail: markm@coj.net
4.
Phone: 904 630-1217
5.
Program Began in: 1/13/1999
6.
Program was funded in: 1999
7.
Length of Program: 5 years
8.
Program was funded by (Bond, Sales Tax, Other)
City bond issue, debt savings, and City General-Fund Contribution.
9.
If funded by bond, length of time to pay back bond
10 years
10.
County Population
750,000
11.
Total County Budget (Yearly)
12.
Total Program Budget (Yearly)
No program budget.
13.
Total Number of Employees for the Land Acquisition Program
0, part-time staffing from other county agencies.
14.
When is a good time to reach you by telephone?
8 am to 5 pm.
1.
How much land has been acquired since the program began?
5,200 acres of land have been acquired since the program began.
2.
How much money has been spent to date?
To date $29 million dollars between city and partners has been spent on Preservation Project Jacksonville.
3.
What is your acquisition process?
Program manual attached.
4.
How do you select properties for acquisition (i.e. one or two more
committees, a citizen proposal committee)?
Selected properties for acquisition are reviewed and scored by staff ten approved by the Oversight Commission.
5.
Does the ordinance distinguish between the purposes for which the
properties may be acquired (e.g preservation, passive recreation, active
recreation).
Yes.
6.
What are the major selection criteria in your program (water quality,
quantity of land, endangered or endemic species, open space, etc.)?
1) Manage growth
2) Preserve environmentally sensitive lands
3) Improve water quality of area rivers and waterways
4) Improve access to city's natural areas
7.
Do you have a defined acquisition strategy?
Acquisition strategy is to divide county into 5 basic corridors in relation to the above attributes.
8.
If so, how is this articulated, e.g. by ordinance, rule or internal
guidance?
By internal guidance.
9.
Please briefly describe your acquisition strategy? (e.g Is your land acquisition strategy designed
to connect existing conservation lands (corridor), or is the focus on
last of the last (small land area) or best of the rest (large areas))?
Criteria is weighted to connectivity, greenways adding on to
existing preserves like Timucan.
10.
Do you seek matching funds from outside entities such as The Nature
Conservancy, Florida Communities Trust etc.?
yes.
11.
If so, please estimate the percentage of lands that were acquired with
matching funds by partner. (i.e. 60% of acquired lands were matched - 30% The
Nature Conservancy, 30% Water Management District)
100%
to date have had matching funds.
12.
Is land acquisition a specified goal of the county comprehensive plan?
If so, what objectives and policies implement this goal?
Yes,
in the conservation element of the comp plan.
1.
Do you require a management plan prior to, concurrent with or
within a specified time after acquisition of properties?
Management plans are implemented after acquisition of properties, except when using certain grants.
2.
How do you fund management of acquired lands?
Hasn't
been determined yet.
3.
Are the management funds earmarked in the program budget?
No.
4.
Do you have agreements with outside entities to manage acquired
properties? If so, to what extent?
There
is co-management with other agencies, depends on partnering requirements.
5.
Was the land use of the acquired areas specified in the ordinance
(passive vs. active recreation etc.)?
The land use of acquired properties is specified in the ordinance.
IV.
Advice
1.
What type of advice do you have for a county that is just putting
together a land acquisition program?
a. be flexible when setting up program criteria
b. process has to be streamlined to be able to quickly acquire property in immediate danger of being developed.
2.
What major
problems have you encountered in your county’s program and how would you
change them if you could?
To date Preservation Project Jacksonville has not encountered any major problems.