| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the line of ordinary high water |
| 3 | dividing sovereign and riparian ownership in certain |
| 4 | navigable freshwater bodies; creating s. 253.024, F.S.; |
| 5 | defining the term "ordinary high-water line" for purposes |
| 6 | of ch. 253, F.S., relating to state lands; amending ss. |
| 7 | 197.502, 258.39, 258.399, 380.0555, and 403.813, F.S., |
| 8 | relating to property descriptions in tax deeds, boundaries |
| 9 | of aquatic preserves, and the Apalachicola Bay Area; |
| 10 | providing a definition; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
|
| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
|
| 14 | Section 1. Section 253.024, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 15 | to read: |
| 16 | 253.024 Ordinary high-water line.-- |
| 17 | (1) This section applies when construing the term |
| 18 | "ordinary high-water line" as it is used in this chapter. The |
| 19 | term "ordinary high-water line" includes the terms "ordinary |
| 20 | high-water mark," "line of ordinary high water," and "ordinary |
| 21 | high watermark", and the term "freshet" means a flood or |
| 22 | overflowing of a river, by means of rains or melted snow, or an |
| 23 | inundation. |
| 24 | (2) The ordinary high-water line is a water mark that is |
| 25 | coordinate with the limit of the bed of a freshwater body; and |
| 26 | that only is to be considered the bed that the water occupies |
| 27 | sufficiently long and continuously to wrest it from vegetation |
| 28 | and destroy its value for agricultural purposes. Any necessary |
| 29 | determination of the location of the ordinary high-water mark |
| 30 | must be made by examining the bed and the banks of the |
| 31 | freshwater body, and ascertaining where the presence and action |
| 32 | of the water are so common and usual, and so long continued in |
| 33 | all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil of the bed a |
| 34 | character distinct from that of the banks, in respect to |
| 35 | vegetation, as well as respects the nature of the soil itself. |
| 36 | Ordinarily the slope of the bank and the character of the soil |
| 37 | of the bank soil are such that the water impresses a distinct |
| 38 | character on the soil as well as on the vegetation; in some |
| 39 | places, however, where the banks are low and flat, the water |
| 40 | does not impress on the soil any well-defined line of |
| 41 | demarcation between the bed and the banks. In such cases, the |
| 42 | effect of the water upon vegetation must be the principal test |
| 43 | in determining the location of ordinary high-water mark. Such |
| 44 | location is the point up to which the presence and action of the |
| 45 | water is so continuous as to destroy the value of the land for |
| 46 | agricultural purposes by preventing the growth of vegetation |
| 47 | that constitutes an ordinary agricultural crop. The ordinary |
| 48 | high-water mark on a freshwater river is not the highest point |
| 49 | to which the water rises in times of freshets, but is the line |
| 50 | that the river impresses upon the soil by covering it for |
| 51 | sufficient periods to deprive it of vegetation and to destroy |
| 52 | its value for agriculture. |
| 53 | Section 2. Paragraph (h) of subsection (4) of section |
| 54 | 197.502, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 55 | 197.502 Application for obtaining tax deed by holder of |
| 56 | tax sale certificate; fees.-- |
| 57 | (4) The tax collector shall deliver to the clerk of the |
| 58 | circuit court a statement that payment has been made for all |
| 59 | outstanding certificates or, if the certificate is held by the |
| 60 | county, that all appropriate fees have been deposited, and |
| 61 | stating that the following persons are to be notified prior to |
| 62 | the sale of the property: |
| 63 | (h) Any legal titleholder of record of property that is |
| 64 | contiguous to the property described in the tax certificate, |
| 65 | when the property described is either submerged land or common |
| 66 | elements of a subdivision, if the address of the titleholder of |
| 67 | contiguous property appears on the record of conveyance of the |
| 68 | land to that legal titleholder. However, if the legal |
| 69 | titleholder of property contiguous to the property described in |
| 70 | the tax certificate is the same as the person to whom the |
| 71 | property described in the tax certificate was assessed on the |
| 72 | tax roll for the year in which the property was last assessed, |
| 73 | the notice may be mailed only to the address of the legal |
| 74 | titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. As used |
| 75 | in this chapter, the term "contiguous" means touching, meeting, |
| 76 | or joining at the surface or border, other than at a corner or a |
| 77 | single point, and not separated by submerged lands. Submerged |
| 78 | lands lying below the ordinary high-water line, as defined in s. |
| 79 | 253.024, mark which are sovereignty lands are not part of the |
| 80 | upland contiguous property for purposes of notification. |
| 81 |
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| 82 | The statement must be signed by the tax collector, with the tax |
| 83 | collector's seal affixed. The tax collector may purchase a |
| 84 | reasonable bond for errors and omissions of his or her office in |
| 85 | making such statement. The search of the official records must |
| 86 | be made by a direct and inverse search. "Direct" means the index |
| 87 | in straight and continuous alphabetic order by grantor, and |
| 88 | "inverse" means the index in straight and continuous alphabetic |
| 89 | order by grantee. |
| 90 | Section 3. Subsections (6) and (30) of section 258.39, |
| 91 | Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 92 | 258.39 Boundaries of preserves.--The submerged lands |
| 93 | included within the boundaries of Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, |
| 94 | Flagler, Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Charlotte, |
| 95 | Pinellas, Martin, Palm Beach, Dade, Monroe, Collier, Lee, |
| 96 | Citrus, Franklin, Gulf, Bay, Okaloosa, Marion, Santa Rosa, |
| 97 | Hernando, and Escambia Counties, as hereinafter described, with |
| 98 | the exception of privately held submerged lands lying landward |
| 99 | of established bulkheads and of privately held submerged lands |
| 100 | within Monroe County where the establishment of bulkhead lines |
| 101 | is not required, are hereby declared to be aquatic preserves. |
| 102 | Such aquatic preserve areas include: |
| 103 | (6) Banana River Aquatic Preserve, as described in the |
| 104 | Official Records of Brevard County in Book 1143, pages 195-198, |
| 105 | and the sovereignty submerged lands lying within the following |
| 106 | described boundaries: BEGIN at the intersection of the westerly |
| 107 | ordinary high-water high water line of Newfound Harbor with the |
| 108 | North line of Section 12, Township 25 South, Range 36 East, |
| 109 | Brevard County: Thence proceed northeasterly crossing Newfound |
| 110 | Harbor to the intersection of the South line of Section 31, |
| 111 | Township 24 South, Range 37 East, with the easterly ordinary |
| 112 | high-water high water line of said Newfound Harbor; thence |
| 113 | proceed northerly along the easterly ordinary high-water high |
| 114 | water line of Newfound Harbor to its intersection with the |
| 115 | easterly ordinary high-water high water line of Sykes Creek; |
| 116 | thence proceed northerly along the easterly ordinary high-water |
| 117 | high water line of said creek to its intersection with the |
| 118 | southerly right-of-way of Hall Road; thence proceed westerly |
| 119 | along said right-of-way to the westerly ordinary high-water high |
| 120 | water line of Sykes Creek; thence southerly along said ordinary |
| 121 | high-water high water line to its intersection with the ordinary |
| 122 | high-water high water line of Newfound Harbor; thence proceed |
| 123 | southerly along the westerly ordinary high-water high water line |
| 124 | of Newfound Harbor to the POINT OF BEGINNING. As used in this |
| 125 | subsection, the term "ordinary high-water line" has the same |
| 126 | meaning as in s. 253.024. |
| 127 | (30) Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve, the boundaries of |
| 128 | which are generally: All the state-owned sovereignty lands |
| 129 | lying waterward of the ordinary high-water line mark of the |
| 130 | Wekiva River and the Little Wekiva River and their tributaries |
| 131 | lying and being in Lake, Seminole, and Orange counties and more |
| 132 | particularly described as follows: |
| 133 | (a) In Sections 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, and |
| 134 | 30, Township 20 South, Range 29 East. These sections are also |
| 135 | depicted on the Forest City Quadrangle (U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute |
| 136 | series-topographic) 1959 (70PR); and |
| 137 | (b) In Sections 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10, Township 20 South, |
| 138 | Range 29 East and in Sections 21, 28, and 33, Township 19 South, |
| 139 | Range 29 East lying north of the right-of-way for the Atlantic |
| 140 | Coast Line Railroad and that part of Section 33, Township 19 |
| 141 | South, Range 29 East lying between the Lake and Orange County |
| 142 | lines and the right-of-way of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. |
| 143 | These sections are also depicted on the Sanford SW Quadrangle |
| 144 | (U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute series-topographic) 1965 (70-1); and |
| 145 | (c) All state-owned sovereignty lands, public lands, and |
| 146 | lands whether public or private below the ordinary high-water |
| 147 | line mark of the Wekiva River and the Little Wekiva and their |
| 148 | tributaries within the Peter Miranda Grant in Lake County lying |
| 149 | below the 10 foot m.s.l. contour line nearest the meander line |
| 150 | of the Wekiva River and all state-owned sovereignty lands, |
| 151 | public lands, and lands whether public or private below the |
| 152 | ordinary high-water line mark of the Wekiva River and the Little |
| 153 | Wekiva and their tributaries within the Moses E. Levy Grant in |
| 154 | Lake County below the 10 foot m.s.l. contour line nearest the |
| 155 | meander lines of the Wekiva River and Black Water Creek as |
| 156 | depicted on the PINE LAKES 1962 (70-1), ORANGE CITY 1964 (70PR), |
| 157 | SANFORD 1965 (70-1), and SANFORD S.W. 1965 (70-1) QUADRANGLES |
| 158 | (U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute topographic); and |
| 159 | (d) All state-owned sovereignty lands, public lands, and |
| 160 | lands whether public or private below the ordinary high-water |
| 161 | line mark of the Wekiva River and the Little Wekiva River and |
| 162 | their tributaries lying below the 10 foot m.s.l. contour line |
| 163 | nearest the meander line of the Wekiva and St. John's Rivers as |
| 164 | shown on the ORANGE CITY 1964 (70PR), SANFORD 1965 (70-1), and |
| 165 | SANFORD S.W. 1965 (70-1) QUADRANGLES (U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute |
| 166 | topographic) within the following described property: Beginning |
| 167 | at a point on the south boundary of the Moses E. Levy Grant, |
| 168 | Township 19 South, Range 29 East, at its intersection with the |
| 169 | meander line of the Wekiva River; thence south 60 1/2 degrees |
| 170 | east along said boundary line 4,915.68 feet; thence north 29 1/2 |
| 171 | degrees east 15,516.5 feet to the meander line of the St. John's |
| 172 | River; thence northerly along the meander line of the St. John's |
| 173 | River to the mouth of the Wekiva River; thence southerly along |
| 174 | the meander line of the Wekiva River to the beginning; and |
| 175 | (e) All state-owned sovereignty lands, public lands, and |
| 176 | lands whether public or private below the ordinary high-water |
| 177 | line mark of the Wekiva River and the Little Wekiva River and |
| 178 | their tributaries within the Peter Miranda Grant lying east of |
| 179 | the Wekiva River, less the following: |
| 180 | 1. State Road 46 and all land lying south of said State |
| 181 | Road No. 46. |
| 182 | 2. Beginning 15.56 chains West of the Southeast corner of |
| 183 | the SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 21, Township 19 South, Range |
| 184 | 29 East, run east 600 feet; thence north 960 feet; thence west |
| 185 | 340 feet to the Wekiva River; thence southwesterly along said |
| 186 | Wekiva River to point of beginning. |
| 187 | 3. That part of the east 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 22, |
| 188 | Township 19 South, Range 29 East, lying within the Peter Miranda |
| 189 | Grant east of the Wekiva River. |
| 190 | (f) All the sovereignty submerged lands lying within the |
| 191 | following described boundaries: Begin at the intersection of |
| 192 | State Road 44 and the westerly ordinary high-water high water |
| 193 | line of the St. Johns River, Section 22, Township 17 South, |
| 194 | Range 29 East, Lake County: Thence proceed southerly along the |
| 195 | westerly ordinary high-water high water line of said river and |
| 196 | its tributaries to the intersection of the northerly right-of- |
| 197 | way of State Road 400; thence proceed northeasterly along said |
| 198 | right-of-way to the easterly ordinary high-water high water line |
| 199 | of the St. Johns River; thence proceed northerly along said |
| 200 | ordinary high-water high water line of the St. Johns River and |
| 201 | its tributaries to its intersection with the easterly ordinary |
| 202 | high-water high water line of Lake Beresford; thence proceed |
| 203 | northerly along the ordinary high-water high water line of said |
| 204 | lake to its intersection with the westerly line of Section 24, |
| 205 | Township 17 South, Range 29 East; thence proceed northerly to |
| 206 | the southerly right-of-way of West New York Avenue; thence |
| 207 | proceed westerly along the southerly right-of-way of said avenue |
| 208 | to its intersection with the southerly right-of-way line of |
| 209 | State Road 44; thence proceed southwesterly along said right-of- |
| 210 | way to the point of beginning. |
| 211 |
|
| 212 | As used in this subsection, the term "ordinary high-water line" |
| 213 | has the same meaning as in s. 253.024. |
| 214 | Section 4. Section 258.399, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 215 | to read: |
| 216 | 258.399 Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve.--The following |
| 217 | described area in Marion County is designated by the Legislature |
| 218 | for inclusion into the aquatic preserve system under the Florida |
| 219 | Aquatic Preserve Act of 1975. Such area, to be known as the |
| 220 | Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve, shall be included in the |
| 221 | aquatic preserve system and shall include the following |
| 222 | described property. The Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve shall |
| 223 | consist of those state-owned sovereignty submerged lands lying |
| 224 | below the ordinary high-water high water line of said land, |
| 225 | located in Marion County. The preserve is more specifically |
| 226 | described as: Begin at the intersection of the southerly right- |
| 227 | of-way of county road 316 and the westerly ordinary high-water |
| 228 | high water line of the Oklawaha River, located in Section 9, |
| 229 | Township 13 South, Range 24 East. Thence from said point of |
| 230 | beginning proceed southerly along the ordinary high-water high |
| 231 | water line of the Oklawaha River and its tributaries to its |
| 232 | intersection with the eastern line of Section 36, Township 15 |
| 233 | South, Range 23 East. Thence proceed northerly along said |
| 234 | Section line to its intersection with the easterly ordinary |
| 235 | high-water high water line of the Oklawaha River. Thence |
| 236 | proceed northerly along said ordinary high-water high water line |
| 237 | to its intersection with the southerly right-of-way of county |
| 238 | road 316. Thence proceed west along said road to the point of |
| 239 | beginning; including Eaton Creek upstream to the northern line |
| 240 | of Section 3, Township 14 South, Range 24 East, Daisy Creek |
| 241 | upstream to county road 315, Silver River upstream to the |
| 242 | western line of Section 5, Township 15 South, Range 23 East. |
| 243 | Less and except Dead River and Orange Drain. As used in this |
| 244 | section, the term "ordinary high-water line" has the same |
| 245 | meaning as in s. 253.024. |
| 246 | Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section |
| 247 | 380.0555, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 248 | 380.0555 Apalachicola Bay Area; protection and designation |
| 249 | as area of critical state concern.-- |
| 250 | (10) REQUIREMENTS; LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.-- |
| 251 | (a) As used in this subsection: |
| 252 | 1. "Alternative onsite system" means any approved onsite |
| 253 | disposal system used in lieu of a standard subsurface system. |
| 254 | 2. "Critical shoreline zone" means all land within a |
| 255 | distance of 150 feet landward of the mean high-water line in |
| 256 | tidal areas, the ordinary high-water line, as defined in s. |
| 257 | 253.024, in nontidal areas, or the inland wetland areas existing |
| 258 | along the streams, lakes, rivers, bays, and sounds within the |
| 259 | Apalachicola Bay Area. |
| 260 | 3. "Pollution-sensitive segment of the critical shoreline" |
| 261 | means an area which, due to its proximity to highly sensitive |
| 262 | resources, including, but not limited to, productive shellfish |
| 263 | beds and nursery areas, requires special regulatory attention. |
| 264 | 4. "Low-income family" means a group of persons residing |
| 265 | together whose combined income does not exceed 200 percent of |
| 266 | the 1985 Poverty Income Guidelines for all states and the |
| 267 | District of Columbia, promulgated by the United States |
| 268 | Department of Health and Human Services, as published in Volume |
| 269 | 50, No. 46 of the Federal Register, pages 9517-18. Income shall |
| 270 | be as defined in said guidelines. |
| 271 | Section 6. Paragraph (u) of subsection (2) of section |
| 272 | 403.813, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 273 | 403.813 Permits issued at district centers; exceptions.-- |
| 274 | (2) A permit is not required under this chapter, chapter |
| 275 | 373, chapter 61-691, Laws of Florida, or chapter 25214 or |
| 276 | chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of Florida, for activities associated |
| 277 | with the following types of projects; however, except as |
| 278 | otherwise provided in this subsection, nothing in this |
| 279 | subsection relieves an applicant from any requirement to obtain |
| 280 | permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees |
| 281 | of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or any water management |
| 282 | district in its governmental or proprietary capacity or from |
| 283 | complying with applicable local pollution control programs |
| 284 | authorized under this chapter or other requirements of county |
| 285 | and municipal governments: |
| 286 | (u) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this |
| 287 | subsection, a permit or other authorization under chapter 253, |
| 288 | chapter 369, chapter 373, or this chapter is not required for an |
| 289 | individual residential property owner for the removal of organic |
| 290 | detrital material from freshwater rivers or lakes that have a |
| 291 | natural sand or rocky substrate and that are not Aquatic |
| 292 | Preserves or for the associated removal and replanting of |
| 293 | aquatic vegetation for the purpose of environmental enhancement, |
| 294 | providing that: |
| 295 | 1. No activities under this exemption are conducted in |
| 296 | wetland areas, as defined by s. 373.019(22), which are supported |
| 297 | by a natural soil as shown in applicable United States |
| 298 | Department of Agriculture county soil surveys. |
| 299 | 2. No filling or peat mining is allowed. |
| 300 | 3. No removal of native wetland trees, including, but not |
| 301 | limited to, ash, bay, cypress, gum, maple, or tupelo, occurs. |
| 302 | 4. When removing organic detrital material, no portion of |
| 303 | the underlying natural mineral substrate or rocky substrate is |
| 304 | removed. |
| 305 | 5. Organic detrital material and plant material removed is |
| 306 | deposited in an upland site in a manner that will not cause |
| 307 | water quality violations. |
| 308 | 6. All activities are conducted in such a manner, and with |
| 309 | appropriate turbidity controls, so as to prevent any water |
| 310 | quality violations outside the immediate work area. |
| 311 | 7. Replanting with a variety of aquatic plants native to |
| 312 | the state shall occur in a minimum of 25 percent of the |
| 313 | preexisting vegetated areas where organic detrital material is |
| 314 | removed, except for areas where the material is removed to bare |
| 315 | rocky substrate; however, an area may be maintained clear of |
| 316 | vegetation as an access corridor. The access corridor width may |
| 317 | not exceed 50 percent of the property owner's frontage or 50 |
| 318 | feet, whichever is less, and may be a sufficient length |
| 319 | waterward to create a corridor to allow access for a boat or |
| 320 | swimmer to reach open water. Replanting must be at a minimum |
| 321 | density of 2 feet on center and be completed within 90 days |
| 322 | after removal of existing aquatic vegetation, except that under |
| 323 | dewatered conditions replanting must be completed within 90 days |
| 324 | after reflooding. The area to be replanted must extend waterward |
| 325 | from the ordinary high-water high water line, as defined in s. |
| 326 | 253.024, to a point where normal water depth would be 3 feet or |
| 327 | the preexisting vegetation line, whichever is less. Individuals |
| 328 | are required to make a reasonable effort to maintain planting |
| 329 | density for a period of 6 months after replanting is complete, |
| 330 | and the plants, including naturally recruited native aquatic |
| 331 | plants, must be allowed to expand and fill in the revegetation |
| 332 | area. Native aquatic plants to be used for revegetation must be |
| 333 | salvaged from the enhancement project site or obtained from an |
| 334 | aquatic plant nursery regulated by the Department of Agriculture |
| 335 | and Consumer Services. Plants that are not native to the state |
| 336 | may not be used for replanting. |
| 337 | 8. No activity occurs any farther than 100 feet waterward |
| 338 | of the ordinary high-water high water line, as defined in s. |
| 339 | 253.024, and all activities must be designed and conducted in a |
| 340 | manner that will not unreasonably restrict or infringe upon the |
| 341 | riparian rights of adjacent upland riparian owners. |
| 342 | 9. The person seeking this exemption notifies the |
| 343 | applicable department district office in writing at least 30 |
| 344 | days before commencing work and allows the department to conduct |
| 345 | a preconstruction site inspection. Notice must include an |
| 346 | organic-detrital-material removal and disposal plan and, if |
| 347 | applicable, a vegetation-removal and revegetation plan. |
| 348 | 10. The department is provided written certification of |
| 349 | compliance with the terms and conditions of this paragraph |
| 350 | within 30 days after completion of any activity occurring under |
| 351 | this exemption. |
| 352 | Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |
