Title
Gainesville Regional Airport - Request for Recording of Conservation Easement (B)
This item involves staff follow up on a request from the Gainesville Regional Airport regarding the proposed recording of a conservation easement in favor of the St. Johns River Water Management District on approximately 129 acres of the Gum Root Swamp property. In furtherance of this request, proposed conservation easement language and the supporting environmental report, have been provided to City staff for review.
Explanation
Since notification by the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) in December, 2002, Gainesville Alachua County Regional Airport Authority (GACRAA) staff has been working with representatives of the SJRWMD staff to resolve non-compliance issues regarding: 1) unauthorized land clearing reported to have taken place on Airport Property sometime between 1995 and 2000; and 2) failure to record a conservation easement associated with prior permitted taxiway improvements in 1992.
An originally proposed plan to locate a replacement conservation easement between existing runways met with opposition when reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) due to safety considerations associated with the potential attraction of hazardous wildlife. Consequently, GACRAA staff then contacted City staff to explore the possibility of providing the replacement conservation easement on a portion of the Gum Root Swamp property. City staff did indicate initial staff support for the use of the Gum Root Swamp property for the recording of the conservation easement in January, 2004. Based upon this communication from City staff, GACRAA subsequently moved forward with preparation of a required environmental report designed to determine a suitable substitute and ecologically equivalent portion of the property.
It is reported by GACRAA staff that the proposed conservation easement on Gum Root Swamp property, in addition to resolving the afor...
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