§ 54-284. Management plans and use of environmentally sensitive lands.

(a)

No later than ninety (90) days from the date of acquisition, an interim management plan for any property acquired shall be submitted by County staff to the Land Acquisition Advisory Committee for approval. Upon approval, the plan shall be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval and shall be implemented by the County Manager pursuant to the Board's direction. Any such interim management plan(s) shall not be implemented for more than two (2) years after acquisition of the property, prior to the expiration of two (2) years, either a new management plan shall be implemented, or, by affirmative action of the Board, the interim plan shall continue.

(b)

A final management plan, with required review and updating every ten years, shall be prepared, with review and input of the Land Acquisition Advisory Committee, for each property acquired by Conservation Collier which shall:

(1)

Identify such management activities as are necessary to preserve, enhance, restore, conserve, maintain, or monitor the resource, as appropriate; and

(2)

Identify such uses as are consistent with the preservation, enhancement, restoration, conservation, and maintenance of the resource; and

(3)

Estimate the annual costs of managing the project.

(c)

Annually, the ten-year management plans prepared during the preceding year shall be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for its approval. Each ten-year management plan shall be updated at least every five (5) years from the last date of Board approval, and may be amended as often as required. Management plan updates and amendments shall be reviewed by the Land Acquisition Advisory Committee for their input and recommendations and then submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for approval.

(d)

All management plans shall be consistent with the purposes set forth herein. All properties acquired or managed through Conservation Collier shall be managed in accordance with the approved management plan for that property.

(e)

No use, infrastructure, or improvement shall be permitted on any property acquired or managed under Conservation Collier that is inconsistent with the purposes of the program or that is not provided by an approved management plan for the property.

(f)

The County will seek cooperative management arrangements with other agencies and entities, in keeping with the approved management plans and goals of Conservation Collier.

(g)

Purchasing land using Conservation Collier program funds permanently extinguishes all development rights except those strictly compatible with the purposes and goals of Conservation Collier, unless such lands are exchanged for similar lands within and between multi-parcel projects that have been previously recommended by the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee and approved by the Board of County Commissioners in accordance with the goals and purposes of the Program In case of these land exchanges, development rights are restored to those properties exchanged out of County ownership.

(h)

Public access is an important element of management and this Program. Examples of permitted uses, subject to compatibility with specific parcels, include: hiking, nature photography, bird watching, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, hunting and fishing. The program will also make the acquired sites available, with minimal risk to the environmental integrity of the site, to educate Collier County's school-age population and the general public about the uniqueness and importance of Collier County's subtropical ecosystems and natural communities.

(Ord. No. 02-63, § 14; Ord. No. 07-65, § 14)