HOLMES BEACH – City leaders are considering taking on the responsibility for local mangrove regulation from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Development Services Director Chad Minor said the process to get that permission may be simpler than previously thought.
Minor gave commissioners and Mayor Judy Titsworth an update on the process during an April 23 work session. He said that while leaders in the three Anna Maria Island cities and Longboat Key want to consolidate efforts to enforce mangrove regulations locally, each city will need to apply separately. Once FDEP approves all four cities, they can consolidate enforcement efforts. However, each city will still need to maintain its own agreement with the department.
Commissioner Dan Diggins noted that if all of the Island cities are approved by FDEP, it would be a first effort toward the consolidation of services desired by members of the Manatee County state legislative delegation.
City Attorney Erica Augello said that the process for application is outlined by state statute. The city has to send a written request to the department. Once received, FDEP representatives have 45 days to act. Augello said that if the department approves or doesn’t respond within 45 days, the city gets to act locally in FDEP’s stead.
If the city receives approval, any existing local mangrove regulations disappear after 180 days and cannot be regained. The city of Holmes Beach currently does not have any regulations related to mangroves.
While city leaders can make stricter procedures for permitting outside of the riparian mangrove fringe and have stricter substantive standards than the state allows, they cannot create stricter processes or regulations for mangrove trimming and removal. Minor said that city leaders would be unable to alter FDEP mangrove exemptions.
Discussion is expected to continue at a future meeting.
