TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) as described below:
APPLICANT: Sonoma Preserve, LLC
c/o Randy E. Thibaut
10471 Six Mile Cypress Pkwy #402
Ft. Myers, FL 33966
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Peace River. The project site is located east of Kings Highway (CR 769) just north of the DeSoto/Charlotte County line in Sections 32 & 33, Township 39 South, Range 23 East, DeSoto County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-75 to Kings Highway in Charlotte County. Take exit 170 from I-75 toward Charlotte County/Arcadia/Port Charlotte. Turn east onto Kings Highway; follow signs for Arcadia/Lake Suzy/Deep Creek. The project will be about a 2.2 miles down the road on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude: 27.038028°
Longitude: -82.027863°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Residential and commercial development.
Overall: Mixed use residential and commercial development near a major arterial corridor with easy access to I-75 in DeSoto County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The approximately 525.23± acre site is located east of Kings Highway (County Road 761), north of the Charlotte County line. Deep Creek Preserve is located to the east of the project site, the DeSoto Canal is located along the southern property boundary, and Deep Creek Gully is located to the north of the project site. The Peace River is approximately one mile east of the project boundary. The site contains approximately 141 acres of palmetto prairie (FLUCFCS 321); 110 acres of pine flatwoods (FLUCFCS 411); 7 acres of disturbed pine flatwoods (FLUCFCS 411/740); 39.5 acres of cabbage-palm oak communities (FLUCFCS 428); 12 acres of disturbed lands/trails (FLUCFCS 470); 1.7 acres of spoil areas (FLUCFCS 743); 4.6 acres of ditches (FLUCFCS 500); 12 acres of pine wetlands (FLUCFCS 411H); 8.9 acres of cabbage palm-oak wetlands (FLUCFCS 428H); 5.4 acres of willow-Brazilian pepper wetlands (FLUCFCS 600); 4.5 acres of maple-laurel oak-cabbage palm wetlands (FLUCFCS 617); 19 acres of freshwater marsh (non-Hypericum dominated) (FLUCFCS 641); 17.7 acres of disturbed drained marsh (FLUCFCS 641/740); and 142 acres of Hypericum marsh-prairie (FLUCFCS 643).
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to fill 11.86 acres of wetlands for the construction of a mixed use residential and commercial development known as Sonoma Preserve.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION – The applicant has provided the following statement in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
“The site plan was modified many times to minimize wetland impacts. Thirteen different site plans were prepared in attempt to minimize wetland impacts while allowing for an economically feasible development. The overall wetland impacts have decreased from 45 acres down to 11.86 acres of impact. The impact to Corps' wetlands has been reduced to 7.77 acres. The applicant has gone through several project revisions to minimize the wetland impacts associated with the project to the minimum necessary to achieve the project purpose.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The Corps permitted the proposal in 2005 with a 5 year construction timeframe. The permit required compensatory mitigation in the form of preservation and enhancement of 197.82 acres of wetlands and 41.70 acres of uplands, of which 7.79 acres were to be designated as a Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) preserve; as well as 0.65 acre of wetland creation. The Corps required the 239.52 acre mitigation area to be placed under a conservation easement. The permit expired and the majority of the project was not constructed; however, the applicant states that the required compensatory mitigation was completed. The Corps will evaluate whether additional mitigation will be required for this proposal.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area. By copy of this public notice, the Corps is providing information for review. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts is subject to review by and coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has made the determination of “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” (MANLAA) for the following species: Wood stork (Mycteria americana), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), and Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus). The Corps will request the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s concurrence with this determination by separate letter.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This notice initiates consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996. The proposal is located would impact freshwater wetlands. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in Charlotte Harbor or the Gulf of Mexico. Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The jurisdictional line and jurisdictional status of the subject wetlands has not been verified by Corps personnel.
AUTHORIZATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES: The Southwest Florida Water Management District extended Environmental Resource Permit no. 43025839.002 on March 04, 2016.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Ave, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610 within 21 days from the date of this notice.
The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the associated wetlands. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as the compensatory mitigation proposed.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Jessica Cordwell, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Ave, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610; by e-mail at Jessica.L.Cordwell@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (813)769-7061; or by telephone at (813)769-7067.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Services, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and concerned citizens generally yields pertinent environmental information that is instrumental in determining the impact the proposed action will have on the natural resources of the area.
EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other Interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request a public hearing. The request must be submitted in writing to the District Engineer within the designated comment period of the notice and must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing.