SAJ-2023-01835 (SP-EWG)

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) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:

Directions to the site are as follows:  From Veterans Expressway take West Hillsborough Avenue exit.  Drive west for approximately 6.2 miles and turn right onto Double Branch Road.  The project is on the right.

PROJECT PURPOSE:  Basic:  Construction of a multifamily residential subdivision.

Overall:  The overall project purpose is to construct a multifamily residential subdivision including access road, parking, surface water management system, and retaining walls in western Hillsborough and eastern Pinellas Counties.

EXISTING CONDITIONS:  The Tax Assessor office describes the project site as having 8.5 acres. According to historic aerials, the parcel was used for farming before 1957. However, aerial photography shows the property being vacant since 1982, where it transitions to a forest.

The Project is bounded along the south side with State Road 580 (Hillsborough Avenue) at the intersection with Double Branch Road on the west. Memorial Highway is along the north boundary with Double Branch Creek, which limits the Project's east side. Double Branch Creek is a tidally influenced waterbody discharging into Double Branch Bay and Old Tampa Bay. The area surrounding the project consists of various commercial uses and major roadway corridors.

The site contains one (1) tidally influenced shrub/forested wetland (Wetland 1, 1.77 acres) and two non-forested wetlands (Wetland 2, 0.46 acres; Wetland 3, 0.06 acres).

Wetland 1 contains black needle rush (Juncus roemerianus) in its core, mangrove as an inner ring, Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia), and various ruderal herbs in the transition zone into the uplands.

Wetland 2 has an inner pond vegetated by cattail (Typha sp.) and scattered leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium) with an outer ring of Brazilian pepper.

Wetland 3 appears to be a man-made depression vegetated by various transitional herbaceous species.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization to fill 1.12 acres (ac) of wetlands to construct the multifamily subdivision.  The project would impact 0.60 ac of tidal wetland (Wetland 1), described as 0.24 ac of herbaceous and 0.36 ac of forested wetlands, and two herbaceous wetlands described as Wetland 2 (0.46 ac) and Wetland 3 (0.06 ac) for the construction of 1420 linear feet (Lf) of retaining walls (885 linear feet of them in waters), parking, a five-story 117 unit, 32,950 square feet (sf) building and a four-story 62 unit, 18,882 sf building. 

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION – The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:

The Applicant used an iterative site planning process, considering the permitting requirements of the Corps, the SWFWMD, and the local wetland governing agency, the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County (the EPC).

This iterative process resulted in a 0.66 ac reduction in final wetland impact (37% reduction) by eliminating a residential building, reducing the number of parking spaces, and extensively using retaining walls to reduce the overall Project footprint.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

The project is located within the Tampa Bay watershed, and the Applicant intends to use the federally authorized Mangrove Point Mitigation Bank (MPMB)  to provide all required mitigation credits for the project. Using the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM), the Applicant calculated the functional loss and offered to purchase 0.73 estuarine herbaceous and 0.20 estuarine forested federal UMAM credits.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:  The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and other interested parties.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:  Wood stork (Mycteria americana): The project area is located within the Wood Stork consultation and foraging areas.  Based upon the review of the Wood Stork Key for Jacksonville Ecological Services Office dated September 2008, the proposed project resulted in the following sequential determination: A> B> C> D> E = “not likely to adversely affect” (NLAA) the wood stork.  This determination is based on the project providing Suitable Foraging Habitat compensation within the Service Area of a Service-approved wetland mitigation bank or wood stork conservation bank preferably within the CFA.  Based upon the “NLAA” determination for the Wood Stork, no further coordination is required.

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi):  The Corps completed an evaluation of the project based upon the August 13, 2013, updated addendum to the January 2010 North and South Florida Ecological Services Field Offices Programmatic Concurrence for use with the Eastern Indigo Snake. Use of the Key for the Eastern Indigo Snake resulted in the following sequential determination: A >B >C >D >E = Not Likely to Adversely Affect (NLAA) with the applicant adherence to the standard protection measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake. Based upon the NLAA determination for the Eastern Indigo Snake no further coordination is required.

Smalltooth sawfish and Swimming Sea Turtles:  The Corps utilized the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Jacksonville District’s Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO), dated November 2017, to analyze the effects from 10 categories of minor in-water activities occurring in Florida and the U.S. Caribbean on sea turtles (loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and green); smalltooth sawfish; Giant manta ray, Nassau grouper; scalloped hammerhead shark, Johnson's seagrass; sturgeon (Gulf, shortnose, and Atlantic); corals (elkhorn, staghorn, boulder star, mountainous star, lobed star, rough cactus, and pillar); whales (North Atlantic right whale, sei, blue, fin, and sperm); and designated critical habitat for Johnson's seagrass; smalltooth sawfish; sturgeon (Gulf and Atlantic); sea turtles (green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead); North Atlantic right whale; and corals (elkhorn and staghorn) in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.  The Corps has determined that the proposed project fall within the scope of the JAXBO. The Corps will request concurrence with NMFS pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate correspondence.

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 would potentially impact areas utilized by various life stages of Penaeid shrimp complex; red drum; stone crab; spiny lobster; and/or the snapper/grouper complex. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in 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.

Navigation: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.

SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

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 has not been verified by Corps personnel.

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, by electronic mail to Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil with the project number, SAJ-2023-01835, in the subject line within 21 days from the date of this notice.  Comments can also be submitted at 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610-8302

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, Edgar W. Garcia, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, by electronic mail at Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil, by mail at 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610-8302 or by telephone at 813-769-7062.

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, esthetics, 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.  

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.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification (WQC) may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.  In Puerto Rico, a Coastal Zone Management Consistency Concurrence is required from the Puerto Rico Planning Board.  In the Virgin Islands, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources permit constitutes compliance with the 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.