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:
Greenpointe Developers, LLC
Attention: Grady Miars
7807 Baymeadows Road East, Suite 205
Jacksonville, Florida 32256
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with the headwaters of the St. Marks River. The project site is located north of Interstate 10 (I-10) and Mahan Drive, west of Crump Road, and south of Miccosukee Road, within Section 7, 8, 9, 18, Township 1 North, Range 2 East, Leon County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-10, take exit 209A to US-90 and head west. Merge onto US-90/Mahan Drive. Turn right onto Thornton Road. In 0.9 mile, turn right onto Thornton Road. In 1.1 miles, turn right onto Miccosukee Road. In 0.9 mile, turn right on Miles Johnson Road. The property will be on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.496797°
Longitude -84.151693°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Multi-use development.
Overall: Construction of a development that includes construction of an affordable single and multi-family unit subdivision, institutional facilities, associated buildings, access roads and stormwater management system. The applicant intends to provide much needed affordable single and multi-family housing in an area with high demand.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The Welaunee Heel, Leon County site currently supports five (5) vegetative communities within its boundaries. These vegetative communities were identified utilizing the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System, Level III (FLUCFCS, FDOT, January 1999). The on-site upland vegetative communities are classified as Live Oak (427), Hardwood – Conifer Mixed (434), and Coniferous Plantations, Cleared (441C).
The wetland vegetative communities have been identified as Stream and Lake Swamps (Bottomland) (615) and Mixed Wetland Hardwoods (617). The majority of the onsite wetlands are best described as Stream and Lake Swamps (Bottomland). These areas are generally associated with the creek system which traverses the southeastern corner of the subject property and a creek system off-site to the southwest, though a few small, depressions are also present on the property. Species observed in these areas included water oak, laurel oak, sweetgum, red maple (Acer rubrum), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), swamp tupelo (Nyssa biflora), water hickory (Carya aquatica), American elm (Ulmus americana), bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), slash pine, loblolly pine, cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), bitter gallberry, fetterbush, sparkleberry, blackberry (Rubus sp.), various sedges (Carex spp.), various rush (Juncus spp.), beaksedge (Rhynchospora sp.), and greenbrier (Smilax sp.). On the ground observations of remnant tree stumps indicates that hardwood timber harvest has historically occurred in these areas to various degrees. Mixed Wetland Hardwoods are fairly large inclusions of deep swamp within the Stream and Lake Swamps land cover type and are dominated by blackgum, swamp tupelo, and bald cypress.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place fill material in 1.30 acres of wetlands in order to construct a single and multi-family unit subdivision, town center, associated buildings, amenities, infrastructure and stormwater management system.
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 buildings, infrastructure, and unit count cannot practicably be reduced further, as they are currently at the minimum scale to result in a viable multi-family project. The development footprint was reduced as much as possible, with the appropriate allowable unit size. The Planned Unit Development (PUD) restricts the building height to 60 feet, therefore 5-story buildings are not an option that would decrease the development footprint further. Impacts from Wetland 4 (W-4) include approximately 0.62 acres resulting from construction of a spine road running north from US90. These impacts are unavoidable for they provide important ingress and egress points to access properties within the site. The road locations were chosen in a way to minimize wetland impacts from W-4. If they were to be shifted to the east or west, additional wetland impacts would occur. The need for Wetland 1 (W-1) impact is unavoidable, as the efficient configuration of the buildings, parking, and infrastructure, in consideration of the siting of the stormwater ponds requires this additional space for a practicable project.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
Compensatory mitigation for the proposed wetland impacts would be provided in the form of wetland mitigation credits within St. Marks Mitigation Bank of which hold greater long term ecological value. As such, this project would result in no net loss of wetland functional value. All proposed mitigation has previously been determined to provide regionally significant ecological value and should be considered of greater long-term ecological value than the wetlands proposed for impact.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is aware of recorded historic resources within or adjacent to the permit area and 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:
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the red cockaded woodpecker and wood stork. The Corps will review these impacts using programmatic keys and will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act if appropriate.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The project would not impact essential fish habitat.
Navigation: The proposed 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 Panama City Permits Section, 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard, Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407 within 30 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, Tracey Wheeler, in writing at the Panama City Permits Section, 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard, Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407; by electronic mail at tracey.l.wheeler@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (850)287-0138.
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.
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: WQC is required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The project is being reviewed under FDEP application no. 0442145-001.
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.