Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: August 29, 2024
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
THROUGH: N/A
FROM: Tanya Wilson, AICP, Director, Planning, Environmental, and Development Services Department
CONTACT: Renée H. Parker, LEP, Manager
PHONE: (407) 836-1420
DIVISION: Environmental Protection Division
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Acceptance of the findings and recommendation of the Environmental Protection Division staff and approval of Conservation Area Impact Permit CAI-24-02-006 for Honey Bee Holdings LLC. District 5. (Environmental Protection Division)
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PROJECT: Honey Bee Holdings LLC request for Conservation Impact Permit CAI-24-02-006
PURPOSE: The applicant, Honey Bee Holdings LLC, is requesting a Conservation Area Impact Permit in order to create three new borrow pits (collectively known as Pit #205). The project site is located at 1006 Dill Road, Orlando, FL 32820. The Parcel ID No. is 23-22-32-0000-00-001. The subject parcel is located in District 5. A portion of the project is located partially within the Econlockhatchee River Protection Area.
Permitting History:
The subject parcel is approximately 404.39 acres in size and contains 168.497 acres of wetlands. The project site contains two existing borrow pits:
- One of the existing pits is located in the northwestern portion of the site. This pit was in operation between the late 1980s and early 1990s and is complete. No further excavation of this pit is proposed.
- The second onsite pit is known as Pit No. 188. Pit 188 is currently active and was approved by the Board on March 24, 2022 (Related Permit 21-E5-0105). There were no wetland impacts associated with Pit 188. Conservation Area Determination (CAD) No. CAD-21-03-052 is still valid (with an expiration date of February 28, 2027) and was also utilized for the wetland limits of the subject impact application. Pit 188 extends offsite to the north onto an adjacent parcel owned by the applicant.
- The applicant also owns an adjacent parcel to the north (Parcel ID No. 23-22-32-0000-00-004) that contains an active borrow pit (known as Pit No. 164, approved under Permit 07-E5-0717).
Proposed Impacts:
Phase 1 Pit: The proposed Phase 1 pit is 18.8 acres in size and includes the complete impact of a 0.22-acre Class III wetland (WL-501). This phase also proposes secondary impacts to an adjacent 0.03-acre Class III wetland (WL-500) for lack of an upland buffer.
Haul Road: The only way to access the Phase 1 area is by the conversion and stabilization of an existing trail road into a haul road appropriate for use by heavy vehicles. The expansion of the road includes the direct impact of 0.25 acre of Class II wetlands (0.01 acre of impact to WL-1 and 0.24 acre of impact to WL-2) and the loss of 0.29 acre of required upland buffer along Class I and II wetlands (WL-1, WL-2, and WL-6).
There are also 1.11 acres of secondary impacts proposed along the haul road due to the lack of an upland buffer. The applicant has agreed to provide secondary impact mitigation 75 feet into the Class II wetlands along the proposed haul road rather than the customary 25-feet assessment to offset impacts from the dust anticipated to occur along the haul route.
Phase 2 Pit: The proposed Phase 2 pit is 32.4 acres in size and includes the complete impact of a 0.12-acre Class III wetland (WL-14). This phase also proposes secondary impacts to an adjacent 0.01 acre Class III wetland (WL-20) for lack of an upland buffer.
Phase 3 Pit: The proposed Phase 3 pit is 22.7 acres in size and includes the complete impact to a 0.03 acre Class III wetland (WL-505) and to a 0.13 acre Class III wetland (WL-4).
Required Upland Buffer:
The project is located partially within the Econlockhatchee River Protection Area. The portion within this Special Protection Area is subject to Chapter 15, Article XI, Econlockhatchee River Protection Ordinance. Pursuant to Section 15-442(f), upland buffers averaging fifty (50) feet in width with a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet in width are required for Class I and II conservation areas. The project areas outside the Special Protection Area (the majority of Phase 3 of Pit #205) only require a minimum of 25-foot upland buffers. Throughout the project area, there are 16.30 acres of required upland buffers.
Summary of Impacts:
The applicant proposes direct impacts of 0.5 acre of Class III wetlands to create three borrow pits and 0.25 acre of Class II wetlands for the construction of the haul road. Also proposed is a total of 1.15 acres of secondary impacts (1.11 acres along the proposed haul road and 0.04 adjacent to Phases 1 and 2). The applicant is providing a total of 19.59 acres of upland buffer area, which is greater than the minimum required 16.30 acres. However, the applicant is additionally providing mitigation for the lack of 0.29 acre of upland buffer along the Class I and II wetlands along the proposed haul road.
No direct impacts to Class I wetlands are proposed.
As a measure to prevent future encroachment into the remaining surrounding wetlands, conservation area signage will be placed and maintained along the limits of the borrow pit and haul road project areas for the duration of the borrow pit operations.
Staff Analysis:
Environmental Protection Division (EPD) staff has evaluated the proposed impacts and site plan with the review criteria in Orange County Code, Chapter 15, Articles X and XI. The project is being reviewed under the prior version of Article X, adopted in 1987, since the application was received in October 2023 when that Code was in effect and the applicant was provided direction for their development plan under that Code. Pursuant to Section 15-362(5), where wetlands serve a significant and productive environmental function, the public health, safety and welfare require that any alteration or development affecting such lands should be so designed and regulated so as to minimize or eliminate any impact upon the beneficial environmental productivity of such lands, consistent with the development rights of property owners. The applicant has developed the site plan to result in the least amount of direct wetland impacts and the greatest remaining upland buffer adjacent to the onsite Class II and Class I wetlands. The only direct Class II wetland impacts and the only Class I upland buffer impacts proposed are a result of the proposed haul road, the location of which is the most practicable route to reach the Phase 1 location.
The proposed mitigation includes the purchase of 0.74 wetland mitigation credits from the TM Econ Mitigation Bank (Phase 4). The applicant has submitted documentation of credit reservation; complete credit purchase will be required prior to the initiation of wetland and upland buffer impacts. Additionally, the applicant has agreed to remove the fill associated with the construction of the haul road between Phases 1 and 2 once Phase 1 is complete and the haul road is no longer necessary. EPD has determined that the mitigation is appropriate and sufficient to offset adverse impacts to wetlands that will occur as a result of the proposed project.
In accordance with Chapter 15, Article XI, Section 15-442(a), the applicant conducted a survey of the property for the presence of imperiled species. No imperiled species were identified within the project area.
There are no current enforcement actions taken by EPD on the subject parcel. One historic violation (Case No. 07-201318) is connected to the subject Parcel ID No.; however, the violation occurred prior to the applicant’s purchase of the parcel and occurred in an area that is no longer part of the subject parcel due to an approved lot split. EPD has evaluated the CAI permit application and required documentation and has made a finding that the request is consistent with Orange County Code, Chapter 15, Article X (previous version adopted in 1987), Wetland Conservation Areas Ordinance and Article XI, Econlockhatchee River Protection Ordinance and recommends approval.
BUDGET: N/A