§ 27-411. Natural forest communities.

(a)

Criteria and Procedures:

(1)

Existing designations: All sites designated as Natural Forest Communities pursuant to Ordinance No. 93-10 are considered Natural Forest Communities by this article.

(2)

Future Designations: Designation of a site as a Natural Forest Community shall be made by the Board following the designation procedures as set forth in this article. Before a site is designated as a Natural Forest Community, the Board shall first make a finding that:

a.

The site is at least two (2) acres in size;

b.

The site is generally comprised of a canopy, subcanopy and groundcover;

c.

The site is dominated by native vegetation associated with one or more of the following communities:

1.

Beach and dune community: A community composed of unconsolidated sand facing the ocean and shaped by the wind, waves, currents, and tides. Sand may be piled up by the wind forming dunes. Characteristic plant species include sea oats, sea grape, beach sunflower, beach star, beach creeper, Spanish bayonet, cocoplum, railroad vine, beach peanut, beach croton, beach bean, saw palmetto, prickly pear and nickerbean;

2.

Coastal strand forest community: A community consisting of tropical hardwood hammock found just landward of the beach and dunes. Soils contain limestone substrate, sand and organic material. Characteristic plant species include sea grape, poisonwood, mastic, black ironwood, paradise tree, torchwood, Spanish stopper, silver palm, inkwood, gumbo limbo, sabal palm, live oak, strangler fig, marlberry, white stopper, wild coffee and snowberry;

3.

Mangrove community (saltwater swamp): A community occurring primarily along saltwater shorelines. Soils are very poorly drained peat or fine sand underlaid by sands or clay. The most frequent tree species found in this community are red, black and white mangroves, buttonwood and pond apple. Plants found in mangrove swamp include leather fern, sea oxeye, coin vine and rubber vine;

4.

Scrub community: An inland community that occurs on early level to sloping land. Soils are deep, acid, somewhat poorly to excessively drained and coarse textured. Trees found in such communities include sand pine, Chapman oak, sand live oak and myrtle oak. Shrubs include saw palmetto, scrub palmetto, gopher apple, prickly pear, shiny blueberry, staggerbush, fetterbush and palafoxia. Ground cover is scattered and large areas of light-colored sand are often noticeable;

5.

Pine flatwoods community: This community is identified by flat topography and pine and palmetto vegetation with an understory of grasses and herbs. Trees found in such communities include slash pine and occasional oaks. Shrubs include saw palmetto, shiny blueberry, gallberry, tarflower and wax myrtle. Flatwood communities have a high water table during the rainy season;

6.

High hammock community: This community develops slowly as organic materials accumulate creating a favorable land elevation. The presence of a high hammock indicates that the site has been undisturbed for a period of time. High hammocks are among the most diverse systems in South Florida containing more than one hundred (100) species of trees and shrubs. Characteristic tree species include live oak, pigeon plum, paradise tree, gumbo limbo, willow bustic, lancewood, mastic, strangler fig, satinleaf, mulberry, Simpson stopper. Shrubs include marlberry and wild coffee and such communities include a variety of ferns;

7.

Low hammock community: Low hammocks are areas of dense forest vegetation dominated by tree species, such as laurel oak, strangler fig, cabbage palm, dahoon holly, scattered cypress trees and wax myrtle. Low hammocks develop on land that is of sufficient elevation to be seldom flooded, but in close proximity to water environments, and protected from fire. They frequently occur in transitional areas between drier upland communities and lowland vegetation types, such as marsh, wet prairie, cypress swamp or mangrove;

8.

Cypress wetland community (freshwater swamp): Cypress wetlands occupy some portions of the freshwater lowlands of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in Florida. Temperate deciduous trees dominate, and the areas are often seasonally flooded. Soils are nearly level or depressional, poorly drained and have a loamy top layer and sandy subsoils. Characteristic trees include bald cypress, red maple, cocoplum, dahoon holly, strangler fig and pond apple. Leather fern, royal fern and other fern species are found in cypress wetland communities;

9.

Everglades community (freshwater marsh): The Everglades is a flat expanse of freshwater wetlands dominated by sawgrass and dotted with tree islands. The dominant plant species include sawgrass, coastal plain willow, wax myrtle, elderberry, cattail, spike-rush, pickerelweed, waterlily and periphyton. The vegetation found in the tree islands is determined by elevation, fire history and hydric factors, and varies from low willow heads to bay heads to tropical hardwood hammocks.

(3)

Designation Procedure:

a.

Notice Requirements: The Board shall, by resolution, direct the County Administrator to publish and send by certified mail or hand delivery, a notice of hearing to the property owner(s) to consider designation of a site as a Natural Forest Community. Notice of hearings to be held by the Board to consider designation of a site as a Natural Forest Community shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in Broward County and shall be hand delivered or sent certified mail to the property owners at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing date. Such notice shall include:

1.

The time, date and place of the hearing;

2.

The legal description of the property under consideration for designation as a Natural Forest Community;

3.

The ecological community or communities alleged to be included within the property; and

4.

The effect of the designation on lands classified as Natural Forest Communities.

For purposes of this notification, an owner of property shall be deemed to be the person who is shown as the property owner on the tax roll of the Broward County Property Appraiser unless EPGMD has actual notice that a person or entity other than the person or entity shown on the tax roll is the owner. In such case, the notice shall be mailed to the person or entity known to be the owner.

b.

Following designation of a Natural Forest Community by the Board, notification of such designation shall be sent by certified mail to the property owner(s) by EPGMD; and such notice shall also be sent to the municipality in which the Natural Forest Community is located.

(b)

Tree Removal, Licensing, Preservation and Mitigation Requirements for a Natural Forest Community:

(1)

Any person conducting tree removal activities shall only remove a tree or trees from a site as approved for removal in an EPGMD tree removal license. Damage to any other tree or trees on the site shall constitute a violation of this article.

(2)

Removal of trees in areas designated as a Natural Forest Community shall be pursuant to the following preservation requirements to the extent determined to be practicable by EPGMD:

a.

Any areas identified during the review of a tree removal license application as providing habitat to listed species in the most recent version of Official Lists of Endangered and Potentially Endangered Fauna and Flora in Florida by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission and/or successor agency shall be identified and preserved;

b.

Areas of high wildlife utilization on-site shall be identified and preserved;

c.

Areas which contain relatively undisturbed canopy, subcanopy and groundcover shall be identified and preserved;

(3)

Any proposed development activity which would negatively impact the Natural Forest Community must be mitigated through a resource management plan, approved by EPGMD, which significantly improves the viability of the remainder of the resource. No tree removal license shall be issued until a resource management plan has been approved by EPGMD.

(4)

In an area designated as a Natural Forest Community where preservation is required, a conservation easement shall be granted by the applicant to the Board. The conservation easement shall be duly executed and recorded and shall:

a.

Prohibit land clearing, development or other harmful activity on the preserved portion of the Natural Forest Community;

b.

Allow EPGMD access to the conservation easement area to conduct studies, inspections, and other activities consistent with the purpose of the conservation easement;

c.

Require maintenance of the site in perpetuity.

(Ord. No. 1999-07, § 1, 3-9-99; Ord. No. 1999-55, § 1, 10-12-99; Ord. No. 2005-11, § 9, 5-24-05; Ord. No. 2009-56, § 1, 8-25-09; Ord. No. 2010-18, § 7, 6-8-10)