Okaloosa County BOCC — July 2, 2013 — reading text

City of 44 2010 Storms; Flood; and yes City of Valparaiso City of Valparaiso City of Valparaiso - Public Works Dept $750,000.00 X No Funding 18 months New Y 23 Maintenance Yard accordance with Florida Valparaiso Severe Storms Building Codes Wind Retrofit of Golf The Golf Course Clubhouse Course Clubhouse & Hurricane & Tropical Structural Soundness does not currently meet the Fity of Fort Walton City of Fort Walton City of Fort Walton Beach - Public City of Fort 45 Develop Backup 1999 Storm; Flood; and of Existing Local $100,000.00 X No Funding 6 months Existing Y 23 140 mph wind code for Beach Beach Works Dept. Walton Beach Emergency Operation Severe Storms Government Centers building construction. Center Brewer Circle Redesign and replace Flood, Hurricane/Tropical City of Mary 46 2013 no City of Mary Esther City of Mary Esther City of Mary Esther $350,000.00 X No Funding 120 days Existing 22 Concrete Culvert stormwater culvert Storm Esther Hardening of conventional single famile detached County Wide Wind 47 2011 homesteaded dwellings to All Hazards yes ALL Jurisdictions 25% Private All Jurisdictions All Jurisdictions $3,000,000.00 X No Funding 1 year Existing All Jurisdictions Y 17 Retrofit meet current FBC wind requirements /REMOVED PROJECTS Main Okaloosa Island Replacement of existing lift Hurricane/Tropical Storm Okaloosa County - Water & Sewer Okaloosa County 5 Lift Station 2010 yes Okaloosa County Okaloosa County $3,400,000.00 Completed by other funds- per e-mail from Mark Wise - Wat 2 years Existing Y station, to include elevation and Flooding Dept. and tourist replacement E-5 Packet Pg. 366  BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: August 6, 2013 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Elliot Kampert SUBJECT: Army Corps Permit for Timberview Helicopter DEPARTMENT: Growth Management BCC DISTRICT: 5 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Timberview Helicopters, which currently operates from a barge at various locations, has applied for an after-the-fact Army Corps of Engineers permit for this activity. The Army Corps has issued a public notice (attached) soliciting comments. BACKGROUND: On July 19, 2013, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) published a notice (see attached) that Timberview Helicopters was seeking an after-the-fact permit for its operations on the water. The comment period closes on August 9, 2013. As the notice was not published until after the Board's last meeting of July and the comment period closes before Board's August 20 meeting, the August 6 meeting is the only opportunity for staff to bring this to the Board's attention, and for the Board to consider the issue and determine whether it wishes to provide comments. Staff took the initiative in drafting the letter so that the Board would have an opportunity for review and to direct staff accordingly. It should be noted that the attached ACoE notice states that any person may request a public hearing on the matter. The attached letter does not request such a hearing, but it may be easily modified to make such a request prior to the Chairman's signature, should the Board decide to respond. OPTIONS: Approve the letter with or without modifications, or decide not to send the letter. RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends that the Board consider the attached information, then vote on whether it wishes to authorize the chairman to sign and send the letter with or without any modifications as it may deem appropriate. RECOMMENDED BY: Packet Pg. 367 APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator Packet Pg. 368 August 8, 2013 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pensacola Permits Section 41 North Jefferson Street Suite 301 Pensacola, Florida 32502 ATTN: District Engineer SUBJ: After-the-fact application SAJ-2013-00022 (SP-EPS), Timberview Helicopters, Destin, FL This responds to the public notice solicitation for comments dated July 19, 2013 relating to the subject application. As used herein Timberview Helicopters will be referred to as the “Applicant”, the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners and agents thereof will be referred to as the “County.” As stated in the notice the Applicant is requesting an after-the-fact permit “ to install a floating platform for use as a helipad and for docking customers and appurtenant vessels for a commercial aerial tour business in Destin, Florida.“ The floating helipad may be moored at three locations designated by latitude/longitude coordinates described in the application which are generally shown on Exhibit 1. Of the locations shown, 4A and 4C are located within Okaloosa County jurisdiction while 4B is located within City of Destin jurisdiction. The County offers the following for your consideration to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny the permit for this application. A. History The County has a history in dealing with the Applicant relating to the location of the helicopter sightseeing business dating back to 2011 – 2012. Rather than reiterate here, a well reasoned summary of events is presented in the Court Order (July 3, 2012) attached as Exhibit 2. As noted in the Court Order the Applicant began his helicopter sightseeing business without any approvals or authorizations from permitting or regulatory agencies. This then precipitated a series of events between the Applicant and the County where the County insisted that aircraft sightseeing operations be conducted from duly licensed public or private airports, and the Applicant then pursued other alternatives. Statements made by the Applicant in local newspaper articles are attached as Exhibit 3. These include that all permits have been obtained his company will get around FAA requirements by moving the barge around to different locations, and that his business presented no danger to fish or wildlife even when one of the requested permitted locations is immediately adjacent to a shorebird nesting sanctuary. Packet Pg. 369 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers SAJ-2013-00022 (SP-EPS) August 8, 2013 Page 2 B. County Regulations The locations for the floating platform are within a “restricted area” as designated by County Ordinance #96-11, attached as Exhibit 4. This ordinance limits vessel operating speed in this area to protect public safety due to vessel traffic congestion, obstructed visibility, and the likelihood of boating accidents. This restricted area designation has also been endorsed and approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The significance here is that this is one of very few such restricted areas on the waterways of Okaloosa County where public safety concerns have prompted such action. With regard to regulating aircraft or vessels the County’s authority is narrowly limited. Regulation of aircraft (including helicopters) in-flight is strictly pre-empted to the federal government (see 49 U.S.C. 40103, Sovereignty and use of airspace). Likewise, the County’s jurisdiction over airports, airfields and landing areas is limited by state law. Section 330.36, Florida Statutes explicitly states No County or municipality of this state shall license airports or control their location except by zoning requirements. This limitation on local control of aircraft and