Item P4P.4
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
C ounty of M onroe
Mayor Sylvia Murphy, District 5
Mayor Pro Tem Danny Kolhage, District 1
TheFloridaKeys
Michelle Coldiron, District 2
Heather Carruthers, District 3
David Rice, District 5
County Commission Meeting
December 19, 2018
Agenda Item Number: P.4
Agenda Item Summary #4955
BULK ITEM: No DEPARTMENT: County Attorney's Office
TIME APPROXIMATE: STAFF CONTACT: Bob Shillinger (305) 292-3470
No
AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval of a resolution amending Resolution 175-2018 and the
Less than Fee Program for purchasing development rights of vacant lots to clarify the priorities and
conditions for purchases and to authorize an alternate methodology for valuation.
ITEM BACKGROUND: In June 2018, the BOCC adopted Resolution 175-2018, which
gram. Under the program, the County purchases the
in
real property law denoting ownership of less than all property rights for a particular parcel.
The program is designed to reduce the residential density in neighborhoods in certain residential land
use districts (IS, IS-M, and URM) by purchasing and retiring the development rights from vacant
lots that are adjacent to lots containing houses. This willing seller program is one of several
strategies adopted by the Board to address its potential future liability for property rights claims due
to the exhaustion of state issued rate of growth ordinance (ROGO) allocations that is scheduled to
occur in 2023 under current law. The program has the benefit of retiring development rights while
leaving the property in private ownership. The property owner retains the ability to build limited
accessory structures that support the principal structure, e.g. parking or a pool. The County is
relieved from the financial burden of maintaining such vacant lots, which it would have to bear were
the County to purchase such lots outright.
Approximately 90 property owners have submitted applications so far. In reviewing these
applications, staff has determined that some amendments to the original program merit
consideration.
1) Lots on Big Pine and No Name Keys. The original program placed a priority on Tier III lots.
However, due to the heightened development restrictions on Big Pine and No Name Keys as a
result of the Incidental Take Permit for those islands under the Endangered Species Act, staff
recommends that any otherwise eligible lot on Big Pine or No Name Key be made a priority,
regardless of its Tier designation.
Packet Pg. 1550
P.4
2) Alternative methodology for valuation. Staff has encountered difficulty with the current
criteria for making purchase offers where two platted lots have been combined into a single
parcel for tax purposes only. Staff proposes to remedy this difficulty by amending the criteria to
that is comparable to the vacant platted lot that has been combined with a developed lot into a
single tax parcel.
By way of background, any property owner of two or more adjacent platted lots has the ability to
request that the Property Appraiser combine the platted lots into a single taxable parcel. Such a
combination does not, by itself, retire the development rights from a vacant platted lot. That
owner or a future owner could split the parcel back into separate lots and go through the ROGO
process to acquire an allocation to build a house on the vacant platted lot. However, when lots
are combined for tax purposes, the Property Appraiser assigns a market land value for the
combined tax parcel, not each platted lot in the combined parcel. The original criteria in
Resolution 175-2018 authorized purchase offers based upon the market land value for the vacant
lot. That calculation is not ascertainable for lots that have been combined into a single taxable
parcel.
The proposed amendment of using the
for a comparable vacant platted lot is the preferred solution. The data is currently available from
the Property Appraiser without additional program costs. The use of comparable lots is an
accepted practice when valuing real estate.
A second option would be to hire appraisers to provide such valuations, but that would drive up
program costs. A third option would be to require the property owner to go through the time and
expense of dividing the combined tax parcel back into the original, separately platted lots and
resubmitting an application once the Property Appraiser makes those calculations the following
year, but that would delay the retirement of development rights, delay program implementation,
and discourage participation. A fourth option would be to disqualify such lots from participation
in the program, but that would run counter to the purpose of the program of retiring development
rights.
3) Prioritize purchases of less than $100,000. Due to the level of interest in the program, staff
desires to prioritize purchases where the agreed upon price is less than $100,000. This change
will enable the County to retire more development rights with its limited funds.
4) Code violations. The existing resolution requires that to be eligible to participate, a lot must be
free of code liens and not currently subject to a pending code compliance proceeding. Staff
would like to add clarifying language to the resolution that makes it clear that the County does
not waive its right to prosecute existing but undiscovered code violations by entering into
agreements to purchase development rights. The proposed resolution would direct that property
owners be notified of this additional change.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: On 6/20/18, the BOCC adopted Resolution 175-
2018.
Packet Pg. 1551
P.4
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
n/a
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval
DOCUMENTATION:
STAMPED Resolution amending resolution 175 2018 Less than Fee Program
Resolution 175-2018
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Effective Date: Upon adoption.
Expiration Date: n/a
Total Dollar Value of Contract:
Total Cost to County:
Current Year Portion:
Budgeted:
Source of Funds:
CPI:
Indirect Costs:
Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts:
Revenue Producing: If yes, amount:
Grant:
County Match:
Insurance Required:
Additional Details:
Nothing additional to that which the BOCC has already approved
REVIEWED BY:
Bob Shillinger Completed 12/03/2018 4:12 PM
Bob Shillinger Completed 12/03/2018 4:12 PM
Budget and Finance Completed 12/03/2018 4:31 PM
Maria Slavik Completed 12/04/2018 9:15 AM
Kathy Peters Completed 12/04/2018 9:36 AM
Board of County Commissioners Pending 12/19/2018 9:00 AM
Packet Pg. 1552
P.4.a
Attachment: STAMPED Resolution amending resolution 175 2018 Less than Fee Program \[Revision 1\] (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and
Packet Pg. 1553
P.4.a
Attachment: STAMPED Resolution amending resolution 175 2018 Less than Fee Program \[Revision 1\] (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and
Packet Pg. 1554
P.4.a
Attachment: STAMPED Resolution amending resolution 175 2018 Less than Fee Program \[Revision 1\] (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and
Packet Pg. 1555
P.4.a
Attachment: STAMPED Resolution amending resolution 175 2018 Less than Fee Program \[Revision 1\] (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and
Packet Pg. 1556
P.4.b
Attachment: Resolution 175-2018 (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and combined lots)
Packet Pg. 1557
P.4.b
Attachment: Resolution 175-2018 (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and combined lots)
Packet Pg. 1558
P.4.b
Attachment: Resolution 175-2018 (Less than Fee Program tweaks BPK and combined lots)
Packet Pg. 1559