Item P07
Board of County Commissioners
Agenda Item Summary
Meeting Date June 19, 2002
Bulk Item: Yes C No .
Division: Board of County Commissioners
,Department: George R. Neugent
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AGENDA rrEM WORDING:
Approval from the Board of County Commissioners to petition the Florida Division of
Forestry to utilize the Hawkins Act whereas notices would be included in the tax bill
communicating the States interest in managing those lands to reduce fire hazard.
rrEM BACKGROUND:
Under the auspices of the FDOF we (Monroe County, The Nature Conservancy, Fir~
Marshall, Big Pine Key Volunteer Fire Dept., Keys Electric Service" FDOT) have IM!en
meeting on a monthly basis, to discuss "FIREWISE" Issues in high fire hazard areas.
Big Pine Key and other Lower Keys areas are designated high fire hazard areas and in an
attempt to reduce the risk as best we can control bums are necessary to limit fuel
loading. Therefore, I propose to the Commission the enactment of the FLORIDA
HAWKINS BILL.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
CONTRACT I AGREEMENT CHANGES:
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
approve
TOTAL COST:
~-A
BUDGETED: YES C NO C
COST TO COUNTY: $
REVENUE PRODUCNG: YES C NO C AMT PER MONTH: YEAR:
APPROVED BY: COUNTY AnY COMB/PURCHASING C RISK MANAGEMENT C
APPROVAL:~ ~ R. Y/e- v.rJ -
/ Commigloner GEORGE R.(fjkUG~
DISTRICT II
DOCUMENTATION: INCLUDED. TO'i\?LLOW C NOT REQUIRED C
DISPosmON:
AGENDA ITEM #
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5 Information
lorida's Hawkins Bill
rom Left to Right: Mike Long, Now Assistant Director, Division of liJaJ/~f
ary Ellen Hawkins, and former State Forester John Bethea
90.015 Control Burning of Wildlands.
1) As used in this section, "wild land" means:
0) Uncultivated land other than fallow. Such land may be neglected altogether or ....:.!.<
ch purposes as wood or forage production, wildlife, recreation, or protective pI""; r"~
b) Land virtUally uninfluenced by human activity.
2) At the request of the governing body of a counly, lhe Division of Forestry oftk bOiC,
griculturc and Consumer Services is authorized and empowered, subjeCt to the rV9'l/I]rr,oA
ua\ifications contained in s.ubscction (3), and pl'ovided the owner of the land doe~ ",If d',
antral bwn 311Y area of wil~nd within the county which is reasonably dctermi~" J (
f conflagration if any open an<hmeontroUed frre were to occur in the arell.
1) No area of wild land shall be control burned onder the provisions of Ibis sectiV" .~k 'I
intent to control bum, describing particularly the area to be bwned and the tentative v..1\!-
he buminl\o is published in a conspicuoos ",,,,,,,,,r m one or more newspapet> of 1 "",...t
. the area of the bum not less than 1 0 dllYS prior to the bum.
4) In addition, the Div;sion ofl'ore.trY shall prepare, ond the countY tal< euUoc.o'- ~';I
. annoal tax sta.ement, a noti"" to be sent to all landowners in each township d"'I'!.f<1
iv;.ioD of ForestrY as a high fiN hazatd area. Such notice sba1l des<;ribe porticu..,.1y f/.j
wnoo and the tentative dat. or dates of the burning and shall lisllhe reasons for, ,;..,; II.
xpected to result from, control buming.
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Florida StaNte.
CHAPTER 590 FOREST PROTECTION
lOGO
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(4) WILDFIRE HAZAIlD klDUCTIOH BURNING aY THE DIVISION.
The Division may prescribe bum any area of wildland within the state .-hich is reasonobly determined to be
in danger of wildfire in accordance with the following procedures;
(a) Describe the O~05 that will be prescribe burned to the affected local governmental agency.
(b) Publish a prescribed hum notice, including 0 description of ,ht! area to be burned. i,., a
conspicuous manner in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the oteO of the bum not
leu than 10 doyJ before the burn.
(e) Prepare, and the county tOJ( collector liholl include with the annual tax statement, 0 notice to be
sent to all landowners in each township designated by the Division as a wildfire h~zard area. The
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notice must describe p<:Irticularfy the orea to be burned ond the tentative dote 'or dotes of the
burning and must list the reasonS far and the expected benefitli fTam prescribed burning.
(d) Consider any landowner objections to the prescribed burning ot his or her property. The
landowner may apply to th. director of the Division for a review of altemative methods of fuel
reduction on the property. If the director or hili or her designee does nat resolve the landowner
objection, the director lihall convene 0 ponel made up of the local forestry unit manager, the fire
chief of the jurisdiction, and the affected county or city manager, or ony of their designees. If
the panel's recommendation is not occeptable to the landowner, the landowner may request
further consideration by th~ Commi$Sioner of Agriculture or his or her designee and sholl
thereafter be entitled to on administrative hearing pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120.
(5) DUTIES OF AGENCIIES.
The Department of Education sholl incorporate. where feasible and appropriate, the issues of prescribed
buming into Its educational materials.
590.13 CML LIABILITY.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter sholl be lioble for all damages caused by such
violation, which damag~5 sholl be recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction. The civil liability
attaches whether or not ther. is criminal prosecution and conviction.
590.14 NOTICE OF VIOLATION; PENALTIES.
(1 ) If 0 Division employ.. determines that a person has violated chapter 589 or chop,er 590. he or she
may issue 0 notice at violation indicating the statute violoted. The notice will be filed with the Division
and a copy forwarded to the oppropri~ law enforcement entity for further action if necessary.
(2) In addition to ony penalties provided br\low, any perSon who causes a wildfire or permits any
authori~ed fire to escape the boundaries of the outhorization Or to bum pas' the time of the
authorltotlon is liable tor the payment of 011 reasonable costs Qnd expenses incurred in supprening the
fire or S 150, whichever is greater. All costs ond expenses incurred by the Division shall be payable to
the Division. When such COSfS and expenses ore not paid within 30 doys otter demand. the Division may
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Lower Keys Wildland Fire
Hazard Reduction Initiative
Memo
To: George Neugent
MCBOCC District 2
From: Chris Bergh
cc: Bob Rehr, Bill Theobold
Oat. 06/05/02
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He: Activating Hawkins Bill process in Monroe County
The pine foreSts of the Lower Florida Keys i~~roe County are natul8ily flammable and are
interspersed with homes and business. Particularly on Big Pine, No Name, Cudjoe and Upper
Sugar10af Keys there exists a serious wildland/urban interface fire hazard situation. Wildfires that start
in the woods have the potential to spread to structures and structure fires have the potential to spread
into the woods. The Lower Keys Wildland Fire Hazard Reduction Initiative, an, interagency working
group dedicated to reduction of this wildfire hazard, recommends that Monroe County initiate the
"Hawkins Bill" (FS 590.025) process in order to ensure that fire hazard is reduced on undeveloped
private lands concurrently with ongoing, and imminently expanding, efforts on publicly~ed lands.
We encourage Monroe County to research this statute but, in brief, it states that; if the Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC) officially requests the Florida Division of Forestry (FDOF) to reduce the wildfire
hazard present on private lands in a given area, they will do so. Following the BOCC' s request, the
FDOF works with the County Tax Collector to include a notice of the FDOF' s intent to reduce the threat
of wildfire with the annual tax statement. The notice describes the justification for the prescribed bum
or other hazard reduction method in a given area, in a given time frame, using given methods. The
landowner may object to the proposed action through an established process.
By activating the Hawkin~ process, the BOCC will enable fire management on public lands to extend to
undeveloped private parcels within and adjacent to those federal, state and county-owned lands. This
will result in a safer community, more cost-effective fire management and enhanced natural resource
values. As it stands, the alternative to including these undeveloped private lands in planned fire
management activities, via the Hawkins process, is cutting expensive and environmentally destructive
fire breaks around each individual lot and working around it. And over time, unmanaged lots will
become more and more hazardous as fuels accumulate.
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