§ 62-3661. Definitions.

Accessory structure means a building or structure as defined in, and consistent with, chapter 62, article VI of this chapter. Accessory uses shall include but not be limited to all impervious surfaces within the surface water protection buffer.

Alteration of mangroves means the cutting, removing, defoliating, disturbing or otherwise damaging or destroying of mangroves.

Aquatic preserves means those sovereignty lands established by the state and managed under the provisions set forth in F.S. chs. 253 and 258, as amended.

Best public interest means public projects which clearly demonstrate a net benefit to the public, as determined by the board of county commissioners, and which adequately mitigate adverse environmental impacts.

Boat slip means a space designed for the mooring of a single watercraft and usually projecting from a dock or shoreline.

Buffer access means the ability to temporarily or permanently transgress property to the shoreline or other permitted structures, or to access specific sites of the property in the surface water protection buffer by means of allowable uses.

Buffer establishment line means a surveyed contour line along a shoreline from which the landward surface water protection buffer may be identified. The line is established along the approximate land-water interface of a shoreline. The elevation of 0.9 feet N.G.V.D. 1929 shall be used to define the line along the Indian River Lagoon system. The use of this line is exclusive to Brevard County for the sole purpose of establishing the surface water protection buffer and infers no jurisdictional or property boundaries.

Bulkhead and seawall means a manmade shoreline wall, breakwater or encroachment, excluding shoreline stabilization as defined herein, designed or positioned to break the force of waves or to hold back or protect the shoreline from erosion. Headwalls and other similar minor structures necessary for the implementation of permitted stormwater management systems shall not be considered bulkheads.

Canal means a manmade linear waterway constructed through uplands and designed for navigation of vessels excluding those linear waterways whose primary purpose is conveyance of drainage.

Class I waters means waters designated by the state as a source of potable water supply and defined in Chapter 62-302, F.A.C., as amended.

Class II waters means waters designated by the state for shellfish propagation and harvesting as determined by FDEP and defined in Chapter 62-302, F.A.C., as amended.

Class III shellfish harvesting areas means those areas within Class III waters designated suitable for shellfish harvesting by FDEP in Chapter 5L-1, F.A.C., as amended.

Class III waters means waters designated by the state for recreation, and propagation and maintenance of a healthy, well-balanced population of fish and wildlife. This includes all waters within the county, except:

(1)

Those designated as Class I or Class II waters, Class III shellfish areas, Outstanding Florida Waters, and Aquatic Preserves as described in this section;

(2)

Those waters which are part of a designated stormwater management system, which are utilized only for stormwater management and are not considered Class III waters by FDEP;

(3)

Those waters that are manmade water bodies that do not have a direct surface water connection to natural water bodies;

(4)

Existing manmade water bodies not connected to the Indian River Lagoon system which are incidental to bona fide agricultural operations utilizing best management practices (BMPs), on lands having been granted an agricultural tax exemption; and

(5)

Those existing manmade water bodies defined in subsection (4) of this definition which are undergoing conversion during development, as evidenced by an approved development order, to approved designated stormwater management systems not designed to outfall to waters of the state, and which do not increase sediment or pollutant loading to the receiving water body during construction.

Degrade means to discharge or release, through direct or specific manmade activities or events, any substance into the waters within the county which reduces, lowers or contaminates existing receiving water quality.

Direct surface water connection means a situation where the single point of connection of a water body to Class I, II, or III waters is 35 square feet or greater in cross sectional area and normally has a water depth of three feet or greater.

Director means the director of the Brevard County Natural Resources Management Office or designee.

Dock means a fixed or floating structure, including moorings, used for the purpose of berthing buoyant vessels either temporarily or indefinitely.

Elevated structure means those structures designed, constructed and located above the ground surface so as to not impede the natural flow of water on the ground surface and to allow the growth and maintenance of vegetation.

Erosion means the wearing away of land through natural or artificial causes. Gradual erosion means the slow wearing away of land due to natural and/or artificial causes. Accelerated erosion means the rapid or catastrophic loss of land due to natural and/or artificial causes.

FDEP means the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, or its successor agency.

Hazardous material means any material which is either a hazardous substance or hazardous waste as defined in this section. A hazardous material includes any solution, mixture or formulation containing such material.

Hazardous substance means any material defined, listed or classified as a hazardous substance or toxic substance according to any of the following state or federal codes or regulations:

(1)

Chapter 38F-41, F.A.C., as amended, (the Florida Substance List); or

(2)

Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 302.4 (Designation of Hazardous Substances).

Hazardous waste means any material defined, listed or classified as a hazardous waste according to the following state or federal codes or regulations:

(1)

Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 261 (Identification and Listing of Hazardous Substances); or

(2)

Chapter 62-730, F.A.C., as amended (Hazardous Waste).

Impervious surface means a surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water. This shall include but not be limited to semi-impervious surfaces such as compacted clay, as well as most surfaced areas, roofs, sidewalks, paver stones, and other similar structures.

Indian River Lagoon system includes the Indian River, the Banana River, Mosquito Lagoon, Newfound Harbor and Sykes Creek, and their tributaries.

Living shoreline means erosion management techniques, such as the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand, and other structural and organic materials, that are used primarily in areas with low to moderate wave energy, and are designed to mimic natural coastal processes.

Mangrove means any specimen, or any portion of any specimen, living or dead, of the species Avicennia germinans (black mangrove), Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), or Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove).

Marina means all boating facilities with three or more wet and/or dry slips (consistent with current County definition). A marina is a facility or structure, which provides mooring, docking, anchorage, fueling, repairs, launching, or other related services for watercraft. Private boat docks associated with single-family lots are exempt from this category.

(1)

Residential marina means community docks exclusively serving subdivisions, condominiums, duplexes, or other multifamily developments. No fueling or repair facilities shall be associated with these marinas.

(2)

Commercial/recreational marina means public or private facilities which provide dockage and other related amenities not exclusively associated with a subdivision, condominium, duplex or other multifamily development.

(3)

Commercial/industrial marina means facilities serving largely commercial interests, including commercial boat building, ship repairs or construction, and commercial seafood harvesting and processing.

Minor structures means nonhabitable structures such as storage sheds, pump houses and gazebos.

Mitigation means restoration, reclamation or compensation for manmade or man-induced environmental damage or adverse conditions. All mitigations for environmental impacts shall be reviewed and approved by NRMO as subject to section 62-3662.

Native vegetation means those plant species indigenous to Florida as determined by the best available scientific and historical documentation and suitable for planting in Brevard County. The Atlas of Florida Native Plants maintained by the Institute for Systemic Botany, University of South Florida shall be used as a reference.

NRMO means the Brevard County Natural Resources Management Office or its successor agency.

Outstanding Florida Waters means those water bodies afforded special protection and described within Chapter 62-302, F.A.C., as amended, and designated under the authority of Chapter 403, F.S., as amended.

Overriding public benefit means the result of a development action by a private property owner that substantially preserves, restores or enhances those natural functions which define areas of critical concern, environmentally sensitive areas, shorelines or water bodies, identified by the county comprehensive plan, NRMO or state or federal agencies. An overriding public benefit shall include but not be limited to proposals which preserve, restore or enhance floodplain, wetland, shoreline or prime aquifer recharge functions and provide for the dedication of associated lands to the county or other acceptable public entity or agency.

Passive recreation means recreational uses where very minimum alteration of vegetation, topography or other native feature is necessary for the enjoyment of the site amenities. Activities which are considered passive include, but are not limited to, hiking, bicycling, nature observation, camping, picnicking, nonmotorized recreation and sports, and archaeological or historic preservation.

Petroleum means oil of any kind and in any form and derivatives thereof, to include but not be limited to crude petroleum or liquid products that are derived from crude petroleum by distillation, cracking, hydroforming or other petroleum refinery processes, including gasoline.

Pier means a fixed or floating structure used to provide over-water pedestrian access from the land for recreational purposes including walking, fishing, swimming, or observing. The berthing of buoyant vessels, either temporarily or indefinitely, is not permitted.

Public interest means demonstrable environmental, social, and economic benefits which would accrue to the public at large as a result of a proposed action, and which would clearly exceed all demonstrable environmental, social, and economic costs of the proposed action. In determining the public interest in a request for use, sale, lease, or transfer of interest in sovereignty lands or severance of materials from sovereignty lands, the board shall consider the ultimate project and purpose to be served by said use, sale, lease, or transfer of lands or materials.

Reinforced rock revetment habitat means an approved bulkhead established between existing bulkheads on each immediately adjacent shoreline, with a required rock revetment adjoining the structure on the waterward side, designed to allow for aquatic habitat and additional shoreline benefits.

Release means any sudden or gradual spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injection, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing of substances or wastes, including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers and other receptacles containing any substances or wastes, into the environment, in such a manner as to endanger the public health, safety, aesthetics or welfare or the environment, or in violation of any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.

Retaining wall means a structure that holds back soil or rock from a building, structure, or area; prevents downslope movement or erosion; or provides support for vertical or near-vertical grade changes.

Safe upland line means a boundary line determined by the FDEP, Bureau of Survey and Mapping, in consultation with the applicant. The safe upland line is normally located landward of either the mean or ordinary high-water line and is based upon the location of known or approximated mean high-water lines, ordinary high-water lines and mature upland vegetative communities, whichever is applicable.

Seawall. See bulkhead.

Shoreline stabilization means alteration of the shoreline or the surface water protection buffer from its natural state for the purpose of minimizing erosion utilizing riprap material, interlocking brick systems, rock revetments, vegetation, living shorelines, retaining structures located in uplands, or other allowable methods.

SJRWMD means the St. Johns River Water Management District, or its successor agency.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires rigid location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground.

Surface water protection buffer means the protected area adjacent to and landward of the surface waters of the county as established by this division. On non-bulkheaded lots, the waterward extent of the surface water protection buffer shall be the buffer establishment line or the safe upland line, as agreed upon by the applicant. Additionally, mean high water line or ordinary high water line may be used if the applicant can provide documentation that the line and associated elevation is specifically approved by FDEP. On bulkheaded lots, the waterward extension of the surface water protection buffer shall be measured from the face of the existing bulkhead.

Temporary access means access in the surface water protection buffer for allowable use for construction, maintenance, restoration, non-native/invasive species removal, or mandated corrective actions.

(Code 1979, § 14-78; Ord. No. 03-22, § 1, 5-20-03; Ord. No. 07-12, § 1, 4-5-07; Ord. No. 07-13, § 2, 4-5-07; Ord. No. 11-13, § 1, 3-22-11; Ord. No. 2011-15, § 1, 5-10-11)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.