Online Land Management in Florida by Trish Stratton, AICP - Holland & Knight Consulting
July 19, 2001
Responding to regulatory requirements and obtaining approvals for dredge and
fill activities just became a reality in the state of Florida. This year,
Holland & Knight Consulting helped one of its clients to successfully launch
an Internet-based, Land Management Plan for more than 1,600 acres of
environmentally sensitive land. The plan was developed as a permit requirement
for an industrial expansion in southwest Florida. The client is a large
landowner who was seeking to expand its operations in a rapidly growing,
urbanized area. In order to get the necessary permit approvals, Holland &
Knight Consulting was retained to develop a permitting and public relations
strategy for the client. The project's location on one of Florida's largest
open-water estuaries drew the interest of multiple state, federal and local
regulatory agencies, environmental groups and community activists.
Holland & Knight Consulting guided the client through the ecosystem
management/team permitting process, an expedited permitting process in the state
of Florida. This program allows consolidated, multi-agency permit reviews in
exchange for environmental commitments by the permittee that go above and beyond
those that would be achieved through the traditional permitting process. After
only 18 months and a massive public-involvement campaign, the client obtained
all necessary permits with strong support from participating agencies,
environmental groups and the community.
One environmental commitment made by the client was the restoration and
preservation of its undeveloped landholdings located on the estuary. Building on
the strong support it received from the surrounding communities during the
permitting process, the client decided to track restoration activities and
permit requirements via the Internet. Holland & Knight Consulting was
retained again to assemble a team that could develop an electronic system to
house permits, restoration plans and environmental data for the company's
landholdings. The final product resulted in an integrated, land-management plan
that provides the ability for Internet mapping and real-time communication
between regulatory agencies, the client, nearby residents and environmental
groups who have an interest in the estuary. The system allows regulatory
agencies to log on and track the progress of restoration activities through
photographs, charts, graphs and a powerful database. Regulators also can approve
restoration plans online following a yearly, consolidated agency site visit. The
program does not require any special hardware or software installations. This
unique project can be viewed utilizing a standard Internet browser at
www.cargill-neb.com.
The client won a Sustainable Florida Award in May 2001, for its
forward-thinking ideas and its commitment to include the public and regulatory
agencies in the company's day-to-day activities.
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