It is the purpose of this chapter to describe the requirements and procedures for determination of concurrency requirements of the comprehensive plan, Ordinance No. 90-1, as amended.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

This concurrency management system (CMS) is to verify that facilities and services needed to support development are available concurrent with the impacts of such development. Prior to the issuance of a development order, development permit, building permit, or certificate of occupancy, as may be applicable, the system shall ensure that the adopted level of service standards in this chapter for roadways, potable water, sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, and recreation will be maintained. Annexation by any municipality shall not change the service provider or service area for water and sewer services. Concurrency approval must be certified by the water and sewer provider providing services to the geographic location of the proposed residential, commercial or industrial project.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11; Ord. No. 19-09, § 1, 10-15-19)

The following exemptions and exceptions shall apply to the requirements of this chapter.

1.

The concurrency requirements specified herein do not apply to public transit facilities. For the purposes of this paragraph, public transit facilities include transit stations and terminals; transit station parking; park-and-ride lots; intermodal public transit connection or transfer facilities; fixed bus, guideway, and rail stations; and airport passenger terminals and concourses, air cargo facilities, and hangars for the maintenance or storage of aircraft. As used in this paragraph, the terms "terminals" and "transit facilities" do not include seaports or commercial or residential development constructed in conjunction with a public transit facility [Section 163.3180(4)(b), Florida Statutes].

2.

Parcels of record recorded prior to July 10, 1990 shall be vested for the development of one dwelling unit. A "parcel of record" is a piece of property duly recorded by plat or deed in the official records of the clerk of court, and may include metes and bounds legal descriptions when such descriptions apply to individual, discreet parcels of land.

3.

The urban development area as shown on the comprehensive plan future land use map is hereby designated as a "transportation concurrency exception area" pursuant to Section 163.3180(5)(b).i.e. Florida Statutes. The planning official, after obtaining concurrence from the directors of the public works department and Okaloosa County Water and Sewer, and the county administrator, may grant an exception from the concurrency requirement for transportation facilities as specified herein if a proposed development project is otherwise consistent with the comprehensive plan and this code.

4.

For the purpose of development order or permit, a proposed development may be deemed to have a de minimis impact and may not be subject to the concurrency requirements if all of the following conditions are met:

a.

The development proposal is for an increase in density or intensity of less than or equal to twice the density or intensity of the existing development of a vacant parcel of land, at a residential density of less than four dwelling units per acre, or, for nonresidential uses, at an intensity of less than 0.1 floor area ratio. Isolated vacant lots in predominantly built residential areas where construction of a single-family house would be the most suitable use, may be developed for single-family residential under the de minimis exception even if smaller than one-quarter acre in size.

b.

The transportation impact of the proposed development alone does not exceed 0.1 percent of the maximum service volume at the adopted level of service standard for the peak hour of the affected transportation facility.

c.

The cumulative total transportation impact from the de minimis exemptions does not exceed three percent of the maximum service volume at the adopted level of service standard of the affected transportation facility if the facility does not meet the minimum level of service standard.

d.

Small projects or additions that will have a negligible impact upon facilities and services as determined by mutual agreement between growth management, public works, and the utility service provider.

5.

Notwithstanding section 4.01.06, the LOS may be degraded during the actual construction of new facilities if upon completion the prescribed standards will be met.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11; Ord. No. 19-09, § 1, 10-15-19)

Concurrency shall be evaluated and a final determination made by the planning official prior to authorization of development. Any final determinations of concurrency by the planning official shall be based upon initial concurrency determinations as follows:

1.

The public works department shall be responsible for initial determinations regarding roadways, drainage and stormwater management facilities, solid waste facilities, and recreation facilities.

2.

Okaloosa County Water and Sewer shall be responsible for initial determinations regarding potable water facilities and sanitary sewer facilities for areas within its designated service area.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11; Ord. No. 19-09, § 1, 10-15-19)

Development authorization indicating compliance with this concurrency management system is required prior to obtaining development orders or permits. An approved development order or permit shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance, unless otherwise specified in this Code. Development activity authorized must commence within the one-year period or the development order shall become invalid. Extensions of time for an approved development order or permit may be granted by concurrent agreement of the planning official. Any such extension must be requested in writing by the permit holder who must demonstrate justifiable cause for the extension. An approved development order or permit shall expire at the time the authorized development activity is completed.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

The burden of proof for showing concurrency shall be upon the developer.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

The construction of any development project may be phased or staged so as to coincide with the phased or staged construction of infrastructure facilities so that levels of service for such facilities are maintained upon completion of each phase or stage of the development project.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

For purposes of these regulations, ensuring that minimum standards are maintained requires calculation of existing capacity and planned new capacity of facilities less demand imposed by the planned development.

1.

Adding capacity:

a.

Add total capacity of existing facilities (sanitary sewer, solid waste, stormwater, potable water, and recreation).

b.

Add to the above, total capacity of new facility expansion that will result from planned activity. Capacity of new facility shall be counted only when construction is underway. In no event will the capacity of new facilities be reserved longer than one year after a development and building permits have been issued unless construction has commenced within one year time frame.

2.

Subtracting capacity: From the sum calculated above, subtract the following:

a.

The demand for the service or facility created by existing development as documented in the data and analysis of the comprehensive plan plus the demand upon any new facility, expansions, or improvements anticipated as a result of the planned activity.

b.

Demand shall be calculated using the adopted LOS shown in section 4.02.

3.

Deficient capacity: Where capacity is shown to be deficient, the following methods may be used to maintain adopted levels of service.

a.

The developer may agree to provide necessary capacity improvements to maintain levels of service. In such case, the planned activity shall be modified guarantee no degradation of existing capacity.

b.

The planned activity may be reduced in scope so that demand does not exceed capacity.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

Reference Objective 14.A.4 and Policies 14.A.4.1 and 14.A.4.2 in comprehensive plan. All user fees collected as a fair share cost will be used in the commission district where the project is located and will be used only for the design, construction and/or maintenance of county roads and the design, construction and/or maintenance of county stormwater facilities. For purposes of this section the following rates will be charged:

1.

Fees for new Residential construction on previously vacant property: $10.00 per dwelling unit

2.

Fees for new commercial construction: $10.00 per 1,000 square feet of floor area or fraction thereof.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

Developers may submit proposals to the public works department for approval to provide additional improvements to county roads or county stormwater systems in lieu of fees or portions thereof. The additional improvements shall be in addition to the normal requirements for the project.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

The user fees will be paid at the same time a development permit is purchased at the planning and inspection department. The county finance department will credit user fees to the public works department.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

The following minimum levels of service and general requirements shall guide the issuance of development authorizations. Except as stated in section 4.01.01, no proposed development shall commence without a finding of concurrency which establishes that levels of service will not be degraded.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

As a minimum, at least one of the following standards will be met prior to development authorization:

1.

The necessary facilities and services are in place at the time development authorization is issued; or

2.

Development authorization is issued subject to the conditions that the necessary facilities and services will be in place when the impacts of the development occur; or

3.

The necessary facilities are in place or under construction at the time development authorization is issued, or in the first three years after issuance of a development order as provided in the adopted five-year schedule of capital improvements or included in the first three years of the adopted FDOT five-year work program of the CIE or TIP, or an agreement is made between the county and property owner to construct improvements; or

4.

The necessary facilities and services are the subject of a binding executed contract for the construction of the facilities or the provision of services at the time development authorization is issued. (Note: This provision only relates to parks and recreation facilities and roadways.)

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)

The following LOS and methodologies shall be used for concurrency determinations. Level of service standards are those established for public facilities and services in the comprehensive plan.

1.

Roadways:

a.

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element Policy 1.2.1 prescribes LOS standards for state roads as shown on Table 4.1. Transportation Element Policy 1.2.2 prescribes LOS standards for county roads as shown on Table 4.2.

b.

Quantitative methods for transportation concurrency: Transportation concurrency analysis shall be based on professionally accepted techniques for determining transportation impacts.

c.

Impact determination: Development impact on the roadway system shall be determined by utilizing the PM peak hour trip generation rates provided in the latest edition of "Trip Generation, An Informational Report, Institute of Transportation Engineers." If available, alternative trip generation rates based on data collected at the development site, or similar sites, may be used.

d.

A level of service analysis shall be conducted by using the generalized tables found in the latest FDOT Quality/Level of Service Handbook. Traffic modeling (i.e. ARTPLAN, SYNCHRO, or other acceptable model deemed appropriate by Okaloosa County) using PM peak hour and incorporating committed and proposed trips must be utilized once the roadway has degraded beyond the adopted level of service based on the generalized tables. The results of the analyses shall be added to the road system and then used to evaluate development impacts. Since most models are sensitive to signal control data, it is necessary to maintain updated signal timing data in the concurrency management system as changes are made in the field.

e.

Impact of land use on roads: From points of ingress/egress to roadways serving the development distribute the PM peak hour trips expected to be generated by the proposed development (per paragraph c.) along the roadway network until the project traffic is less than five percent of the trips generated by the project.

f.

The following information shall be indicated for each direction for state roads and bi-directional for county roadways: Existing PM peak hour volume (background trips), committed trips, project trips, total trips, and available capacity.

g.

Capacity determination: The estimated PM peak hour trips expected to be generated by the proposed development and distributed along the roadway network shall be subtracted cumulatively from the available capacity to determine whether adequate roadway's capacity exists to accept the development traffic. The capacity determination is based on the overall level of service for the segment and not any one intersection or portion of the segment.

h.

Traffic counts: For roadways where there are no traffic counts from within 12 months or the most recent published counts from FDOT, the applicant shall obtain a count prior to plan review. The count must be based upon accepted traffic engineering principles. All traffic counts must be recorded in 15-minute intervals to isolate the peak traffic period. The peak period is used to calculate the service flow rate which is the maximum hourly rate at which vehicles (or persons) can reasonably be expected to traverse a point of uniform roadway section during a given period under prevailing conditions at a designated level of service.

i.

An applicant shall not be held responsible for the additional cost of reducing or eliminating deficiencies. When an applicant contributes or constructs its proportionate share, Okaloosa County may not require payment or construction of transportation facilities whose costs would be greater than a development's proportionate share of the improvements necessary to mitigate the development's impacts.

j.

The proportionate-share contribution shall be calculated based upon the number of trips from the proposed development expected to reach roadways during the peak hour from the stage or phase being approved, divided by the change in the peak hour maximum service volume of roadways resulting from construction of an improvement necessary to maintain or achieve the adopted level of service, multiplied by the construction cost, at the time of development payment, of the improvement necessary to maintain or achieve the adopted level of service.

k.

In using the proportionate-share formula provided in this subparagraph, the applicant, in its traffic analysis, shall identify those roads or facilities that have a transportation deficiency in accordance with the transportation deficiency as defined in subparagraph 4; 31801 F.S. The proportionate-share formula provided shall be applied only to those facilities that are determined to be significantly impacted by the project traffic under review. If any road is determined to be transportation deficient without the project traffic under review, the costs of correcting that deficiency shall be removed from the project's proportionate-share calculation and the necessary transportation improvements to correct that deficiency shall be considered to be in place for purposes of the proportionate-share calculation. The improvement necessary to correct the transportation deficiency is the funding responsibility of the entity that has maintenance responsibility for the facility. The development's proportionate share shall be calculated only for the needed transportation improvements that are greater than the identified deficiency.

l.

The roadway segments presented within Tables 4.1 and 4.2 shall, for purposes of determining land use, be the official list of arterial and collector roadways.

2.

Sanitary sewer:

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Sanitary Sewer Element Policy 2.3 prescribes LOS standards for sanitary sewer facilities as follows:

a.

Provide the capacity to collect and treat a minimum of 100 gallons per capita per day (225 gpd peak demand) for all county operated systems, and;

b.

If served by other than county operated systems, the provider's LOS must be met.

c.

Presumption of adequate capacity: For purposes of concurrency determinations and development authorizations there shall be a presumption of adequate capacity until 80 percent of permitted treatment capacity for any given service area is met.

d.

All sewer lines and treatment plants or treatment facilities shall have the approval of the Florida D.E.P., the Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department and other concerned federal, state and local agencies.

e.

Developments in the vicinity of operating sewer systems or districts shall connect into that system, if it is adequate.

f.

For developments not accessible to operating sewer systems either one of the following may be used:

1.

Obtain approval from the health department and/or other concerned agencies for individual septic tanks for each lot after issuance of a letter of sewer non-availability from the Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department for lots located within the OCWS urban service area.

2.

Developments not meeting the standards specified hereinabove shall install collection system and an approved sewage treatment facility. Such facility shall be designed so as to be capable of tying in with an operating central system when such a central system becomes available.

g.

Inspection: Sanitary sewer lines on county right-of-way or easements shall be inspected and approved by the county water and sewer and public works departments if the lines will be a part of the county system. The developer shall complete all construction punch list items prior to final project approval, and shall provide two sets of "as-built" plans and a copy of the department of environmental protection certification of completion and letter of clearance to place the system into service within 30 days of construction completion.

h.

Utility easements: Reference section 6.01.051.

i.

Percolation ponds: Reference section 6.05.09 for required trees to be planted around percolation ponds.

3.

Potable water:

a.

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Potable Water Element Policy 2.2 prescribes the potable water LOS standard as follows:

i.

The level of service standard for all public and private potable water systems serving unincorporated Okaloosa County shall be a minimum of 100 gallons per capita per day peak demand.

ii.

Presumption of adequate capacity: For purposes of concurrency determinations and development authorizations there shall be a presumption of adequate capacity until 80 percent of permitted capacity for any given service area is met.

b.

Water supply:

i.

All subdivision or other types of development water systems shall have the approval of the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD), the Florida D.E.P., the Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department, when applicable, and other required approvals. Subdivisions developed in the vicinity of operating water systems shall connect to that system if the system has adequate capacity available.

ii.

For developments not accessible to operating water systems, either one of the following may be used:

(1)

Obtain approvals from the NWFWMD and/or other concerned agencies for individual wells for each lot; or

(2)

Install a Community Water System approved by F.D.E.P. and other concerned agencies.

iii.

Adequate water supplies and facilities must be available to serve new development no later than the date on which a Certificate of Occupancy or equivalent is issued, and the applicable water provider must be consulted prior to issuing a building permit to determine if adequate supply will be available to serve the new development.

c.

Inspection: Water and/or sewer lines on county ROW or on county easements must be inspected and approved by the county water and sewer and public works departments if the lines will be a part of the county system. The developer shall complete all construction punch list items prior to final project approval, and shall provide two sets of "as-built" plans and a copy of the department of environmental protection certification of completion and letter of clearance to place the system into service within 30 days of construction completion.

d.

Utility easements: Reference section 6.01.051.

4.

Solid waste:

a.

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Solid Waste Element Policy 2.5 prescribes the level of service standard for solid waste as follows:

i.

The LOS standard for solid waste collection and disposal shall be six pounds per capita per day.

5.

Drainage and stormwater management:

a.

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Stormwater Element Policy 2.3 prescribes the level of service for drainage and stormwater management facilities as follows:

i.

Single-family detached residential subdivisions: Post development runoff shall not exceed the pre-development runoff rate for a 25-year storm event, up to and including an event with a 24-hour duration;

ii.

All other development: The first one inch of runoff from the property shall be retained on the site of the development and post development runoff shall not exceed the pre-development runoff rate for a 25-year storm event, up to and including an event with a 24-hour duration; and

iii.

A "pop off" shall be provided for stormwater runoff beyond the above requirements. The developers must provide a pop off to an outfall with adequate capacity to handle additional stormwater runoff and must document that the pop off to the outfall has been authorized by the owner of the outfall system. If no pop off is available the stormwater storage facility shall be designed with a minimum capacity to retain a storm event of 100-year frequency up to and including a 24-hour duration for post development.

iv.

The level of service standard for stormwater management on county roads shall be Level II (capacity maximum): Street gutter systems are flowing full however ten to 12 feet of the road crown is not submerged and traffic can move at a slightly reduced speed. Stormwater swales and ditches are full with water overflowing the tops and edges in some locations. Water may be ponded eight to ten feet onto private property and yards. Inlets and culverts are flowing full to overfull slightly backing up water at entrances.

6.

Recreation:

a.

Level of service: Comprehensive Plan Recreation and Open Space Element Policy 3.1 prescribes level of service standards for recreation facilities as follows:

i.

The level of service standard for recreation for the unincorporated areas of Okaloosa County shall be 0.6 acres of parks per 1,000 population.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11; Ord. No. 19-09, § 1, 10-15-19)