FDEM offers waterfront land to Port Richey under Florida Elevate; council asks for details before deciding

City staff told the Port Richey City Council that the Florida Elevate program has advanced a waterfront parcel in the city into the next phase and is asking the local jurisdiction whether it will accept the land as public open space.

Why it matters: If the city accepts a property through Florida Elevate, the state would facilitate acquisition from the homeowner and the jurisdiction would likely be required to maintain the parcel as green/open space in perpetuity. That affects both future land use and municipal maintenance responsibilities.

What staff said - Veronica (city staff) told council the city had 64 resident applications to the Florida Elevate program and that seven properties in the community had progressed to the program’s next phase. She said the state had identified one waterfront parcel as a land-acquisition project and invited the city to begin internal discussions about whether to accept ownership. - Veronica read FDEM’s preliminary guidance that the state would facilitate acquisition and provide a resolution template for local legislative approval; if the local jurisdiction declines a parcel, the property will not proceed through the state program.

Council concerns and requested follow-up Council members pressed for more detail before voting. They asked for the exact address (Veronica provided 5027 Waterside Drive during the meeting), the lot size and the appraisal or “Zestimate” information, and what restrictions would apply if the city accepted the parcel (for example, whether docks or boat storage would be allowed). Staff said FDEM had indicated the state typically prefers to keep acquired land as natural open space and may place use restrictions on docks or development; FDEM would provide formal documents and a resolution template for council review.

Funding and costs Veronica said the state would pay acquisition costs to the property owner through the program and that the city would not pay acquisition dollars, but the local jurisdiction would be responsible for future maintenance of the parcel if it accepted the land. Transition costs such as title and deed transfer would be handled through the program paperwork; staff said they would return with details on lot size, assessed values and any maintenance estimates.

Next steps: Council asked staff to bring the details back at a future meeting, with clear numbers and the draft resolution from FDEM so members could decide whether to accept the parcel into the city’s public lands.