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Board raises concerns about Myakkahatchee Creek access and 572-acre forestry mulching project; asks for earlier notice and survey verification
Summary
Members warned that planned access work and large-scale forestry mulching along the Myakkahatchee Creek corridor could significantly affect habitat; they requested earlier project notification, confirmation of required environmental surveys and a future agenda item on audit/verifications.
Environmental Advisory Board members expressed strong concern about two city projects they said had large potential impacts on local ecosystems: the Myakkahatchee Creek access project and a 572-acre forestry mulching effort.
The chair said the access project, which the commission previously approved, includes equipment and trail work through the creek’s floodplain and that the board should have been consulted earlier. Members said plans discussed at the commission changed from a 10-foot trail to a 14-foot trail base, and they warned heavy equipment and debris-hauling vehicles would have “a tremendous impact on the ecosystems within that entire corridor.”
Board members described the forestry mulching project as clearing forage and understory across a large corridor and said the timing and scope of the work could scatter wildlife and remove canopy cover. Members requested confirmation that required species surveys — specifically gopher tortoise surveys — had been completed. A speaker said by state rule a survey should occur at least 90 days before work begins; another speaker reported that a recent survey had identified about five burrows “within the vicinity where some of the work will take place,” but the board asked staff to verify the scope and timing of any surveys.
To avoid repeating the pattern of learning about projects “after the fact,” board members asked staff to place two items on a future agenda: (1) a proposal to require earlier notification of projects to the board (for example, at the development-review stage), and (2) a verification/audit process to confirm environmental surveys were completed and that agreed mitigation or follow-up actions were carried out.
City staff agreed to provide any completed survey reports to the board; if surveys were not yet complete, staff said they would provide them when available. Members emphasized they want both front-end review opportunities and back-end confirmation that projects followed mitigation commitments.
Ending: The board added project-review timing and survey-completion verification to its list of future agenda items and requested staff provide existing survey reports for the Myakkahatchee Creek work and the 572-acre mulching project.
