(1) The Legislature hereby accepts and adopts the recommendations contained in the Phase I Lake Belt Report and Plan, dated February 1997 and hereby accepts the Phase II Plan, submitted on February 9, 2001, to the Legislature by the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan Implementation Committee. These plans shall collectively be known as the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan. This plan was developed to enhance the water supply for Miami-Dade County and the Everglades, including appropriate wellfield protection measures; to maximize efficient recovery of limestone while promoting the social and economic welfare of the community and protecting the environment; and to educate various groups and the general public of the benefits of the plan.
(2)(a) The Legislature recognizes that deposits of limestone and sand suitable for production of construction aggregates, cement, and road base materials are located in limited areas of the state.
(b) The Legislature recognizes that the deposit of limestone available in South Florida is limited due to urbanization to the east and the Everglades to the west.
(3) The Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area is that area bounded by the Ronald Reagan Turnpike to the east, the Miami-Dade-Broward County line to the north, Krome Avenue to the west and Tamiami Trail to the south together with the land south of Tamiami Trail in sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18, Township 54 South, Range 39 East, sections 24, 25, and 36, Township 54 South, Range 38 East, less those portions of section 3, Township 52 South, Range 39 East south of Krome Avenue and west of U.S. Highway 27, and less sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25, Township 53 South, Range 39 East and Government Lots 1 and 2, lying between Townships 53 and 54 South, Range 39 East and those portions of sections 1 and 2, Township 54 South, Range 39 East, lying north of Tamiami Trail.
(4) The identification of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area shall not preempt local land use jurisdiction, planning, or regulatory authority in regard to the use of land by private land owners. When amending local comprehensive plans, or implementing zoning regulations, development regulations, or other local regulations, Miami-Dade County shall strongly consider limestone mining activities and ancillary operations, such as lake excavation, including use of explosives, rock processing, cement, concrete and asphalt products manufacturing, and ancillary activities, within the rock mining supported and allowable areas of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan adopted by subsection (1); provided, however, that limerock mining activities are consistent with wellfield protection. Rezonings, amendments to local zoning and subdivision regulations, and amendments to local comprehensive plans concerning properties that are located within 1 mile of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area shall be compatible with limestone mining activities. No rezonings, variances, amendments to local zoning and subdivision regulations which would result in an increase in residential density, or amendments to local comprehensive plans for any residential purpose may be approved for any property located in sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25, Township 53 South, Range 39 East until such time as there is no active mining within 2 miles of the property. This section does not preclude residential development that complies with current regulations.
(5) The secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, the secretary of the Department of Commerce, the secretary of the Department of Transportation, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the executive director of the South Florida Water Management District may enter into agreements with landowners, developers, businesses, industries, individuals, and governmental agencies as necessary to effectuate the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan and the provisions of this section.
(6)(a) All agencies of the state shall review the status of their landholdings within the boundaries of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt. Those lands for which no present or future use is identified must be made available, together with other suitable lands, to the Department of Environmental Protection for its use in carrying out the objectives of this act.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that lands provided to the Department of Environmental Protection be used for land exchanges to further the objectives of this act.
