Altering shall include, but not be limited to, dredging, filling, placing, building, keeping, maintaining, erecting, extending, or making any other material change to lands or structures located within the jurisdictional area of the Code, the use of which requires a permanent or temporary location on or above the ground, bottomland, water area or water surface, or attachment to a structure having a permanent or temporary location on or above the ground, bottomland, water area or water surface. It includes permanent or temporary physical changes to elevations or slopes, or the installation of any pilings, boat-lifts, or other structures or fixtures, as well as the installation of any other appurtenant structures such as floating docks and lifts, whether or not such floating structures are licensed as "vessels."

Alluvial means clay, silt, sand, gravel, or similar material deposited by running water, streams, rivers, etc.

Anaerobic means living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of oxygen.

Applicant means the individuals, firms, partnership, corporation, association, organization, trust, company, government agency, or any other legal entity that has applied for a development proposal.

Appurtenance means an incidental right (as a right-of-way) attached to a principal property right and passing in possession with it.

Appurtenant Structure is a term used to define an auxiliary or accessory structure such as a boat-lift that is attached to a primary structure such as a dock.

Aquiclude means a geologic formation that surrounds an aquifer.

Aquifer means an underground layer, cavern or area that stores water.

Authority means the Sarasota County Water and Navigation Control Authority (WNCA).

Barrier Island Pass Twenty-Year Hazard Line (PHL) means the lines described in Exhibit "A" attached to Ordinance No. 86-24 and incorporated therein.

Bayhead means a specific type of wetland where the overstory vegetation is dominated by red bay (Persea borbonia) or swamp bay (Persea palustris).

Beach Cleaning and Grooming means the clearing of seaweed, debris, dead fish, and other trash, and the burying of dead fish, and to groom the beach by raking and leveling, provided that such activity shall not disturb existing beach or dune vegetation, nor shall such activity change the final ground elevations greater than one foot.

Benthic means of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.

Berm means a narrow shelf, path, or ledge typically at the top or bottom of a slope, ditch, etc. Also a mound or wall of earth.

Berthing Area is used to define the area immediately surrounding a dock where a moored boat must travel through in order to egress the dock.

Board means the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota County, Florida.

Boat means a vehicle designed for operation as a watercraft propelled by sails, or one or more electric or internal combustion engine(s). For the purpose of the Code, the word boat does not include canoes and kayaks.

Boat Facility means a public or private structure or operation where boats are moored and/or launched, including commercial, recreational, and residential marinas, and public boat ramps. A dry storage facility is considered part of a boat facility if the dry storage facility has the capability of launching vessels into adjacent waters. For the purpose of the Code, single-family docks with less than five wet slips are not considered boat facilities.

Boat Facility Siting Plan means a component of the Manatee Protection Plan, which is a County-wide guidance document for the future development, construction and expansion of boat facilities. The plan specifies preferred locations for boat facility development based on an evaluation of manatee protection needs, potential natural resource impacts, zoning and future land use compatibility.

Boat-lift means a fixed or floating device utilized for lifting, hoisting and launching vessels.

Boat Ramp means a sloped surface structure, or man-made improvement to a shoreline area that facilitates the launching and landing of boats into or from a water body.

Bog means a specific type of wetland that has wet spongy ground, is poorly drained, is acid rich in accumulated plant material, and typically contains sedges.

Borrow Pit means an area that has been and can be continuously excavated to provide fill, soil, etc.

Buffer means an area of upland vegetation located immediately adjacent to a wetland habitat.

Buoyant means capable of floating.

Burying means placing Type B, C or D Fill, including yard trash, below original grade.

Cantilevered means a structure that is supported at one end and carrying a load at the other end or distributed along the unsupported portion.

Casing means the pipe that covers or seals a well.

Cementitious means having the properties of cement.

Clear Trunk. The height of the trunk of a palm tree measured from the ground to the point where the lowest green frond is attached to the trunk.

Closure means cleaning up and securing an earthmoving operation, including removing material stockpiles associated with a recycle facility, upon cessation of operation such that there is no threat to public health, safety, or the environment.

Closure Plan means a plan which describes reclamation measures to clean up and close an earthmoving operation authorized under a Level II or Level III Earthmoving Permit and addresses monitoring, maintenance, and bonding requirements.

Coastal Area means the area that encompasses the barrier islands, bayfront, mainland, gulf and bay waters, and all other navigable waters contiguous to bay waters, and all areas at or below the five-foot NGVD contour line.

Coastal Armoring means shore protection structures including seawalls, bulkheads, groins, jetties, breakwaters, or any other similar shoreline hardening structure.

Coastal Construction Control Line means the Coastal Construction Control Line (formerly known as the Coastal Construction Setback Line) for Sarasota County as approved by the Head of the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Governor and Cabinet) under the provisions of F.S. 1977 § 161.053, and amended in 1986.

Coastal Hammock means a native habitat, including clusters of overstory and understory, described and protected within the Environment Chapter of the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan, Apoxsee and the Sarasota County Code.

Coastal System means the beach and upland dune system and vegetation seaward of the Gulf Beach Setback Line; swash zone; surf zone; breaker zone; offshore and longshore shoals; hardbottom communities, seagrass beds, wetlands, and bars; tidal, wind and wave driven currents; longshore and onshore/offshore drift of sediment materials; inlets or their ebb and flood tide shoals and zones of primary tidal influence and all other associated natural and manmade topographic features and structures.

Code Administrator means the Sarasota County Administrator, or an administrative official of Sarasota County Government designated by the County Administrator to administer and enforce the provisions of a Code.

Comprehensive Plan means the Environment Chapter of the Revised and Updated Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan as adopted under Ordinance No. 89-18, as amended, to comply with the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act of 1985.

Conceptual Permit means a permit approved by the Board and issued by the Earthmoving Ordinance Administrator which approves the concept of a Master Plan for Level III Earthmoving.

Condition Classification. A rating of a plant based on its current structural integrity and state of health as defined by the "Guide for Plant Appraisal" latest edition, published by the International Society of Arboriculture.

Construction (CS) means the placing, building, erection, extension, or material alteration of any structure the use of which requires a permanent or temporary location on the ground or attachment to a structure having a permanent or temporary location on the ground. "Construction" shall include the installation of parking lots, driveways, tennis courts, swimming pools, patios, or any similar hard surfaced structures.

Construction Plan or Site (EM) means any plan or site which has a valid construction authorization (as defined in the Land Development Regulations) from the County's Land Development Services office or has a valid building permit and approved lot grading plan issued by the County showing the full extent of filling, or has a permit in accordance with the provisions of this article.

County. Means Sarasota County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida.

County Administrator means the Sarasota County Administrator, or an administrative official of Sarasota County government designated by the County Administrator to administer and enforce the provisions of the Sarasota County Code.

Creation means establishing new wetlands or surface waters by converting other land forms.

Davit means a cantilevered lifting device mounted directly to a wood or concrete piling.

Deadmen is a concrete block structure that is buried landward of a seawall that provides structural support via iron rods known as tie-backs.

Depressional Hydric Lands means low lying elevation pocket areas within a dune system that are similar to ephemeral wetlands.

Development. A subdivision of land or a site and development as defined by the Land Development Regulations, a residential mobile home park, or any other construction, whether residential, commercial, industrial, office, professional, institutional, or recreational, except a one-family or two-family dwelling on an individual lot.

Development Proposal includes, but is not limited to, Water and Navigation Control Authority (WNCA) permit applications, rezone and special exception petitions, earthmoving permit applications, building permit applications, applications for a development of regional impact and/or development of critical concern, and all proposals reviewed under the Land Development Regulations.

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). The diameter of the trunk measured at breast height, which is 54 inches above the ground. When low branches or stems preclude measuring the trunk at 54 inches, the smallest circumference of the trunk below the lowest branch or stem juncture shall be the measure of DBH.

Dock means a fixed or floating structure consisting of pilings, structural supports, decking, and all appurtenances, extending from the shore over water, used for the purpose of securing and providing access to buoyant vessels.

Drainageways means ditches, flow-ways, waterways, etc., that serve to direct stormwater.

Drawdown means a lowering of a water level.

Dredging means excavating, by any means, in surface waters or wetlands. It also means excavating, or creating, a water body which is, or is to be, connected to any surface waters or wetlands directly or via an excavated water body or series of water bodies.

Drip Line. An imaginary vertical line running from the outermost branches or portion of the tree crown to the ground.

Driving Range means an area equipped with distance markers, clubs, balls, and tees for practicing golf drives.

Dry Retention Facility is a sodded depression designed to hold stormwater for a fixed period of time, then dry out as water is lost through percolation and evaporation.

Dry Slip means a space designed for the storage of single watercraft in an upland location with access to a waterway from the upland location.

Dry Storage Facility means an upland structure or area used for storing watercrafts.

Dune means a mound, bluff, or ridge of loose sediment, usually sand-sized sediment, lying upland of the beach and deposited by any natural or artificial mechanism, which may be bare or covered with native vegetation and is subject to fluctuations in configuration and location. Often the dunes of Sarasota County are low-lying with little noticeable variation in elevation. The native vegetation of a dune can often be displaced by nonnative invasive/nuisance plant species. Undeveloped areas of a dune dominated by nonnative species remain a dune.

Dune System means a combined area of undeveloped dunes that comprises a native habitat, described and protected within the Environment Chapter of the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan, Apoxsee and the Sarasota County Code. The system, or area, may incorporate depressional hydric lands and may be dominated by native dune vegetation other than sea oats or nonnative invasive/nuisance plant species. Undeveloped areas of dune systems dominated by nonnative plant species remain a dune system.

Earthen Material means rock, soil, etc., coming from the earth.

Earthmoving means excavating lakes, pits, and depressions, and/or mounding, stockpiling, creating berms, installing or transporting Type A, B, C or D Fill.

Ebb means the flowing back of the tides toward the sea.

Ecosystem means a community of plants and animals in an environment functioning as an ecological unit.

Egress means to exit or an exit way.

Emergency. Any man-made or natural disaster which is specifically declared to be an emergency through a resolution adopted by the Board of County Commissisoners.

Enhancement means improving the ecological value of wetlands, other surface waters, or uplands that have been degraded when compared to their historic condition.

Environmental Technical Manual means that section of the County's Land Development Regulations containing the technical specifications for mitigation areas, littoral zones, and other environmental systems.

Equalizer Pipes typically connect one lake or pond to another lake or pond with the purpose of equalizing the amount or level of water in each lake or pond.

Excavation (EM) means the act or process of creating a lake, borrow pit (whether or not materials are removed for commercial purposes), pond, retention area, swale, ditch, or depression.

Excavation (CS) means the removal, addition, or alteration of soil, sand or vegetation by digging, dredging, filling, drilling, cutting, scooping, or hollowing out.

Existing Facility means a boat facility that has been legally authorized in accordance with the Sarasota County Water and Navigation Control Authority (WNCA) Code as of its effective date. In addition, an existing facility means a boat facility that is legally authorized by an active County permit to be constructed as of the effective date of the WNCA Code. If the County authorization for a boat facility expires prior to the facility being constructed, and the effective date of the Code has occurred, the facility shall not be considered an existing facility.

Facultative Plants are plants that are so problematic in their distribution as to render them inappropriate for indicating inundation or soil saturation.

Facultative Wet Plants are plants that under natural conditions typically exhibit their maximum cover in areas subject to surface water inundation and/or soil saturation, but can also be found in an upland.

Fauna means animal life typical of a certain region or habitat.

Feral Animals means animals that have escaped or been removed from domestication and have become wild.

Fill Removal means the removal by mechanical means of fill from the site of generation.

Filling (EM) means the placement, spreading, covering, or burying of Type A, B, or C Fill on a site. Filling does not include stockpiling.

Filling (WNCA) means depositing of materials in surface waters or wetlands, by any means.

Finger Piers is a term used to define dock structures that extend perpendicular to a main dock structure providing additional mooring areas.

Floating-Leaved Species is a term that refers to certain wetland plant species (e.g., lily pads) that typically have leaves that float on the water surface.

Floodplain means an elevation or level of land that may be submerged by floodwaters.

Flora means plant or bacterial life characteristic of a region, period, or special environment.

Florida Building Code is part of the Florida Statutes and contains the regulatory requirements and standards for building any structures in the State of Florida.

Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS), is a classification system of land uses that was developed by the Florida Department of Transportation. The system incorporates native habitat classifications that are commonly utilized by environmental professionals throughout the State of Florida.

Forage means to search for one’s food in a habitat.

Forested Wetland means a specific type of wetland where trees are a primary component to the habitat. Examples can include maple swamps and pop-ash swamps.

Gardening means filling, excavating, grading, or mounding to prepare a plot for the cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. This does not include the creation of an agricultural row crop field or a pasture for commercial purposes.

Golf Course means any public or private area of land designed and used for playing or practicing the game of golf, including tees, fairways, greens, rough areas, and hazards as well as stand-alone driving ranges. A golf course will also include the following uses if they are accessory to the above uses: driving ranges, practice greens, clubhouses, and all facilities associated with the maintenance and daily operations of the above-referenced areas. Club facilities such as locker rooms, restaurants and lounges, pro shops, and other complementary uses are considered part of a golf course. Alternative learning facilities such as First Tee program with less than nine (9) holes are excluded.

Grand Tree. Any tree that has been determined by the Administrator to have the characteristics as outlined in Section 54-586, Article XVIII of the Tree Protection Code or any tree designated a Florida State Champion, United States Champion, or World Champion by the American Forestry Association.

Grassing means seeding, sodding and/or sprigging golf course tees, greens, fairways and roughs in preparation for play.

Groin means a rigid structure built out from a shore to protect the shore from erosion, to trap sand, or to direct a current for scouring a channel.

Gulf Beach Setback Line (GBSL) means a line congruent to the Coastal Construction Control Line established in 1978 for Sarasota County.

Habitable Area means a roofed portion of a residence or structure that is designed primarily for human occupancy and is a potential location for shelter from storms. Habitable areas are calculated by measuring exterior wall to exterior wall. Habitable areas are not a garage, pool, patio, deck, or a green house. For purposes of calculating habitable area pursuant to Section 54-723(e)(1) and 54-723(f)(8), garage space that may be legally enclosed and converted to habitable space under Chapter 54, Article XVI (Floodprone Areas Code) and Chapter 22 (Building Code) of the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances will be considered habitable area under this definition.

Haul Route means the route or routes connecting the site of excavation or fill, as described by the permit application, with one or more public roadways under the jurisdiction of Sarasota County, of the functional classification of "collector" or "arterial," as adopted by the County in the thoroughfare plan of the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan. The "Haul Route" shall include the intersection with the collector and arterial and also include any required turn lanes and traffic control devices.

Herbaceous Wetland means a specific type of wetland where trees are not a primary component of the habitat and most of the vegetation has little or no woody characteristics.

Historic Resources means prehistoric or historic districts, sites, buildings, objects, or other real or personal property of historic, architectural, or archaeological value.

Hydric means characterized by, relating to, or requiring an abundance of moisture.

Hydrology deals with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below the earth's surface, within habitats and in the atmosphere.

Hydro-period means the cyclical changes in the amount or stage of water in a wetland habitat.

Hydrophytic Macrophyte means a plant growing in water or in soil too waterlogged for most plants to survive.

Impervious means not allowing water to absorb, pass through, or soak in.

Importation means the conveyance, by any means, of plants into SarasotaCounty.

Injunctive Relief means to relieve or to lessen the degree to which a court’s requirement to do or to refrain from doing a specified act shall be adhered to.

Ingress means to enter or an entrance way.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) means a decision making process for managing pests that uses monitoring to determine pest injury levels and combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to minimize health, environmental and financial risks. IPM uses extensive knowledge about pests, such as infestation thresholds, life histories, environmental requirements and natural enemies to complement and facilitate biological and other natural control of pests. The method uses the least toxic synthetic pesticides only as a last resort to controlling pests.

Internodal means the interval or space between two branches.

Invasive Plant/Species means a non-native plant or tree that spreads and out competes native species. They are generally considered undesirable in this area.

Invert Elevation refers to how control structures are set in order to allow or prevent a certain amount of water to enter or exit a stormwater system.

Land Clearing Debris is uprooted or cleared vegetation resulting from a land clearing operation and does not include yard trash.

Land Development Regulations means Sarasota County Ordinance No. 81-12 or its successor.

Landfill is the spreading, covering, or burying of Type A, B, C or D Fill within a County-operated landfill.

Landscaping means filling, excavating, grading, or mounding with Type A Fill or mulch material for the purposes of planting vegetation (e.g., grass, ground covers, shrubs, hedges, and trees) and installing or [of] supporting structural landscape architectural features (e.g., rock, fountains, waterfalls, sculpture, decorative walls, and tree walls).

Lateral Pedestrian Access means the right of the public to traverse public beach areas including the wet sandy beach.

Lawful Drainage Systems means stormwater conveyances, including swales and ditches that existed prior to 1981 or are authorized by the County's Land Development Services office.

Limited Flight Ball means a special type of golf ball designed to travel a shorter distance when struck at a driving range to control the maximum range of the ball.

Listed Species means any animal categorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as endangered, threatened, or of special concern pursuant to Florida Administrative Code Rules 39-27.003, 39-27.004, and 39-27.005; or any plant or animal categorized by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered or threatened pursuant to 50 CFR 17.11-12.

Littoral Zone (EM) is that portion of any lake, borrow pit, or pond measured from seasonal high-water elevation in water bodies where water elevation is not controlled by structures, or from the overflow elevation in water bodies where water elevation is controlled by structures, to a depth of three feet. Littoral zones typically support rooted aquatic vegetation. Littoral zones also include those areas in salt or brackish water (gulf, bay, estuary) from the mean high-water elevation to a depth of three feet.

Littoral Zone (WNCA) means that part of a water body which is inundated under normal conditions to a depth of three feet or less as measured from the mean low water (MLW) elevation. Littoral Zones typically support rooted aquatic vegetation, including mangroves, marsh grasses, and seagrasses.

Long-Shore Shoals means sandy shoals typically created by net littoral sand drift that are located nearby the beach area.

Lot. Includes "tract" or "parcel" and means the least fractional part of subdivided lands having fixed limited boundaries and an assigned number, letter, or other name through which it may be identified.

Maintenance Excavation means the performance of any dredging of an existing, functional channel for the purpose of restoring the channel to its previous design configuration, so as not to exceed dimensions of original construction.

Maintenance Facilities means facilities associated with maintaining a golf course including but not limited to equipment wash facilities; chemical mixing, loading and storage facilities; fertilizer storage and mixing facilities; fueling and fuel storage facilities; and waste petroleum storage facilities.

Maintenance of Coastal Structures means performing any repairs that restore existing, functional structures to their original design specifications, so as not to exceed the dimensions of original construction.

Manatee Protection Plan means a State approved summary of manatee data, strategies, and management actions aimed at protecting manatees in a specific area or county.

Marginal Dock means a fixed or floating structure, placed immediately contiguous and parallel to a functional vertical bulkhead, or within five feet of the waterward edge of a revetment.

Master Plan is a plan which includes the boundaries and a description of the general design and operation of a commercial borrow pit, a development, or a recycle facility.

Minor Topographical Changes means recontouring which has a net result in less than a one-foot change above or below existing grade.

Mitigation means an action or series of actions taken to offset the adverse impacts that would otherwise cause a regulated activity to fail to meet permitting criteria. Mitigation usually consists of restoration, enhancement, creation, preservation, or a combination thereof.

Monoculture means an area where only a single species of plant exists.

Mooring is a location where one vessel is berthed or stored. Types of moorings, include, but are not limited to, anchorage, beached or blocked, dry stack, hoist, ramp, seawall, trailer, or wet slip.

Mounding means stockpiling in a linear fashion.

Morphological means a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants.

Myakka River (or River) Area means the corridor of land beneath and surrounding the Myakka River from river mile 7.5 to river mile 41.5, together with a corridor of land including the maximum upland extent of wetlands vegetation as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to F.S. ch. 403, and Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-340.

Myakka River Wild and Scenic Protection Zone. Myakka River (or River) Protection Zone or Area means the same as the "wild and scenic protection zone". The upland buffer that extends 220 feet on each side of the Wild and Scenic segment of the Myakka River (from river mile 7.5 to river mile 41.5), measured from the landward edge of the Myakka River area.

Native Habitats in Sarasota County are defined and listed in Apoxsee, Chapter 2, the Environment. Native habitats include but are not limited to dunes, beaches, coastal hammocks, mesic hammocks, seagrass beds, oyster beds, mangrove swamps, wetlands, scrubby flatwoods, pine flatwoods, etc.

Native Plant means a plant species that occurred naturally within the immediate region of Sarasota County at the time of European contact (1539 A.D.) and that was not introduced from elsewhere.

Natural Regeneration. The regeneration of a stand of timber by leaving a minimum of 15 mature healthy trees per acre appropriately spaced to act as seed trees.

Navigable Waters includes all waters in the coastal area that are sufficiently deep or wide to provide passage for boats.

Nephelometric means an instrument for measuring the extent or degree of cloudiness or turbidity in the water.

NGVD, or National Geodetic Vertical Datum, is a reference that has been adopted as a fixed standard for surveying heights, elevations, etc.

Non-Native Species means those plant or animal species that are not indigenous or native to Florida.

Nonhabitable Area means that portion of the residence or structure that is not designed primarily for human occupancy or shelter from storms. These include, but are not limited to garages; pools; roofed porches that are open to the elements on one or more sides; patios; decks; or green houses.

Non-Point Source is a type of pollution that cannot be traced to one single point.

Nuisance Species means a plant species that is difficult to manage or control because of its ability to rapidly grow, reproduce and spread, often to the detriment of native species.

Obligate Plants are those plant species that under natural conditions are only found or achieve their greatest abundance in an area that is subject to surface water abundance and/or soil saturation.

Off-Site means adjacent or neighboring properties, public or private rights-of-way or easements, conservation areas, preservation areas, or common areas.

Ordinance Administrator means the Sarasota County Administrator, or an administrative official of Sarasota County Government designated by the County Administrator to administer and enforce the provisions of the Sarasota County Code.

Original Grade means the original contouring, elevations, etc. of the soil in a given place before it was excavated or filled.

Overstory means the layer of foliage in a forest canopy.

Particulate Matter means, with respect to emissions, all finely divided solid or liquid material, other than uncombined water, emitted to the atmosphere.

Percolation means water passing through or draining through soils.

Perimeter of Fringe Littoral Shelf typically means a narrow littoral zone that runs along the perimeter of a lake or pond.

Permit (EM) is the legal authorization to remove fill from a site or to conduct or engage in filling, stockpiling, creating berms, or excavating unless exempted by the provisions of the Sarasota County Code, Chapter 54, Article XII, Earthmoving.

(1) General Permit is the legal authorization to conduct or engage in filling, stockpiling, creating berms, or excavating more than 100 cubic yards and up to 2,000 cubic yards of Type A Fill unless exempted under the provisions of Section 54-349(a) or (b) of the Code.

(2) Level I Permit is the legal authorization to conduct or engage in filling, stockpiling, or excavating more than 2,000 and up to 10,000 cubic yards of Type A Fill in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

(3) Level II Permit is the legal authorization to conduct or engage in filling, stockpiling, or excavating more than 10,000 and up to 100,000 cubic yards of Type A Fill or up to 50,000 cubic yards of Type B or C Fill in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

(4) Level III Permit is the legal authorization to conduct or engage in filling, hauling, stockpiling, or excavating more than 100,000 cubic yards of Type A Fill or more than 50,000 cubic yards of Type B or C Fill in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

(5) After-the-Fact Permit is the legal authorization to continue an activity regulated by this article that commenced prior to applying for or receiving a General, Level I, II, or III Permit in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

6) Conceptual Permit means a permit approved by the Board and issued by the Ordinance Administrator which approves the concept of a Master Plan for earthmoving activities involving more than 100,000 cubic yards of Type A Fill or more than 50,000 cubic yards of Type B or C Fill.

Permittee includes individuals, firms, partnerships, corporations, associations, organizations, trusts, companies, or any other legal entities that have received a permit.

Perpetuity means the quality or state of being perpetual, or ongoing.

Person. Any individual, government, corporation, partnership, association, firm, trust, or other entity. Person shall include all natural persons, as well as all organizations and other entities, including the State of Florida, Sarasota County, or any other governmental board or bureau, except where otherwise noted.

Person (WNCA) shall include all natural persons, as well as all organizations and other entities, but shall not include the State of Florida, Sarasota County, or any other governmental board or bureau, except where otherwise noted.

Pesticides means fungicides, insecticide, nematicides, herbicides, algaecides and any other chemicals used to control pests, weeds, or diseases.

Pier means a structure in, on, or over water or Sovereignty Lands, which is used primarily for fishing or swimming.

Planting means the placing on or setting into the ground of live plant material.

Playing Surface means all parts of the golf course within course boundaries where play occurs: trees, greens, fairways and roughs.

Point Source is a type of pollution that is concentrated and stemming from a point.

Potable Water is water that is suitable for drinking.

Preempted Area means that part of submerged bottomlands occupied or covered by a docking facility or pier, including any associated area for mooring a vessel. This area is considered to be excluded from traditional public uses as a result of structure placement.

Preservation means the protection of wetlands, other surface waters or uplands from adverse impacts by placing a conservation easement or other comparable covenant over the property or by dedicating the property to a public or nonprofit entity.

Previously Dredged Portions means those locations where actual channel dredging has occurred.

Propagating means the physical act of causing plants to multiply by any process of reproduction from plant stock.

Propagule means a plant structure (as a root, cutting, a seed, or a spore) that propagates a plant.

Protected Native Habitat means those habitats qualifying for preservation or conservation under the principles of the Apoxsee, Environment chapter (section entitled "Principles for Evaluating Development Proposals in Native Habitats").

Reclaimed Water, or gray water, means water that normally would be discharged into a receiving body of water is instead captured for use in purposes other than potable water, such as watering lawns.

Reclamation means measures to clean up and close an earthmoving operation, including reshaping, grading, seeding, site stabilizing, revegetating, and creating mitigation areas and littoral zones.

Recyclable Construction and Demolition Debris is a component of Type D Fill and means construction and demolition debris from commercial users which is capable of being recycled, including wood pallets, wood construction materials, scrap metal, and brick which can be effectively processed for recycling.

Recycle Facility means any facility which recycles solid waste.

Recycling means any process by which solid waste, or materials which would otherwise become solid waste, are collected, separated, processed, and reused or returned to use in the form of raw materials or products.

Regularly Manicured or Landscaped means that conversion and continued maintenance activities have occurred at such a frequency as to prevent the reversion of the land area back to native coastal hammock or dune system habitat.

Remove a Tree is too relocate, cut down, poison, or in any other manner destroy, or cause to be destroyed, a tree as defined in this article. It includes topping, or any action that causes irreparable injury to a tree, including damage inflicted on the root system by heavy machinery, changing the natural grade above the root system or the removal of sufficient canopy so as to cause the unnatural decline of the tree.

Restoration means converting back to a historic condition those wetlands, surface waters, or uplands which currently exist as a land form which differs from the historic condition.

Retention Pond means a man-made lake or pond with the purpose of holding stormwater for a certain period of time so that the water can be treated and to prevent flooding.

Revegetating means to install plants in an area that previously had plants.

Right-of-Way means a legal right of passage over another person's ground.

Riparian means relating to or living or located on the bank of a natural waterway.

Riparian Habitat means a native shoreline area habitat that is located on or adjacent to the bank of a waterway.

Riparian Rights means specific rights that are afforded only to owners of properties that directly meet a waterway including access and potentially the ability to construct a structure to enhance access to the waterway.
Riverine means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river.

Roughs means an uneven ground covered with high grass, brush, and stones; specifically such ground bordering a golf fairway.

Routine Maintenance means earthmoving activities to an existing water body or infrastructure intended to restore the original dimensions or elevations. Evidence of original dimensions may include previous County authorizations, permits, or other acceptable documentation, or a demonstration by the applicant that the proposed earthmoving activities (including any minor topographical changes) would not adversely impact the drainage and wetland hydroperiod.

Sale is the act of transferring or conveying plants to a purchaser for consideration.

Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan is the framework adopted by the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners under Ordinance No. 89-18, as amended, to comply with the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act of 1985.

Seaward means in a direction toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Seepage slope is a term that is typically associated with the bank of a watercourse that has a certain level of maintained hydrology where it is classified as a wetland.

Shell Middens is a type of archaeological site made almost entirely of clam shells, scallop shells, oyster shells, etc. that were deposited by the aboriginal peoples of Florida.

Shoaling means to cause a channel or natural waterway to become shallow or less deep.

Shoreline means the area immediately landward of the wetland boundary to the top of bank.

Shore-parallel shadow of the residence means a landward, one-dimensional, shore-perpendicular projection of the footprint of the existing primary habitable residential structure . For more information contact the Resource Protection office at 941.861.6113.

Siltation means to choke, fill, cover, or obstruct with silt, mud, etc.

Silviculture. A commercial enterprise controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands of desired characteristics with the intent to produce, reproduce or manage a stand of pines (Pinus spp.) for the eventual sale to a timber company as a pulp, paper or other timber products. This includes site preparation activities, prescribed burning and harvesting of trees for sale.

Single-Family Dock means a fixed or floating structure as defined in Section 54, Article XX of the Sarasota County Code, including moorings, used for berthing buoyant vessels, accessory to a single-family residence, with no more than two boat slips. A shared single-family dock may contain up to four boat slips.

Site means the boundaries of a property, or portion thereof, upon which earthmoving has occurred, is proposed, or has been permitted. Any portion of a property which has a separate, valid construction plan approval, building permit, or earthmoving permit shall constitute a separate site.

Snags means a standing dead tree or parts of the dead tree.

Sovereignty Lands means those lands including, but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sandbars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high-water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally-influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which have not been heretofore conveyed or alienated.

Stipulation. A statement or a condition issued with a permit or with an approved plan, with which compliance is necessary for continued validity of the permit or other approval.

Stockpile means the temporary collection, accumulation, or storage of Type A, B, C, or D Fill upon a parcel of land for a minimum period of 24 hours.

Stormwater Conveyance means ditches, flow-ways, waterways, etc., that serve to direct stormwater.

Stratum or Strata means one of a series of layers, levels, or gradations in an ordered system.

Subaqueous means existing, formed, or taking place in or under water.

Subdivision Technical Manual means that section of the Land Development Regulations containing the technical specifications for a floodplain compensation plan.

Substantial Improvement means any individual or cumulative expansion of the habitable area of a structure that exceeds 75 percent of the structure's existing habitable area on the adoption date of Sarasota County Ordinance No. 2004-010, Chapter 54, Article XXII of the Sarasota County Code. Structures that have 25 percent or less of their habitable areas seaward of the GBSL on the adoption date of Sarasota County Ordinance No. 2004-010 are excluded from this definition. For purposes of this definition, a structure's habitable area shall also include attached garage areas that could be legally converted to habitable area under Sarasota County Codes.

Substrate means the base on which an organism lives.

Suitable Donor Material means soils removed from a native habitat site with adequate seeds of native plant material that can be transferred to another site to promote the proliferation of the native plant seeds and to jumpstart the creation of a habitat restoration or mitigation project.

Surf Zone means the zone of wave action extending from the water line (which varies with tide, surge, set-up, etc.) out seaward to a point where waves approaching the beach commence breaking, typically in water depths of between 5 m and 10 m.

Surficial Water Table means the upper limit of the portion of the ground wholly saturated with water.

Sustainable means of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

Swale means a manmade stormwater conveyance with gradual side slopes and vegetation for soil stabilization, stormwater treatment, and uptake.

Swash Zone means the beach area with wave action, which moves as water levels vary, extending from the limit of run-down to the limit of run-up

Temporary Shore Protection Measures means activities repairing, reinforcing, or replacing an existing structure, or constructing a temporary structure, or engaging in similar protective activities of a short-term nature in order to:

(a) Prevent an immediately anticipated collapse of a building, public road, bridge, safety or utility structure, or structure of significant historical value; or

(b) Reduce the rate of erosion of property during a storm in order to safeguard an existing structure; or

(c) Relieve immediate or immediately anticipated severe flooding conditions to an existing habitable structure.

Terminal Platform means that part of a dock or pier that is connected to the access ramp and is used for securing and loading a vessel or for fishing. The Terminal Platform is considered the activity area of the structure.

Thatch means a mat of undecomposed plant material (as grass clippings) accumulated next to the soil in a grassy area (as a lawn).

Thirty-Year Erosion Projection Line means the projected line of long-term shoreline recession occurring over a period of 30 years based on shoreline change rate information obtained from historical measurements and as established by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Beaches and Coastal Systems, or Sarasota County.

Top of Bank means the crest elevation of the shoreline or of shoreline protection structures, whichever point is more landward.

Topping is the iInternodal removal of woody branches containing heartwood or cutting back to a lateral branch too small to assume the terminal role, that removes canopy coverage by more than 30 percent.

Transportation means the act of carrying or conveying plants from one place to another for the purpose of sale, planting, importation or propagation, within Sarasota County.

Tree is a living, woody, self-supporting plant, which when mature will reach ten feet or more in height, having a main stem or cluster of main stems, and any one stem measuring four and one-half inches DBH. For the purpose of this definition, all rooted species of mangrove, including red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), and buttonwood mangrove (Conocarpus erecta), are hereby declared to be Trees, and are hereby protected by the provisions of the Tree Protection Code, regardless of size, except where State law supersedes local jurisdiction. In addition, all palms with more than four and one-half feet of clear trunk are declared to be Trees and are protected by the provisions of the Code. It includes any tree planted, relocated or replaced pursuant to Section 54-590, Article XVIIIe, of the Sarasota County Code, Tree Protection.

Tree Location Survey. A one inch equals 200 feet or less scale drawing which provides the following information: location of all trees, plotted by accurate techniques, common name of all trees, and Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), printed on the proposed site plan as described in Section 54-587(b)(1) of the Sarasota County Code, Tree Protection. A site plan printed on an aerial photograph may be substituted if it is approved by the Administrator prior to submittal and if it is a recent, legible aerial photograph that reflects existing site conditions (scale: one inch equals 200 feet or less).

Tree Removal and Protection Permit (Permit). The legal authorization to remove, transplant, and/or the requirement to protect Tree(s) on a Lot, pursuant to the provisions of Section 54, Article XVIII of the Sarasota County Code, Tree Protection.

Treed Area is the area within a 100-foot radius of any tree trunk.

Tributary means a stream or waterway that feeds into a larger stream or waterway.

Turbidity Curtain means a floating screen that is utilized to contain fine sediments that are suspended into the water during marine construction and dredging activities, and which are installed to reduce or avoid adverse affects to water quality and marine habitats.

Type A Fill means earthen material essentially free of roots and other vegetative debris.

Type B Fill consists of concrete, rocks, broken asphalt, and other similar type inorganic and nonmetallic materials.

Type C Fill consists of vegetative land-clearing debris with associated earthen material.

Type D Fill consists of all other refuse not defined as Type A, B, or C Fill, including but not limited to construction and/or demolition debris and garbage.

Type A Fills consist of compacted Type A Fill.

Type B and C Fills consist of Type B or C Fill with a minimum cover of one foot of Type A Fill.

Type D Landfills consist in whole or in part of all materials not defined above as Type A, B, or C Fill.

Unconfined Emissions means emissions which escape and become airborne from unenclosed operations or which are emitted into the atmosphere without being conducted through a stack.

Understory means an underlying layer of vegetation; the vegetative layer and especially the trees and shrubs between the forest canopy and the ground cover.

Vessel Draft means the vertical distance measured from the highest point to which a water body rises on the vessel's exterior hull to the bottom portion of the keel or fixed drive unit, whichever is lower. Adjustable outboard or inboard/outboard engines shall not be included in the Vessel Draft calculation.

Waterbody means a natural body of water including rivers, lakes, streams, springs, ponds, and all other natural bodies of water including tidal, fresh, brackish, and saline.

Watercourse means a natural or artificial channel through which water flows, including bays, rivers, creeks, canals, streams, etc.

Watershed means a region or area bounded by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water.

Water-Dependent Activity means an activity that can only be conducted on, in, over, or adjacent to water areas because the activity requires direct access to the water body or Sovereignty Lands for transportation, recreation, energy production or transmission, or source of water, and where the use of the water or Sovereignty Lands is an integral part of the activity.

Waterward means in a direction toward the waters of Big Sarasota Pass or Midnight Pass.

Wetland Hydroperiod Maintenance Plan means a method of maintaining the frequency of water flow and water levels of a wetland prior to and following permitted earthmoving activities.

Wetlands means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and a duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils. Soils present in wetlands generally are classified as hydric or alluvial, or possess characteristics that are associated with reducing soil conditions. The prevalent vegetation in wetlands generally consists of facultative or obligate hydrophytic macrophytes that are typically adapted to areas having soil conditions described above. These species, due to morphological, physiological, or reproductive adaptations, have the ability to grow, reproduce, or persist in aquatic environments or anaerobic soil conditions. Florida wetlands generally include swamps, sloughs, marshes, wet prairies, bayheads, bogs, cypress domes and strands, riverine swamps and marshes, hydric seepage slopes, tidal marshes, mangrove swamps, and other similar areas. The extent of wetlands is delineated according to the methodology in F.A.C. 62-340.300.

Wet Slip means a space designed for the mooring of a single watercraft in water. Such spaces may extend from a dock or shoreline but shall not be allowed to project from a pier. Any piers solely authorized for fishing or observation are not considered wet slips.

Wild and Scenic Protection Zone means an upland buffer that extends 220 feet on each side of the Myakka River wild and scenic designated river area (from river mile 7.5 to river mile 41.5) measured from the landward edge of the river area.

Wooded Wetlands means forested wetlands.

Yard Trash means vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance including such materials as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, and palm fronds.

Xeriscaping means developing a landscape that needs little to no water to maintain a quality level.

Zonation means the distribution of kinds of plants, organisms, etc. in zones based on elevations, soil types, water levels, etc.