TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: Discussion and Possible Action on the Creation of an Archaeological Right-Of-Way Use Permit
Recommended Action
Discussion and possible action on the creation of an archaeological right-of-way use permit.
Background Information
The City Commission gave the following consensus at their January 16, 2020 Strategic Planning Session:
"Consensus to bring back Agenda item regarding the requirement of obtaining a City right-of-way permit to traverse any City property for those who obtain a permit to dig archaeologically within the City of North Port".
The minutes from the meeting included direction to request the State of Florida (State) to notify the City when and where people will be digging and sifting the area. The intent being to create a "right-of-way use permit" concurrently with when the State issues their Fossil Permit.
In doing research into the creation of this permit, issues on coordination with the State came to light. First, it is illegal to collect vertebrate fossils, excluding shark teeth, from any lands owned by the State without obtaining the Florida Fossil Permit. Florida Statutes ?1004.57 declares fossils on state owned lands, including submerged lands, belong to the state with title vested to the Florida Museum of Natural History. The Florida Museum of Natural History administers this section as well as the Florida Fossil Permit. The permit, attached to this memo, only requires the applicant's full name, mailing address, and telephone number. They must also provide a photocopy of their identification, a fee of $5.00, and sign that they will abide by all provisions in Florida statutes. The applicant is not required or asked to provide any information regarding where or when they plan to dig on state owned lands thus the City could not use the State permit information to identify who wanted to dig archaeologically within the City of No...
Click here for full text