§ 3-33. Airport leases.

(a)

Pursuant to the Airport Authority Law of 1945, sections 332.01—332.12 and section 125.35, Florida Statutes, as they may be amended from time to time, the board of county commissioners ("the board") shall administer and dispose of real property and improvements located within the confines of the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport ("the airport"). The provisions of this section are strictly procedural in nature and create no substantive rights on behalf of any party.

(b)

Definitions. As used in this section:

(1)

Lease shall mean a written agreement between the board and a tenant, including any leases or subleases, in which the board agrees to give a tenant an exclusive right to use, occupy, and control the real property for a specific term and for consideration, whether such written agreement creates a leasehold interest by an assignment, extension, modification, amendment, novation, or conversion.

(2)

License shall mean an agreement, including a license, right of entry, and use permit, whereby the board grants a revocable, non-exclusive right to a person or entity to use airport property for a specific purpose. It is personal to that person or entity, does not transfer an interest in real property. For the purposes of this section, agreements allowing parties utilize a tie-down or a hangar, solely for the short-term (e.g., month-to-month or year-to-year) storage of aircraft, shall be considered a license, regardless of the title by which the board has granted such authorization.

(c)

Leasing authorized. Because airport property other than runways, taxiways, aids to navigation, parking, driving and landscaping areas and surrounding setbacks exists to allow development of hangars and other aviation-related facilities and uses, the board may lease any portion of the airport not needed for direct aviation use without first declaring the property surplus. Except as provided for herein, leases shall be awarded pursuant to the processes set forth in chapter 2, article VII, division 2.

(d)

Leases and licenses at the airport shall comply with:

(1)

All applicable federal, state, and local rules, guidelines, procedures, deed restrictions, and regulations; and

(2)

The regulations and requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") or the Florida Department of Transportation ("FDOT"), as well as the grant assurances associated with any applicable FAA or FDOT grants; and

(3)

The provisions of chapter 3, airports and aviation, including, but not limited to, the application and review of qualifications of potential operators ordinance, article IV, the minimum operating standards for the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Ordinance, article V, and the rules and regulations for the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Ordinance, article V.

(e)

Adherence to airport layout plan (ALP) required. The ALP depicts the entire property of the airport and identifies existing facilities and plans for future development. The ALP reflects the existing and proposed allocation of areas of the airport to specific operations and support functional usage. No use, occupancy, construction, modification or improvement that is inconsistent with the airport's FAA-approved ALP shall be allowed. The conversion of any area of the airport to a substantially different use than that shown in the approved ALP could adversely affect the safety, utility or efficiency of the airport. Only upon a legislative determination by the board that a particular construction, modification or improvement would serve the needs of the airport, and that a change in circumstances is evident such that the need for space for such facilities or services was not anticipated at the time the most recent ALP was submitted to the FAA for approval, will the board consider making application to the FAA for approval of a revision of the ALP pursuant to the request of a tenant or prospective tenant. The requesting tenant or prospective tenant shall be responsible for all costs associated the application to the FAA for approval of a revision of the ALP. Nothing contained in this policy shall require the county to make such an application.

(f)

Pursuant to section 332.08(1)(e), Florida Statutes, property that has been designated on the ALP for aeronautical use may be leased for a term not to exceed fifty (50) years. All other property may be leased for an initial term not to exceed thirty (30) years.

(g)

All leases at the airport shall be at fair market value rent (FMVR) in accordance with the regulations, rules and orders of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) applicable to surplus military airports. All leases shall include a provision whereby the rent is adjusted at least every five (5) years during the life of the lease, and including any renewals or extensions thereto, to reflect fair market value rent at time of adjustment. Fair market value rent shall be based upon current appraisal methodology performed in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

(h)

In order to encourage new tenants to locate at the airport, the airport director, in his or her discretion, may offer leasing incentives as provided herein on all ground leases at least thirty (30) years in duration and where the tenant pays for the costs of all improvement (i.e., constructing the building and other improvements). The leasing incentives for all new non-aeronautical tenants shall be limited to the first five (5) years of the lease term and shall be based on a sliding scale in which one hundred (100) percent of fair market value rent is obtained by the fifth year. All leases shall be subject to review and approval by the board of county commissioners. All leases on non-approved forms may be subject to further review and approval by the FAA.

(i)

All proposed leases shall be approved by the county attorney's office as to form and legal sufficiency.

(j)

Pursuant to section 332.08, Florida Statutes, and section 2-138 of this Code, the chief procurement officer, in consultation with the airport manager, shall promulgate a policy for the leasing and licensing of airport land, to be approved by the board.

(Ord. No. 2003-12, § 4, 6-3-03; Ord. No. 2008-21, § 2, 10-21-08; Ord. No. 2014-27, § 5, 12-16-14; Ord. No. 2017-29, § 3, 8-8-17)