CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — A Charlotte County property owner is suing the county and federal officials over a six-figure fee he’s required to pay to protect the endangered Florida scrub-jay.
When Michael Colosi first saw the 5.07-acre plot of land in rural Charlotte County, he saw his future home.
Watch to see why the county wants Colosi to pay a hefty fee:
“We loved everything about it, from how peaceful and quiet it is, to being reasonably large,” said Colosi, who filed the federal lawsuit late last month.
Colosi says his plans were to build a single-family home on his property and then leave the rest untouched.
“We really didn’t want to clear it all. We wanted to preserve it as much as possible. That’s because of the natural beauty that Florida has to offer,” said Colosi.
But before the first stake could go into the ground, Colosi was hit with a $118,527 fee as part of Charlotte County’s Habitat Conservation Plan.
The goal of the HCP is to restore the bird’s population by maintaining existing county-owned land and acquiring more land for a reserve.
A spokesperson for Charlotte County declined to comment on the litigation.
However, on the county website, it says the HCP was created in 2014 “to address impacts to the state and federally protected Florida scrub-jay. The HCP was developed as an effort to reduce and streamline the regulatory burden and to provide regulatory certainty to land owners in Charlotte County.”
“I don’t know how that money is going to be used. I don’t know how that’s going to help the recovery of the scrub-jay,” Colosi said.
Colosi is being represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, an organization that often fights against what it calls government overreach and abuse.
The lawsuit seeks to deem the county’s HCP fee scale unconstitutional.
“It’s almost extortionate for the government to demand $120,000 from him just for the pleasure of doing that,” said Johanna Talcott, Colosi’s attorney.
At issue is the county’s fee scale, which charges a flat fee for the entire property, not just what will be developed.
The fees also jump dramatically.
A property that spans five acres would receive a fee of around $55,000, while Colosi’s land at 5.07-acres comes in more than double that figure.
“It doesn’t really pass the smell test. It does seem unfair. Mike wants to make reasonable, responsible use of his private property,” said Talcott.
No hearings or dates have been set yet for the lawsuit.
The county has yet to file a response in federal court.
