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however, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the generally accepted standard. FAR is a measure of non- residential land use intensity expressed as the ratio of building floor space on a parcel to total parcel area. For example, a 10,000 square foot building on a 1 acre parcel has a .23 FAR (10,000/43,560 = .23). In such a case, a 5,000 square foot second story would increase the FAR to .34 (15,000/43,560 =34). While density limits are usually incorporated in comprehensive plans or zoning district regulations to control residential development intensity, FAR limits are often established to control non-residential development intensity. In addition to the FAR requirements in the Comprehensive Plan, the county also controls non-residential land use intensity in other ways. Through its land development regulations, the county has established standards for minimum open space, maximum building coverage, maximum building height, and minimum parking, as well as setback and stormwater management requirements. Together, those standards effectively limit non-residential development intensity. Current state law, however, requires all local governments to adopt intensity standards in their comprehensive plans for all commercial/industrial land use designations. Those standards are implemented by applying a maximum allowed FAR to commercial/industrial development. Different commercial/industrial uses, however, have different impacts on public facilities and services, and on surrounding areas. According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), 1,000 square feet of retail uses, 6,000 square feet of general office uses and 14,000 square feet of general industrial uses all generate 98 peak hour trips. Therefore, one FAR limit is not appropriate for all commercial/industrial uses. For the impacts of different uses to be equal, it is necessary to allow a greater FAR for general industrial uses than for office uses, and a greater FAR for office uses than for retail uses. Within Indian River County, most existing commercial and industrial developments generally have FARs within the 0.1 to 0.2 range. While the highest FAR is approximately 0.45, the lowest FAR is approximately 0.07. Therefore, the county's land development regulations generally result in development occurring at an intensity of less than a 0.45 FAR. In order to project the maximum potential impact of commercial/industrial development on public facilities, the county has historically calculated the maximum development potential of commercial/industrial land as 10,000 square feet of retail per acre of land. That figure is based on analysis of two factors. One of those factors is county land development regulations that regulate land use intensity (e.g. minimum open space, maximum building coverage, maximum building height, minimum parking, setback and stormwater management requirements and others). The other factor is the impact on public facilities by particular uses. Through that analysis, the county determined that the most intense commercial/industrial use allowed would be 10,000 square feet of retail development per acre of land. Overall, a maximum intensity level equal to 10,000 square feet of retail per acre is consistent with the low-density, low-rise character of the county. One way to maintain that character while Future Land Use Element 75