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former site of McKee Jungle Gardens, a tourist attraction. Although operations ceased in the 1960's, the site is still dominated by mature oak and palm trees and contains a number of exotic tropical and subtropical plants. The County Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended denial of the proposed land use change, indicating that commercial use remains appropriate. The County Planning staff recommends the retention of some commercial land use (a 400 -foot strip along U.S. 1 totaling 10.5 acres),. and a change in designation to Residential for the remainder (7.4 acres). County staff quoted the reduction of future traffic impacts, buffering of residential uses, and the reduction of noise and usual impacts as reasons for a partial change. Whether or not the proposed change is made, the botanical value of this site should be recognized in development plans. Since there is some local support for preserving many of the unique specimens, a future developer might be encouraged to work with local organizations to relocate the specimens if they cannot be preserved on site in conjunction with development. Since U.S. 1 sometimes operates at an unacceptable level of service adjacent to this property, development of the property should be preceded by a traffic study/analysis. The study should address the traffic impact upon the roadway network and identify mitigative measures to obtain acceptable levels of service. The study should be submitted to and approved by the County Engineer. Given the location of this property in the rapidly developing southern Indian River County U.S. 1 corridor, careful consideration should be given to visual, aesthetic, and transportation issues in the development -of the property. Despite the potential impacts to the U.S. 1 corridor; the size of this parcel, its unique history and location, and other factors suggest that land use for this property should be a matter for local determination. Chronology of Past Events Because of the extensive zoning/land use history of this site, a brief chronology and follow-up graphic support document has been included with this item. This material references action concerning this parcel and adjacent property back to 1969. Because records are incomplete prior to this date, no reference is made to action occurring before 1969. However, as shown in the chronology, all or part of this property has been zoned commercial since 1969. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS In this section, an analysis of the reasonableness of the appli- cation will be presented. The analysis will include a descrip- tion of the current and future land uses of the site and sur- rounding areas, potential impacts on the transportation and utility -systems, and any significant adverse impacts on environ- mental quality. EF 6 198 36 BOOK 7 r F '6