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Environment The Comprehensive Plan does not designate the subject site as environmentally sensitive, nor does the site contain isolated wetlands. However, consideration should be given to the rare tropical vegetation in existence on the site. It is staff's opinion that this vegetation will be impacted regardless of how the site is developed. However, a smaller scale project would have less impact and offer a greater opportunity to protect and preserve some of the vegetation. In the case of the OCR district, the minimum open space requirement is 30% as compared with +20% for the. CL zoning district. Utilities The site has access to public water and wastewater facilities. Analysis The proposed rezoning from CL to OCR is essentially a change from retail zoning to office zoning for the subject site. In assessing this proposal, it is necessary to consider several factors. First, the type of development likely to occur with each of the two zoning possibilities must be considered. Second, the traffic impacts of projects buildable under each of the zoning districts must be considered. Finally, compatibility between the possible zoning designations for the subject property and adjacent areas must be considered. In projecting the type of development likely to occur on the site with each of the two zoning designations, several development characteristics must be considered. One major development characteristic is the difference in structure type between office buildings and retail structures. While retail structures are usually limited to one story, offices are usually multi -story. That results in more square feet of office use than retail use for the same site. Two other characteristics, both parking related, also affect development. Because of higher parking rates, retail facilities need more area on the site for parking than a comparably sized office building. The second factor is that offices can provide parking spaces on the first floor of a multi -story building, while retail facilities cannot feasibly do that. The net effect of these differences is that the amount of office space that could be built on the subject site is almost triple the amount of retail space that could be developed on the site. The development differences between retail and office uses also affect traffic impacts. While on a square foot basis using an average daily rate, retail uses attract substantially more trips than office uses, the development characteristics allow construction of three time; as much office than commercial on the same parcel. As a result, total traffic would be similar for either retail or office development of the site. Because of the high PM peak hour rate for offices and the high capture rate for retail during the PM peak, office development of the subject site would have more of an impact on the roadway system at the most critical time than would retail development. The final factor to consider in assessing the two possible zoning designations for the subject site is compatibility. Unlike most commercial property, the subject site contains an access easement for a large residential development. This forces the mixing of residential traffic with site traffic, a condition discouraged by the county. Other factors making retail commercial less compatible with adjacent residential development than are offices include the amount of truck traffic, the extended hours of operation, the amount of activity, lights, noise, odors, and DEC 6 1988 19 BOCK ib Pt1,r 970