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Environment <br />This property is not designated as environmentally sensitive by <br />the County Comprehensive Plan, nor is it prone to flooding. There <br />are, however, several man-made lakes with marginal littoral areas <br />on the site. <br />Htilities <br />Currently, public water and wastewater are not available at the <br />subject site. However, water and wastewater facilities are <br />located within a reasonable distance from the site. <br />The nearest county water lines are located at the U.S. 1 entrance <br />to Grand Harbor, approximately 3/4 of a mile south of the subject <br />property. Water lines are expected to be expanded along the <br />Indian River Boulevard extension. <br />The nearest county sewer lines are also located at the Grand <br />Harbor U.S. 1 entrance. Expansion of these lines the 3/4 mile to <br />the subject site would require a force main and lift station. <br />Analysis <br />The subject parcel is the proposed site for a regional shopping <br />facility. Because of the scope of such a facility, DRI review has <br />been conducted simultaneously with the land use and rezoning <br />amendment analysis. As such, the DRI Application for Development <br />Approval (ADA) and the staff review of the application address the <br />potential impact of the proposed project as well as site issues <br />and required improvements. <br />In analyzing the request for the land use change and rezoning, <br />staff has focused on several key issues. One issue is regional <br />mall land availability. The Urban Land Institute estimates. that <br />shopping centers require about 10 acres of site for each 100,000 <br />square feet of building area. Since regional malls are usually <br />750,000 square feet or larger, a regional mall would therefore <br />require a site of at least 75 acres. Site requirements, of <br />course, are also influenced by local land development and site <br />plan regulations that determine the required parking, loading, <br />circulation, open space and drainage areas needed to support this <br />size shopping facility. Using this standard, the subject parcel <br />would be adequate for a regional shopping facility. <br />A review of land uses reveals a total of 561 acres in 12 existing <br />commercial nodes. Of this total, 400 (222 acres) is presently in <br />a vacant state. This does not include commercially designated <br />land in the Mixed Use Districts, or the commercial/industrial <br />nodes. Thus, there is an adequate supply of vacant commercially <br />designated land to meet the growing needs of county businesses. <br />General commercial land is also available in proximity to this <br />site. The North Gifford/U.S. 1 node, at the entrance to Grand <br />Harbor contains approximately 95 acres of which 2/3 is currently. <br />vacant or planted in citrus. <br />Further review of commercially designated lands reveals that no <br />one node, except the large commercial/industrial nodes at the <br />interstate, contains both an adequate supply of vacant land (over <br />75 acres) which is also in a configuration suitable for a regional <br />shopping mall. Therefore, accommodating a mall in the urbanized <br />area of the county would require redesignating property to <br />commercial. For that reason the subject request appears <br />reasonable. <br />JUL1 1 1999 18 i'7 <br />Roc, � c <br />