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submerged bottomlands (and associated habitat). Each of these resources is subject to local, state, and federal regulatory protection. Indian River County's land development regulations include wetland and deep -water habitat protection requirements, among other environmental regulations. These regulations would apply to any proposed development of the property, whether or not the zoning remains as is or is revised to a lower density allowance. For example, an owner could propose to fill wetlands and/or deepwater habitat on the subject property regardless of an RS -3 or RS -1 zoning. Under both zoning scenarios, however, ,the fill proposal would be subject to. close scrutiny,by local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that environmental impacts would be avoided or minimized, including mitigation as applicable and appropriate. Section 928.05(1)(c) of the County Wetlands and Deepwater Habitat Protection ordinance reads as follows: "No activity shall be allowed that results in the alteration, degradation, or destruction of wetlands or deepwater habitats except when .... such an activity is proposed for wetlands or deepwater habitats in which the functions and values currently provided are significantly less than those typically associated with such habitats and cannot be reasonably restored, and preservation of the habitat is not in the public interest." To date, no formal application has been submitted to the Planning Division for alteration of the property's wetlands or deepwater habitat. However, preliminary review by county environmental planning staff indicates that any fill proposal, whether the property is zoned RS -3 or RS -1, would likely be denied, since wetland/deepwater values are not "significantly less than those typically associated with such habitats", and can be "reasonably restored." The county's upland habitat protection regulations (Chapter 929, LDRs) do not apply here, in that virtually no native upland vegetation occurs on the overall property, except for an occasional oak, protected under the county's tree protection ordinance. As such, a "down zoning" of the property would have no substantive effect on furthering the protection of the property's sensitive resources, which are already subject to multiple -agency regulatory protection. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan Rezoning requests are reviewed for consistency with all policies of the Comprehensive Plan. Policies, of course, are the actions which the county will take in order to direct the community's development. Specifically, policies are the courses of action or ways in which programs and activities are conducted to achieve an identified goal or objective. While all comprehensive plan policies are important, some have more applicability than others in reviewing rezoning requests. In this case the .subject property is located in the area of the county designated as L-1, Low -Density Residential (up to 3 units/acre). The existing RS -3 (residential district up to 3 units/acre) zoning of the property is consistent with the Future Land Use Map. All adjacent properties are zoned RS -3. So as zoned, the subject property is consistent with the existing land use plan designation and is compatible with the zoning of adjacent properties. Usually, the.purpose of a county initiated administrative rezoning is to make the zoning of a property consistent with its land use designation. Since no inconsistency exists here, there would need 17 BOOK E� AUG 27 1991