11/12/1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Nov 12 199 c OOK. 84 mGE 804 dimensional development. Designating land as agricultural with a density of one unit per five acres or less is one mechanism to prevent urban sprawl. The agriculture designation prevents intrusion of low density single dimensional residential development by allowing primarily agriculture uses, and clustered residential development. Designation of an urban service area is another technique to combat urban sprawl and to promote infill development. The requested change would promote urban sprawl by expanding the urban service area, thus leading to large expanses of low density, single dimensional development within an agricultural area. For these reasons, staff feels that the request is inconsistent with Policy 4.1. At some future time, however, there will probably be a need to expand the county's urban. service area. When the county's population increases and the undeveloped property within the urban service area is reduced, the justification will exist to expand the urban service area and increase density in the expansion areas. At that time, the subject property and adjacent areas will be viable candidates for the USA expansion, particularly if the drainage district can. mitigate the flood prone designation of the area. Such a redesignation, however, would probably involve increasing the density to more than the 1 unit per acre allowed in the proposed rural designation. When a USA expansion is warranted, this area would probably be changed to an L-1 (3 units/acre) designation, consistent with the density on the east side of Kings Highway. This scenario, however, could be adversely affected by approval of the proposed request, since establishment of a low density subdivision on the -subject property could provide a group of residents who may then oppose any subsequent density increase proposals for the area. : Future Land Use Policy 6.1 Future Land Use Policy 6.1 states that the county shall not provide {services or facilities which would encourage the development of agriculturally designated lands. Since the urban service area contains the necessary public infrastructure to support urban development, it is the plan's intent that urban development be x limited to the USA. Only when the amount of land within the USA is. inadequate to support projected growth and development should the USA:'be expanded. Currently, the urban service area contains approximately 63,000 acres of unincorporated county land. The . lands within the urban service area can support 4.48 times as many dwelling units as are projected to be needed during the 20 year horizon of the comprehensive plan. This corresponds to almost a 90 year supply %J land, based upon an extension of present growth rates. By expanding the urban service area and increasing the allowable r density on agriculturally designated land when an ample supply of vacant land already exists within the urban service area, the county would discourage the development of those properties already located in areas having existing urban services and facilities. Since it is generally less expensive for a developer to purchase cheaper land with a low density designation and getting a density change than buying land within the urban service area already provided with necessary public services and facilities, the pressure for redesignation of these less expensive, rural lands will always exist. When such redesignatio. occurs, a^ inefficient_ and uneconomic land use pattern is the result. Not only are adequately sized roadways, water lines, and sewer lines underutilized when undeveloped parcels served by these facilities remain vacant; but the extension of services and facilities further out in rural areas will create more unused capacity. As adopted, the county's plan promotes infill development in order to produce an efficient and economic land use pattern. While a change of the subject property's land use designation to Rural, and inclusion of the property within the urban service area 74 M