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VIAR 1992 Boos The policy statement in chapter I reads: "Indian River County, Florida will acquire lands consistent with _:the resource conservation goals and- objectives as set forth in the Land Acquisition Guide; State acquisition guidelines (when applicable); and policies of Objective 6 of the Conservation Element of the Indian River County Comprehensive Plan." The purpose, objectives and policies of the guide -are consistent with the purposes outlined in Resolution 90-104, in that emphasis is provided for the acquisition of upland vegetation communities as required in Cons ervation^Objective 6• of the Comprehensive Plan; other environmentally significant lands are also referenced in the guide for acquisition consideration. Region Upland Set -Aside Policy: Although not specifically referenced in Resolution 90-104 or the Land Acquisition Guide, one of the primary reasons for the establishment of a county land acquisition program is to address the discrepancy. between the county's 10-15% upland native plant community set-aside requirement and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council's (TCRPC) 25% requirement. In that respect, emphasis should appropriately be placed on satisfying the policies of Conservation Objective 6 of the Comprehensive Plan, which identify specific acreage amounts calculated to sufficiently "close the gap" between the 10-15% and 25% requirements. But, to satisfy other specific policies of the Comprehensive Plan such as Conservation Element'policies 5.5 and 6.15 (see attached), long term, continuing acquisition efforts must be addressed. RECOMMENDATION - Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners clarify to LAAC that the primary objective of LAAC is to fulfill the specific acreage acquisition commitments of the policies of Conservation Element Objective 6; however, the Committee is also charged with a longer term objective of acquiring environmental significant lands (beyond the minimum specified acreage), including environmental sensitive wetlands as well as native upland plant communities. Chairman Eggert recalled that during the Comprehensive Plan bargaining process we attempted to commit to no more acreage than the minimum requirement. However, in terms of long-range planning for the County, we would be remiss if we felt the only thing needed to protect clean air, habitat and environment was to do the minimum that was in the Comp Plan. We need public land for other things also, and if we are going to go after matching grants and things like that, we are going to be required by the state to have an ongoing committee that can produce public input. Our goal should be expanded from the minimum requirements of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 18