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plan. According to the county's Comprehensive Plan, plan amendments are limited to four times per calendar year. For that reason, the county accepts general plan amendment applications only during the "window" months of January, April, July and October. In this case, the subject application was submitted during the October 2016 window, and was the only application submitted during that window. The application was started by staff as a "place holder" to allow time to work through details and coordinate with potential affected land owners prior to obtaining formal direction from the Board to consider whether or not to proceed with the request. Based on the Board's action taken at its November 15, 2016 meeting, staff is processing the subject amendment. The procedures for reviewing a comprehensive plan amendment involve several steps. First, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC), as the Local Planning Agency, conducts a public hearing to review the request. At the public hearing, the Commission makes a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners (Board) to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the requested amendment. Following PZC action, the Board conducts two public hearings. The first of those hearings is for a preliminary decision on the amendment request. At that hearing, the Board determines whether or not the amendment warrants transmittal to state and regional review agencies for their consideration. If the amendment is transmitted, state and regional review agencies review the amendment as it pertains to each agency's area of focus. Review agencies then send their comments directly to the county and the State Land Planning Agency. Subsequent to staff and/or the applicant addressing any issues raised in the review agency comments, a second and final Board public hearing is conducted. If the Board approves the request at the final hearing, then the approved amendment is submitted to the State Land Planning Agency and to the other review agencies. The amendment becomes effective 31 days after the State Land Planning Agency determines that the approved amendment submittal is complete, unless a challenge is filed by an affected party. PZC Action At its regular meeting of January 26, 2017, the Planning & Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing, considered the subject amendment, and voted 5-0 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve the proposed amendment (see attachment #3). At the hearing, a representative from IRSC was present and Attorney Christopher Marine representing the adjacent property/owner developer informed the Commission that his client and IRSC were entering into an agreement on shared infrastructure and a parcel swap and were in support of the proposed amendment. Board Transmittal Public Hearing The subject "transmittal" public hearing is the second step in the Comprehensive Plan amendment process. At this time, the Board of County Commissioners must decide whether or not to transmit the proposed amendment to state and regional review agencies. If the Board votes to transmit this amendment, it will be scheduled for a final Board hearing in June or July. Proposed Amendment: Board Initiative In 2013, the Board authorized staff to pursue a number of economic development initiatives. Many 2 P166