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M M M on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The urban service area was established and utility services are required within those areas. The Utilities Department is not requesting an expansion of the urban service area nor construction of more lines to service that area. There are properties which have physical access to the utility lines and we must refuse to provide service because of our policy. As a result, the cost of those lines must be borne only by those who benefit. commissioner Adams reasoned that the policy needs to be changed if that is the only reason we refuse service. She thought we should not make a blanket change but rather take the requests for service on a case by case basis. Director Keating pointed out that urban service areas are the principal tools used in urban planning. commissioner Adams emphasized that her intention is not to eliminate urban service areas. Discussion ensued, and commissioner Eggert pointed out that this policy was dictated by the State Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and we are dealing with DCA definitions of urban service area and utility services. Chairman Bird asked whether we are prohibited from making a change if a property owner requests service. Director Keating explained that the Board can make changes to the Comp Plan at any time, but it is a question of whether the DCA finds us in compliance -with our plan. He further explained that the proposed change was initiated because of the change to the Feldman property. The DCA reluctantly agreed to the Feldman change and suggested that there may be other situations with the same circumstances which we should analyze to see what the relationship might be because adequate data and analysis is needed to justify a Comp Plan change. Their philosophy is that if circumstances warrant a change and that set of circumstances also could apply to other property, they should be treated equally. The plan should be driven by consistent applications of principals and policies. The urban service area is our plan, our management tool to decide where services will be put, how they will be expanded, how funds will be spent, and how and where capital improvements will be made. It is also the driving force to establish boundaries within which we allow urban development and outside of which we only allow agricultural and rural development. When we say the urban service area boundary does not really mean anything and we can expand outside that boundary, or we do not have to provide the services within it, we have essentially lost the reason for having the urban service area boundary. 31 BOOK 8 9 NA " F !".895