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r MAR -11994 500N. 91 pmH- 9 , 8� Compatibility with the Surrounding Area The potential impact of the proposed amendment upon surrounding residential areas is an important -issue. At a minimum, these areas will be protected by buffers between commercial and residential districts, as required by county Land Development Regulations. This can be augmented by site designs which maximize the use of landscaped green areas to ensure that these areas are not only screened visually but also buffered from lighting, traffic, noise and fumes. Entrances, perimeter landscaping and external traffic improvements will need to be designed not to only provide for efficient and safe circulation, but to lessen the impact on existing development along the external perimeter of the area. These issues will be addressed more closely in the DRI Development Order and during the site plan approval process. For these reasons, development under the proposed amendment would be compatible with surrounding areas. Potential Impact on Environmental Quality The policies of Conservation Element Objective 5 and provisions of county code chapter 928 provide regulatory protection of wetlands, to ensure "no net loss" of the natural function of wetlands. Any proposed alteration of wetlands on site (as applicable) will require federal, state, and county permitting, including appropriate mitigation. Conservation Element Policy 6.12 and county code section 929.05 call for the preservation of at least 15% (10% of one contiguous "clump") of native upland plant community on site. Conservation Element Policy 7.2 and county code section 929.09 require a developer to conduct an environmental survey for endangered and potentially endangered fauna and flora, and to coordinate with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect any identified species to the extent feasible. These Comprehensive Plan policies and county code provisions will provide upland habitat regulatory protection, particularly relating to the endangered hand fern documented on site. The herein described Conservation Element policies and county code provisions would apply to the subject property under either the existing or -proposed future land use designations and zoning. An exception is the portion of the subject property presently zoned A- 1. Since agricultural operations are largely exempt from county environmental regulations, these areas would actually be subject to more county environmental regulatory control if rezoned to a commercial designation. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SUMMARY: Conservation Element policies and County Land Development Regulations provide sufficient protection to ensure that the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezoning would have no substantial adverse impact on environmental quality. The rezoning of A-1 zoned property to commercial zoning would provide more county environmental regulatory control. The Need for Node Expansion In analyzing the request for the land use change and rezoning, staff has focused on several key issues. One issue is regional mall land availability. The Urban Land Institute estimates that shopping centers require about 10 acres of site area for each 100,000 square feet of building area. Since regional malls are usually 750,000 square 42