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feet or larger, a regional mall would therefore require a site of at least 75 acres. Site requirements, of course, are also influenced by local land development and site plan regulations that determine the required parking, loading, circulation, open space and drainage areas needed to support this size shopping facility. Using this standard, the subject parcel would be adequate for a regional shopping facility. Review of commercially designated lands within the unincorporated portions of the county reveals that, other than the large commercial/industrial nodes located along the interstate, only one node (U.S. #1 from 57th Street to 49th Street, containing the site for the proposed Harbortown Mall) contains an adequate supply of vacant land (over 75 acres) which is also in a configuration suitable for a regional mall facility. Therefore, accommodating a mall in the urbanized area of the county would require redesignating property to a commercial classification. Based upon the land use pattern of the area, the node's centralized location, and its close proximity to the population center, expanding this node boundary would provide for an efficient land use pattern and for the maximum use of transportation and public facilities, while at the same time decreasing strip development, which would occur in other nodes if their areas were increased to accommodate the acreage necessary for the subject request. Another issue involves the proposed Harbortown Mall. As adopted, the Comprehensive Plan already includes an area for a regional mall; that mall site is along U.S. #1 at 53rd Street. It is generally accepted that, despite the rapid population growth in the county, the population base is sufficient to support only one such facility. Despite the fact that one mall has already received initial approval and that only one mall can survive in the county, several reasons exist for the consideration of this request. First, there are no guarantees that the Harbortown Mall will be built. Prior to construction certain public infrastructure improvements must be completed or contracted; leases must be obtained, and financing must be secured. Therefore, the advantage enjoyed by the Harbortown Mall is the land use, zoning, and DRI approval. Second, the prospect of competing regional mall sites reduces the chance of speculation by holding commercially designated land, and increases the likelihood of a regional mall being constructed in the near future. During the land use plan amendment review process for the Harbortown Mall, staff recognized that there is probably no one best site for such a facility and, therefore, provided opportunities for competing proposals to be reviewed. Staff feels that the subject property, like the Harbortown Mall property, should not be used for general commercial development which does not have the size requirements of a regional mall. Because this request is part of a DRI, the county has certain control which is not available in a normal rezoning or plan amendment. That control involves conditioning the DRI Development Order. In this case, to ensure that the subject property is not available for general commercial use (for which there is sufficient land currently available), staff feels that the Development Order should provide sufficient time for the county to redesignate and rezone the property if a regional mall is not constructed. The Harbortown Mall Development Order contains such conditions, and staff will recommend that the Development Order associated with this request also contain such conditions. As a result, the Development Orders will remove the incentive for either developer to realize an economic gain by obtaining a commercial land use 43 800K 91 FADE 8,90