7/19/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

BOOK ANALYSIS PA-tE917 In this section, an analysis of the reasonableness of the application will be presented. Specifically, this section will include: • a response to DCA's objections; • an analysis of the need for node expansion; • an analysis of the proposed amendment's impact on public facilities; • an analysis of the proposed amendment's compatibility with the surrounding area; • an analysis of the proposed amendment's potential impact on environmental quality; and • an analysis of the proposed amendment's consistency with the comprehensive plan; Response to DCA's Objections In DCA's ORC report on the subject amendment, the first objection relates to the county's existing oversupply of Commercial/ Industrial (C/I) designated land. Staff's position is that this objection has been addressed in the section of this staff report titled "The Need for Node Expansion". That section demonstrates that special circumstances exist with respect to this request and that, despite the existing overallocation of C/I designated land, those special circumstances warrant node expansion. Briefly summarized, the county presently has only one site suitable for a regional mall. That is the site on which the Harbortown Mall DRI has been -approved. To prevent any other site from,being considered for a regional mall would grant Harbortown a virtual monopoly. The existence of such a monopoly could encourage land speculation and actually discourage development of a -regional mall in the county. That the Harbortown DRI has been approved for five years without construction having commenced raises the question of whether that project will be built. Among the special circumstances associated with the subject request is the fact that the request is associated with a DRI. Through the DRI Development Order, the county has more control of development on the site than it does in other rezoning or plan amendment requests. With the approval of the Development Order for the Indian River Mall, both regional mall developments will have similar conditions to ensure that, prior to the development of peripheral "general commercial", construction will have begun on the associated regional mall. The specific language pertaining to this issue in the Development Order associated with the subject request is as follows: No site plan(s) shall be released and no building permit shall be issued for the development of the commercial outparcels or community shopping center (as referenced in the ADA) until the developer completes (as determined by the county building department) at least fifty percent (50%) of the structural foundation elements (at, above, and below grade) necessary for the construction of at least three hundred twenty thousand (320,000) square feet of regional mall, gross floor area. Additionally, as noted in the section of this staff report describing the request's consistency with the comprehensive plan, Future Land Use Element Policy 1.24 provides that land which has been redesignated from residential to commercial/industrial will 22 July 19, 1994 s