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� ® s <br />revert to residential, if development has not progressed within <br />certain timeframes. <br />The county's position is that these provisions ensure that, unless <br />market conditions change, only one of the regional mall sites will <br />be commercially developed, while the other will revert to <br />residential uses. <br />DCA's concern that the DRI Development Order is not sufficient to <br />ensure that the site will develop only as a regional mall, as <br />opposed to "general commercial", is unfounded. Such a condition <br />was -incorporated in the Harbortown Mall DRI Development Order to <br />ensure that "general commercial" would not be built on the site if <br />the regional mall proposal were abandoned. Consequently, staff's <br />position is that DCA's recommendation that a separate site-specific <br />policy regulating the use of the subject property be- added to the <br />comprehensive plan is redundant and unnecessary. <br />DCA's second objection, involving the protection of endangered <br />vegetation on the site, is not valid. The support documents <br />transmitted to DCA along with the proposed amendment clearly <br />described county protections of endangered plant species. The <br />support documents also clearly noted that these protections would <br />be applied under both the existing and requested land use <br />designations. Despite these facts, staff has expanded the analysis <br />to demonstrate, at a greater level of detail, that the provisions <br />of the county's comprehensive plan and land development regulations <br />will protect the endangered vegetation on the subject property. <br />Additionally, specific of provisions of the DRI Development Order <br />preserve, protect, and enhance wetlands, native upland plant <br />communities, and endangered species on the site. A description of <br />those provisions has been added to the environmental analysis <br />section of this staff report. <br />The Need for Node Expansion <br />In analyzing this request for a land use change and rezoning, staff <br />has focused on several key issues. One issue is regional mall land <br />availability. <br />According to the Urban Land Institute, shopping centers require <br />about 10 acres of site area for each 100,000 square feet of <br />building area. Since regional malls are usually 750,000 square <br />feet or larger, a regional mall would therefore require a site of <br />at least 75 acres. Site requirements, of course, are also <br />influenced by local land development and site plan regulations that <br />determine the required parking, loading, circulation, open space <br />and drainage areas needed to support a shopping facility. Using <br />this standard, the subject parcel would be adequate for a regional <br />shopping facility. <br />Review of commercially designated lands within the unincorporated <br />portions of the county reveals that, other than the large <br />commercial/industrial nodes located along the interstate, only one <br />node (U.S. #1 from 57th Street to 49th Street, containing the site <br />for the proposed Harbortown Mall) contains an adequate supply of <br />vacant land (over 75 acres) which is also in a configuration <br />suitable for a regional mall facility. Since the nodes along the <br />interstate are not centrally located within the urbanized area of <br />the county, they are not suitable locations for a regional mall. <br />Therefore, accommodating a regional mall in the urbanized area of <br />the county would require redesignating property to a commercial <br />classification. Based upon the land use pattern of the area, the <br />23 bax 92 fou U <br />July 19, 1994 <br />