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This revision reflects the similarity between state and county roads in terms of roadway design and capacity. - Policies 8.3 and 8.5 Another change affecting the Traffic Circulation Element has taken place since plan adoption. Due to population growth, a portion of the county now meets the definition of an urban area and, therefore, is now served by a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). For that reason, another portion of the proposed amendment is to modify Traffic Circulation Element Policies 8.3 and 8.5, dealing with coordination between governments at all levels, to reflect the existence and activities of the MPO. - Citrus Highway (County Road 609) The Citrus Highway is a proposed two-lane roadway to be located within a corridor -traversing Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties. Beginning at S.R. 710 (the Beeline Highway) in Martin County and extending north through St. Lucie County to C.R. 510 (Wabasso Road) in Indian River County, the highway is to provide a roadway to serve large citrus hauling trucks traveling from groves to packinghouses and from packinghouses to markets. It is anticipated that the diversion of this heavy truck traffic will relieve present and projected congestion on U.S. 1 and several east -west corridors (e.g. S.R. 601 S.R. 68, and S.R. 70). ° Citrus Highway Amendment History The fact that the Citrus Highway was included in FDOT's Florida Transportation Plan, but not in the county's comprehensive plan, was first identified by the State Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the agency which reviews. the plans of state agencies as well as local governments. In an August 14, 1992 letter, a copy of which was sent to county planning staff, DCA notified FDOT that the Citrus Highway was not included in Indian River County's Comprehensive Plan. In response, the county initiated an amendment in January 1993 to update its comprehensive plan to include the Citrus Highway. On April 22, 1993, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners transmit that proposed amendment to DCA for their review. At its meeting of June 22, 1993, the Board of County Commissioners considered the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation and voted 5-0 to transmit that proposed amendment to DCA for their review. Consistent with state regulations, DCA reviewed the proposed amendment and prepared an Objections, Recommendations and Comments (ORC) Report. The county received that report on October 11, 1993. In that ORC report, DCA noted that a Corridor Planning and Design Report (CPDR) had not been completed. DCA's position was that the results of the CPDR were needed to support the justification for the Citrus Highway as well as the selection of a particular route. For that reason, the county withdrew the proposed Citrus Highway amendment. With the recent completion of the CPDR, staff has again initiated a request to incorporate the Citrus Highway into the county's comprehensive plan. The CPDR determined that the project. is justified and feasible. That report recommends 82nd Avenue as the best alignment for the Citrus Highway in Indian River County. JUNE 139 1995 12