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LAND USE ELEMENT There are two objectives identified in the 1982 Indian River County Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element: 1. Urban development shall be encouraged to fill in available land closest to service areas of the county so as to avoid "spot development". Lower density and intensity shall take place in areas that are environmentally sensitive and in areas outside the urban service perimeter. 2. Incompatible land uses should be separated from one another. Where they do abut, appropriate physical or natural buffers will be established. Assessment All urban development, with the exception of that occurring in the I-95/SR 60 Node, has occurred east of I-95 and in proximity to urban services. The 1985 comprehensive rezoning of all the land in the county has en;cnred compatibility of recent development with the Land Use Plan. At least one hundred amendments to the Land Use Plan have been submitted since the 1982 Plan. Of those adopted, most amendments served to expand development areas within the county. Adopted amendments to the Land Use Plan have consistently maintained the integrity of the plan. Present land use regulations, the revision of the Zoning Code in 1984, and market influences have combined to keep most development in the vicinity of Vero Beach and Sebastian. The most intensive development has occurred where water and sewer are available, areas such as SR 60, US 1 adjacent to city limits and portions of the north island. A lack of services and facilities has resulted in development at lower densities in outlying areas. There are, however, some unintended disincentives for infill development caused by higher impact fees in the more developed areas. Areas designated as environmentally sensitive in the 1982 Plan have been protected from significant development. The Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) provisions in the Indian River County Code of Laws and Ordinances for Planned Residential Developments (PRD's) has helped to maintain many of the wetland areas along the Indian River. The Grove Isle PRD is one example of a TDR within Indian River County. Conservation easements, such as the one used for Orchid Isle Estates, have also been successful in preserving environmental areas as called for in the 1982 Land Use Element. As revised in 1984, the county's zoning regulations include specific buffer requirements by land use type. New development is required to have buffering when adjacent to dissimilar uses. These