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MOO 103 FxEi3o The goals, objectives and policies are the most important parts of the comprehensive plan. Policies are statements in the plan which identify the actions which the county will take in order to direct the community's development. As courses of action committed to by the county, policies provide the basis for all county land development decisions. While all comprehensive plan policies are important, some have more applicability than others in reviewing rezoning requests. Of particular applicability for this request are the following objectives and policies. Future Land Use Element Objective 1 Future Land Use Element Objective 1 states that the county will have a compact land use pattern which reduces urban sprawl. By increasing the density of land currently within the urban service area, as opposed to expanding the urban service area, the county can efficiently support growth without creating urban sprawl or sacrificing compactness. For these reasons, the request is consistent with Future Land Use Element Objective 1. Future Land Use Element Policy 1.13 Future Land Use Element Policy 1.13 states that the M-1, Medium -Density Residential -1, land use designation is intended for residential uses with densities up to 8 units/acre. In addition, that policy states that these residential uses must be located within the urban service area Since the subject property is located within an area designated as M-1 on the county's future land use plan map and is located within the county's urban service area, and the proposed Zoning district would permit residential uses no grater than the 8 units/acre permitted by the M-1 designation, the proposed request is consistent with Policy 1.13. Future Land Use Element Objective 4, Policy 2.5, and Policies 4.1- 4.4. This objective and these policies all involve encouraging and concentrating development within the urban service area. Growth patterns, as well as the comprehensive plan, indicate that the area around the subject property will eventually be dominated by urban uses. By converting the subject property from an agricultural to an urban zoning district, the county would encourage efficient use of land within the urban service area For that reason, the proposed request implements Future Land Use Element Objective 4, Policy 2.5, and Policies 4.1-4.4. As part of its consistency analysis, staff compared the proposed request to all the objectives and policies in the plan and found no conflicts. Therefore, the request is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Staffs position is that granting the request to rezone the subject property to RS -3 will result in development which will be compatible with surrounding areas. Land to the west of the subject property, which is zoned A-1 and RS -1, is used primarily for residential purposes. Additionally, land to east of the subject property, which is zoned A-1, is used partially for residential purposes. For that reason, development under the proposed zoning district will be compatible with those properties. To the north of the property are lands zoned RMH-8. These lands are used for a mobile home park. The proposed zoning for the subject property will act as a transitional zoning district between the RMH-8 zoning district and the A-1 zoning district. Although there are groves south of the site, several factors work to mitigate potential incompatibilities between those properties. The first factor is the 50 feet of physical separation provided by the 8th Street road right-of-way. Additionally, there is a vegetative buffer located south of 8th Street, between the subject property and the grove. With respect to zoning, the county's policy has always been to retain agricultural Zoning on property rather than changing it when the underlying land use designation increases. This not only reflects the county's policy of using agricultural Zoning as a "holding" category, but also recognizes that urbanization occurs incrementally with various tracts remaining agricultural for longer periods. Two factors indicate that urban type zoning districts would be appropriate for this portion of the county. The first factor is the underlying designation on the future land use map. This area is within the urban service area and is deemed appropriate for residential development with densities of up to 8 units/acre, among the highest densities allowed by the plan. _ OCTOBER 21, 1997 50