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M M was premature. In their decision, the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to revise the appropriate policies of the Comprehensive Plan to allow properties adjacent to and up to 500 feet from the Urban Service Area to connect to county potable water and sanitary sewer services. While the referenced objectives and policies are particularly applicable to this request, other comprehensive plan policies and objectives also have relevance. For that reason, staff evaluated the subject request for consistency with all plan policies and objectives. Based upon that analysis, staff determined that the request is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Staffs position is that granting the request to redesignate the subject property to M-1 will result in development that will be incompatible with surrounding areas. All lands surrounding the subject property are designated AG -1. In fact, the AG -1 designation is contiguous for at least a half mile in all directions from the subject property. For that reason, development under the proposed land use designation will be incompatible with the surrounding area. Agriculture is one of the major industries in the county. Based on the amount of land designated for agriculture, the revenue generated and the number of employees, one of the most important resources of the county to be preserved is agricultural land. This Comprehensive Plan amendment request is an encroachment into an area dominated by agricultural production. Active agricultural operations involve noise, odors, and spraying, all of which have major adverse impacts on residential development. As a result, grove owners may need to eliminate aerial spraying, limit the hours of ground spraying, relocate pumps, and reduce other impacts. Also, residential development adversely impacts agriculture by increasing incidences of trespassing, vandalism, and carribbean fruit fly host plants. Buffer regulations have been established to mitigate these impacts in areas where residential development is adjacent to active agricultural uses. These buffer requirements would not be as effective for residential development on the subject property. In this case, the subject property is surrounded by active agricultural operations in all directions. Therefore, it is more likely that pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer will drift over the subject property and that offensive odors and noises will be more intense. For these reasons, residential development of the subject property would be incompatible with surrounding areas. Being a citrus grove, the site has been cleared Since it contains no environmentally important land, such as wetlands or sensitive uplands, development of the site is anticipated to have little or no impact on environmental quality. For this reason, no adverse environmental impacts associated with this request are anticipated Under the current land use designation, the subject property can be developed for residential uses while protecting agricultural uses of the area Policy 5.8 of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan allows for planned development (PD) projects in agriculturally designated areas of the county. Agricultural PDs permit the normally allowable residential density on agriculturally designated land to be clustered into a small area of the project, on building lots no greater than 1 acre in size. The remainder of the project area is preserved as agricuultural, conservation, and/or recreational open space. In that way, agricultural lands and open spaces are preserved in large. contiguous areas in a manner that preserves agricultural character and functionality. Agricultural PDs are encouraged by the county, since these developments preserve open space, agricultural uses, and the rural character of certain areas of the county such as the area in which the subject property is located. Another alternative, the mixed use land use designation, could be applied to the subject property. Policy 1.34 defines a mixed use land use designation as a PD project which clusters residential and non-residential uses in a manner which protects agricultural and open space areas, protects natural resources, creates a self-sufficient community, minimizes off-site traffic, and does not increase urban sprawl. Policy 1.33 of the Future Land Use Element references certain requirements that are to be met in order to apply a mixed use land use designation on a property. One such requirement to establish a mixed use designation is that if the subject property is one mile or less from the Urban NOVEMBER 4, 1997 59 BOOK 103 PAGE 33 L