11/4/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

BOOK 103 PACE 360 This mistake or oversight in the plan occurred because some of this land has been designated on the FEMA maps as lying within Flood Zone AE, the 100- year flood plain. Much of developed Indian River County and coastal Florida lie within FEMA designated flood zones. This generally presents a drainage problem which can be readily addressed with sound engineering that meets the parameters of, in this case, the Indian River Farms Water Control District (IRFWCD) of retention of the first two inches of rainfall in a 25 year/24 hour storm event and the consideration of minimum floor elevations as determined by FEMA These regulations which provide for a higher quality of storm water and reduce the pollutants entering the Indian River Lagoon are routinely satisfied and should propose no bar to development within the Flood Zone AE. This should not have been a consideration in excluding this area from the USA Boundary, which appears to have been done. Substantial changes have occurred within the area since the adoption of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan on February 13, 1990. According to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the southern portion of the eastern mainland, which contains the subject property, is the most highly developed area of the County containing the highest concentration of commercial and residential land uses. This development pattern extends south from Route 60 to the St Lucie County line and west from U.S. Highway I to 1-95. Immediately north of the subject property on 66"' Avenue Gorge Lambeth has developed a multi-million dollar citrus packing facility, Golden River Fruit Packers. As part of this large project the portion of 66"' Avenue from Golden River Packers to Oslo Road has been paved. 66"' Avenue, bordering the west side of the subject property is classified as an urban minor arterial roadway. Since the adoption of the Plan potable water lines have also been extended to the sight from the South County Reverse Osmosis Plant The county has additionally acquired over two -hundred acres of land on Oslo Road for expansion of the county land fill and possible incorporation into a proposed recycling industrial park. If this project is built it will accelerate the construction of what is certain to be the next 1-95 interchange in the county at Oslo Road. The acquisition of this property has removed 200 acres of development land from the Land Use Plan along the Oslo Road corridor allowing approval of the proposed land use amendment without any net increase in development land. The county has approved a large scale commercial project which will include a Winn-Dixie at the intersection of 27`h Avenue and Oslo Road and improvements to 27"' Avenue, another principal arterial, from Oslo Road to Route 60 are nearly complete. The intersection of Oslo Road and Old Dbde Highway has been improved to a four lane intersection complete with traffic signal and turning lanes in all directions. Four lanes of Oslo Road have been extended to Timber Ridge Subdivision to tie in to the scheduled future improvements on Oslo Road. Additionally the three remaining corners of Oslo Road and U.S. Highway I have been developed with an auto dealership, a free standing Walgreen's Super Pharmacy, and South Vero Square, a project which had previously been abandoned. All of this significant development has occurred since the adoption of the Plan. All of these projects have significantly impacted levels of services in the south county resulting in infrastructure development and improvements accruing to the benefit of the subject property, assuring that the requirements of concurrency are met and that the area containing the subject property meets the standard defined in the Plan for inclusion within the Urban Service Area. The question which begs to be answered regarding the failure to include the subject property within the USA boundary is Was it a mistake in the Plan, an oversight in the plan, or due to the substantial changes which have occurred in the Oslo Corridor affecting the subject property? or was it all three? Future Land Use Policy 13.3 requires that only one of three criteria be met in order to approve a land use amendment request Future Land Use Objective I, intended to reduce urban sprawl defined as "scattered, untimely, poorly planned urban development that occurs in urban fringe and rural areas and frequently invades land important for environmental protection, natural protection, and agricultural production." The subject property is not located in the urban fringe area, but rather right smack in the middle of the Urban Service Area Boundary that leapfrogs around the property allowing more intensive commercial/industrial land uses to the west and more intensive residential and commercial land uses to the east on Oslo Road. Because the requirements of concurrency have been satisfied, in order to foster the more intensive land uses to the west, public services and facilities are already available at no increase in cost Land in the area surrounding the subject property is quite expensive with recent sales of 60 acres of land immediately to the south of the property bringing $10,000 per acre. It is no secret at this price agricultural use of the land is economically unfeasible. Nearly all of the groves located within this area are older groves which were set at 65-70 trees per acre and are now declining in production rendering them non-competitive compared with the newer closer set groves (100- 140 trees per acre) which are just coming into peak production (6-10 years old). Fruit prices to the grower in many cases are insufficient to cover the cost of producing the crop as a five year slump in citrus continues. Further downward pressure in prices has resulted from an oversupply of citrus now available from the thousands of acres of citrus that were planted after the devastating freeze of 1989 and the several lesser freezes that occurred during the 1980's. NOVEMBER 4, 1997 64