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Conclusively this land is no longer economically suitable for agriculture and the subject land, a grove, has lost money for the last five years and was unable to meet production costs the last two years. If the property is leveraged the situation is even more grim, and it is readily apparent to most growers that they must seek alternative uses for this land or many will join the ranks of the increasing number of growers and investors that have gone bankrupt, been foreclosed on, or have given up their land in lieu of foreclosure. As a former grower, these remarks are in no manner intended to reflect upon the continued economic viability of the more than 80,000 acres of citrus located within the county. It is an accurate reflection that our older, less efficient groves (many of which are located east of 1-95) can no longer compete in a struggling market dominated by vertically integrated big citrus companies and subject to the whims of a worldwide market The argument that this is agricultural land is no longer economically sound. What we have here is not leapfrogged development, but a leapfrogged Urban Service Area Boundary which needs to be modified. Finally the county should allow for some form of transitional land use that would bridge the intense commercial/industrial development and land uses to the west with the less intensive residential and commercial land uses to the east of the subject property on Oslo Road. Future (Land Use Policy 1.1 requires the County to adopt the Future Land Use Goals, Objectives, Policies and Maps all of which are embraced by the requested land use amendment with the exception of map 2.34 Future Land Use Map and 2.33 Urban Service Area Boundary Map. While it is true that over 33,000 acres in Indian River County are designated for residential land uses, much of this land does not meet the concurrency requirements, is located in blighted areas, contains substandard lots, or encompasses platted but unbuilt subdivisions. Development of these properties would in fact encourage urban sprawl and result in increased infrastructure costs, particularly in the areas which do not yet have services available, contain inadequate or non-existent streets; inadequate drainage; substandard (small) lots which cannot accommodate today's housing product; and poor soil conditions. Allowing multi -family development per this request would eliminate one of the leading causes of urban sprawl, the development of large expanses of low-density, single -dimensional projects. The future land use element allows for and encourages "the conversion of agricultural lands to other uses when and where appropriate, and maximizing the efficient provision and use of public facilities and services." While this designation is reserved for properties of at least 1200 acres, it should be considered for the larger area along Oslo Road lying both to the north and south. The purpose of this designation is to create self-sufficient communities where people live, work, and recreate in the same place. This designation can also provide for maximum use of open space by clustering residential and non-residential activities, capturing trips internally, thereby reducing the threat of urban sprawl. An ideal place to apply this concept is in the vicinity of the subject property where the requirements of concurrency are met. The Future Land Use Element estimates that growth in Indian River County will necessitate an additional 8,400 dwelling units by 1995 and nearly 12,000 by 2010 (a cumulative total of 20,400 units). The actual amount of land required to accommodate these additional dwelling units will be determined by the mix of the units and the density of the development Future Land Use Policy 1.13 states that Medium -Density Residential Use Designations be reserved primarily for areas that are east of 1-95 and located within the USA Boundary. Clearly the subject land is east of 1-95 and the boundary should be adjusted to include this property. Objective 2 of the plan as well as Policies 2. I, 2.2, and 2.5 states that all new residential development greater that .2 units/acre, shall occur within the USA Boundary and contain the necessary infrastructure to support the development The subject property contains the services and infrastructure necessary to support development The idea of expanding the USA Boundary to include the area in question is not new. In 1993 the county prematurely promoted a plan to expand the USA Boundary to include this area along Oslo Road between 74th Avenue and 58"' Avenue thereby bridging the gap in the boundary. All of this occurred before the significant aforementioned changes in the area of the Oslo Corridor as well as the development of the Indian River Mall and corresponding continuing development of the Route 60 corridor. While the boundary was not expanded at that time, The Board of County Commissioners however, directed staff to revise the Comprehensive Plan to allow properties up to 500 feet from the Urban Service Area to connect to county water and sewer services. Their foresight recognized a need which currently demands additional attention and expansion of the Urban Service Area Boundary to include the subject property. Policy 2.5 provides for "incentive for mbced use projects." This would be an ideal place to initiate this policy. COMPATIBILITY WITH THE SURROUNDING AREA While most of the area immediately surrounding the subject property is agricultural, the changing face of agriculture and the citrus industry has dictated that this land is no longer economically feasible to maintain and develop as agriculture. Alternative uses must be found or NOVEMBER 4, 1997 65 BOOK 103 PAGE U L