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On January 8, 1998, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6 to 0 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners transmit the proposed land use amendment to the State Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for their review. Although the number of plan amendments that a local government may consider is not limited, the frequency with which local governments can amend their comprehensive plan is regulated by state law. According to Florida Statutes, plan amendments are limited to twice per calendar year. For that reason, the county accepts general plan amendment applications only during the "window" months of January and July. All requests submitted during each window month are processed simultaneously. That method ensures that plan amendments will be adopted no more than twice a year. State law, however, provides several exceptions to the twice per year limitation. One of those exceptions is for plan amendments, such as the subject plan amendment request, that are associated with DRIB. For that reason, the subject request is exempt from the twice per year adoption limit, and the county may accept the application at any time. The procedures for reviewing Comprehensive Plan amendments associated with DRIs are the same as those applied to non -DRI amendments. First, the Planning and Zoning Commission, as the Local Planning Agency, conducts a public hearing to review the request. The Commission has the option to recommend approval or denial of the Comprehensive Plan amendment request to the Board of County Commissioners. Also, the Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend approval of or deny the rezoning portion of the request. If the rezoning request is denied, only the land use amendment request is forwarded to the Board, unless the denial to rezone is appealed. Following Planning and Zoning Commission action, the Board of County Commissioners conducts two public hearings. The first of those hearings is for a preliminary decision on the land use amendment request. At that hearing, the Board determines whether or not the land use amendment warrants transmittal to the State Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for further consideration. A Board of County Commissioners decision not to transmit the land use amendment to DCA constitutes denial of both the land use amendment and rezoning requests. IT the land use amendment is transmittea. DCA conducts a review which includes soliciting comments from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC), several state agencies, and neighboring local governments. After its review. DCA compiles its comments, if it has any, in an Objections, Recommendations, and Comments (ORC) Report, and transmits that report to the county. After addressing any issues that were raised in the ORC Report, the second and final Board of County Commissioner, public hearing is conducted. The Board takes final action to approve or deny the land use amendment and rezoning requests at that time. The DRI review is conducted by the TCRPC in conjunction with local and state agencies. The focus of this review is on the environmental, social, economic, and physical impact of the proposed development on the local and regional area. Following the TCRPC review and recommendation, the Planning and Zoning Commission will review the application and make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. In this case, the Planning and Zoning Commission will probably review the DRI application in March, 1998. After Planning and Zoning Commission review, the Board of County Commissioners will Consider the DRI proposal and corresponding draft Development Order (DO). The DO constitutes an agreement between the county and the developer, and identifies the necessary improvements and conditions which will govern the overall development. These improvements and conditions can include factors such as type of buildings, general retail mix, buffers, parking, and off-site improvements. In this case, the Board will consider approving the proposed DO in a separate hearing to be held immediately following the final adoption public hearing for the Comprehensive Plan amendment. If the DO is approved, then the development will undergo the standard site plan review and approval process. JANUARY 27, 1998 -17- 600K 104 PAGE 42-17