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<br />compatibility with the surrounding area; and
<br />potential impact on environmental quality.
<br />In DISFIVY61C :a.•� •. K �..
<br />Four of the five DCA ORC Report objections are related, and therefore will be addressed together.
<br />Since objections A, B, D, and E all relate to the same issue, those objections will be addressed in the
<br />first section. Objection C will be addressed in the second section.
<br />Objections A, B, D, and E
<br />Objections A, B, D, and E all relate to the fact that the county's Comprehensive Plan does not
<br />contain land use intensity standards for the Commercial/Industrial land use designation.
<br />Although the county's Comprehensive Plan limits residential development intensity, it does not
<br />directly limit the intensity of development for areas designated as commercial/industrial. Like most
<br />local governments, Indian River County uses density, usually reported in units/acre, as its measure
<br />of residential land use intensity. For measuring non-residential land use intensity, however, Floor
<br />Area Ratio (FAR) is the generally accepted standard. FAR is a measure of non-residential land use
<br />intensity expressed as the ratio of building floor space on a parcel to total parcel area. For example,
<br />a 10,000 square foot building on a 1 acre parcel has a.23 FAR (10,000/43,560 =.23). In such a
<br />case, a 5,000 square foot second story would increase the FAR to .34 (15,000/43,560 =.34).
<br />Just as density limits are usually incorporated in comprehensive plans or zoning district regulations
<br />to control residential development intensity, FAR's are often established to control non-residential
<br />development intensity. Although the county does not currently have an established FAR in its
<br />Comprehensive Plan, non-residential land use intensity is controlled in other ways. Through its land
<br />development regulations, the county has established standards for minimum open space, maximum
<br />building coverage, maximum building height, and minimum parking, as well as setback and
<br />stormwater requirements. Together, these standards effectively limit non-residential development
<br />intensity.
<br />Because Objection A does not apply specifically to the proposed amendment, the appropriateness
<br />of that objection within an ORC Report for the proposed amendment is questionable. A clearly more
<br />appropriate opportunity to raise that objection would have been during DCA's review of the recently
<br />completed evaluation and appraisal report (EAR) of the entire Comprehensive Plan or subsequent
<br />EAR based amendments.
<br />Nevertheless, the county has already taken actions to address the DCA's objections. Recently, the
<br />DCA raised similar objections in regard to Indian River County Comprehensive Plan Amendment
<br />No. 98-D 1. In response to those objections, the Board of County Commissioners instructed planning
<br />staff to initiate a Comprehensive Plan text amendment during the July 1998 amendment submittal
<br />window. That county initiated amendment will establish land use intensity standards for the C/I land
<br />use designation. In a letter to Ray Eubanks, dated June 4, 1998, the DCA was informed of that
<br />action; therefore, the DCA should not have found it necessary to raise the same objections again for
<br />Indian River County Comprehensive Plan Amendment No. 98-2.
<br />During the July 1998 Comprehensive Plan amendment application submittal window, a county
<br />initiated Comprehensive Plan text amendment was submitted. On October 8, 1998, a public hearing
<br />on that text amendment will be held before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Following a
<br />transmittal public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners, expected to be held three to
<br />five weeks after the Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing, the Comprehensive Plan text
<br />amendment, which will establish land use intensity standards for the C/I land use designation, will
<br />be forwarded to the DCA for its review. That should then resolve the DCA's specific
<br />commercial/industrial density/intensity standard objection.
<br />September 22, 1998
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<br />728
<br />BOOK 107 PAGE I
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