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_I BOOK 107 FACE A7 The goals, objectives and policies are the most important parts of the Comprehensive Plan. Policies are statements in the plan that identify the actions which the county will take in order to direct the community's development. As courses of action committed to by the county, policies provide the basis for all county land development decisions. While all Comprehensive Plan policies are important, some have more applicability than others in reviewing plan amendment requests. Of particular applicability for this request are the following objectives and policies: Future Land Use Policy 14.3 The most important policy to consider in evaluating a plan amendment request for consistency with the county's Comprehensive Plan is Future Land Use Element Policy 14.3. This policy requires that at least one of four criteria be met in order to approve a land use amendment request. These criteria are: • a mistake in the approved plan; • an oversight in the approved plan; • a substantial change in circumstances affecting the subject property; or • a swap or a reconfiguration of land uses at separate sites. Staff's position is that this land use amendment does meet the second criterion of policy 14.3 When the current Comprehensive Plan was approved on February 13, 1990, the plan assigned a residential land use designation to the subject properties. At the time of plan adoption, the existing uses on the subject properties were single family homes. At that time, the land owners expressed interest in retaining a residential designation on the properties. For those reasons, the subject properties were not designated for commercial/industrial uses and not included in the commercial/industrial node. While the existing use of the properties is single family residential, the location of the subject properties between Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1, as well as the character of the surrounding uses, indicates that these properties should have been designated for commercial/industrial uses when the plan was originally adopted. The residential designation of the subject properties was an oversight of the approved plan; therefore, this request meets the second criterion of policy 14.3. Future Land Use Policy 1.15 This policy defines the areas that are suitable for a commercial/industrial land use designation. Suitable areas must be within the urban service area and near existing urban centers. The subject properties are within the urban service area and are near existing urban centers. Both Gifford and Grand Harbor are existing urban centers that are near the subject properties and could be serviced by various commercial/industrial uses that might locate on the subject properties. P. Future Land Use Policy 1.18 Policy 1.18 requires that commercial/industrial nodes be located along roads with functional classifications appropriate to the level of activity. Being bordered on the east by U.S. 1, a rural principal arterial roadway, and on the west by Old Dixie Highway, a rural major collector roadway, the subject properties have adequate access to accomodate any commercial/industrial uses. Additionally, both roadways are appropriate to handle traffic that may be generated by a commercial/industrial land use. Future Land Use Policy 1.22 Future Land Use Element Policy 1.22 states that 70% of the land area of a C/I node should be developed with non-residential and non-agricultural uses before that node is considered for expansion. The intent of this policy is to regulate increases in the amount of C/I designated land. September 22, 1998