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New Future Land Use Element Policy 1.41 has two parts. The first part of this policy establishes that the Board of County Commissioners may rezone land to a zoning district other than the most intense allowed by the site's land use designation, while the second part sets criteria to be used in establishing zoning districts. In that way, the amendment gives the Board additional flexibility regarding zoning decisions, without being arbitrary. New Future Land Use Element Policy 14.5 involves small scale plan amendments. According to state law, future land use amendment requests that meet certain requirements are eligible for a streamlined future land use amendment process. That process is known as the small scale amendment process. Small scale plan amendments are deemed to have fewer impacts than typical plan amendments and, therefore, are eligible for the streamlined adoption process. In contrast to typical plan amendments which require review and approval by DCA, local governments may adopt small scale plan amendments without review or approval by DCA. Section 163.3187(1)(c), FS, sets the following criteria for small scale amendments: 1. The proposed amendment involves 10 or fewer acres; 2. The cumulative effect of the acreage for all small scale amendments in the jurisdiction does not exceed 80 acres in a calendar year, 3. The proposed amendment does not involve the same property granted a land use designation change within the prior 12 months; 4. The proposed amendment does not involve the same owner's property within 200 feet of property granted a land use designation change within the prior 12 months; 5. The proposed amendment does not involve a change to the comprehensive plan's text; 6. The subject property is not within an area of critical state concern; and 7. The proposed amendment does not involve increasing residential density above 10 units/acre. Besides being exempt from DCA review, small scale amendments are also exempt from the state's statutory limitations on the frequency of adopting comprehensive plan amendments. For example, although the number of typical 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, typical plan amendments are limited to twice per calendar year. For that reason, the county accepts typical plan amendment applications only during the two `window" months of January and July. All requests submitted during each window month are processed simultaneously. That method ensures that typical plan amendments will be adopted no more than twice per calendar year. State law, however, provides several exceptions to the twice per calendar year limitation. One of those exceptions is for small scale plan amendments. Consequently, a local government may adopt small scale amendments without regard for the twice per calendar year limitation. The proposed amendment sets additional measurable criteria for the use of the small scale plan amendment process. Adopting the additional criteria will work to prevent the use of the small scale plan amendment process to circumvent the typical plan amendment process for requests that warrant substantial public or reviewing agency input. November 10, 1998 43 BOOK 107 NOE'-� ''