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g®®K � "" ) The proposed amendment also encourages the conversion of agricultural land in other ways. This request essentially amends the plan to allow large lot residential subdivisions on agricultural land outside the urban service area. Large lot subdivisions, while not encouraged, are currently permitted, and land is available, on residentially designated land within the urban service area That land, however, is generally more valuable and expensive due to its greater development potential. The proposed amendment, however, allows the development of solely residential uses on less expensive agricultural property, thus inhibiting residential development within the urban service area and encouraging the conversion of agriculturally designated land to residential uses. Impacts on Public Services Policy 5.8 also encourages the efficient provision of public services such as roads, police and fire protection, emergency medical services, and utilities service. Those services can be provided at a lower per unit cost in areas with a more compact development pattern, such as required by the existing policy 5.8, than can be provided to places with a spread out development pattern as allowed by the proposed amendment. Because nearly every trip is long and must be made by car, these subdivisions are particularly inefficient in terms of the use of roads. The proliferation of these types of subdivisions increases the probability that congestion will occur. For these reasons, the proposed amendment increases the cost of providing public services. Impacts on Land Use Compatibility There are several land use compatibility advantages associated with policy 5.8's requirement of a large open area. Among those advantages are the mitigation of impacts between urban and rural activities, and better preparation for the possible integration of the site into the urban service area. Interactions between urban and agricultural activities often result in one of those activities negatively impacting the other. The noise, odors, and pesticide spray drift of agricultural activities can negatively impact urban activities. Similarly, urban activities can negatively impact agricultural activities through increased trespassing, the introduction of pests, and complaints and legal action related to agricultural activities. Policy 5.8's open space requirement works to mitigate those impacts in several ways. First, by requiring the set aside of land that could be used as a vegetative buffer, policy 5.8 facilitates the development of such a buffer between the residential and agricultural components of Agricultural PDs. Vegetative buffers have been found to be somewhat useful in reducing the impacts that agricultural and urban uses have on each other. The clustering and open space requirement of policy 5.8 also creates a clear, distinct boundary between urban and rural areas. Such a boundary clearly defines where certain activities are intended and are not intended to be conducted. This adds certainty to land use decisions and reduces the likelihood of incompatibilities occurring. Finally, the clustering and open space requirement reduces the length of the urban/agricultural boundary. When incompatibilities occur, they are usually located along the urban/agricultural boundary, where urban and agricultural uses most often interact By reducing the length of the urban/agricultural boundary, policy 5.8 reduces the area where urban and agricultural uses interact; therefore, the chances of incompatibilities occurring are reduced. Since the proposed amendment would allow developments without clustering and open space, the proposed amendment would increase the likelihood that incompatibilities will occur. Although.the county presently has more than enough residentially designated land to accommodate growth through the year 2020, expanding the urban service area and adding residentially designated land may be necessary in the future. Policy 5.8, as currently structured, allows urban service area expansion to take place in a relatively compact, incremental, and compatible manner. With its requirement for smaller clustered lots, policy 5.8 is specifically structured to result in development that will, if necessary, successfully integrate into the urban service area Additionally, in the event of urban service area expansion, the open space area required by policy 5.8 will become available for development MAY 189 1999 0 4P