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The Agricultural PD and clustering requirement is lengthy and expensive, particularly for small (40 acres or less) land owners. Most Agricultural PDs have been within this size category. 2. The community prefers allowing both the clustered and the unclustered development options to be available to owners of agriculturally designated land. 3. Even if the Agricultural PD process were made optional, at least two incentives to use it remain. Those incentives are as follows: a. The ability to connect to centralized utility service remains available only to Agricultural PDs; and b. The ability to add residential lots on the open space portion of the Agricultural PD if the urban service area is expanded and the land use designation of the site is changed to allow greater density. 4. Most other Florida counties do not require clustering; some allow it as an option, some do not allow it at all. 5. The existing lot size pattern within one to one and half miles from the urban service area is currently dominated by lots of ten acres or less in size. 6. Clustering does not preserve agricultural operations. Generally, fanners do not divide their property into a residential portion and an agricultural portion. Because their agricultural operations must be separate from non-agricultural uses, they farm their entire property until the market indicates it is no longer profitable; then the entire property is converted to a non- agricultural use. 7. The current urban service area should not be expanded. The 5 -acre to 10 -acre "ranchette" lots along the urban service area boundary act as a "greenbelt" to prevent urban service area expansion and eventually to control growth. In addition to making Agricultural PDs optional, the proposed amendment clarifies the intent and requirements of Agricultural PDs. The proposed amendment specifically states the following; • Clustered means grouped together in a compact, contiguous manner. • The open space area must be under the ownership of a single -entity. • Golf courses shall not be permitted as part of Agricultural PDs. The proposed changes to Agricultural PDs provide the following benefits to the county: • They work to direct non-agricultural uses, such as golf courses, into the urban service area, rather than on agricultural land. • They work to maintain the agricultural character of the land. • They reduce potential incompatibilities by ensuring new lots are compact and contiguous. That development pattern decreases the length of the residential/agricultural border which is where most incompatibilities occur. The clustering requirement also facilitates the provision of buffers. • They facilitate the targeted, incremental expansion of the urban service area, if needed. For these reasons, the proposed amendment is reasonable. November 7, 2000 105 BK 1 15 PG 812