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vf? The goals, objectives and policies are the most important parts of the comprehensive plan. Policies are statements in the plan which 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 related decisions. While all comprehensive plan policies are important, some have more applicability than others in reviewing rezoning requests Of particular applicability for this request are the following policies and objectives. FUTURE LAND USE POLICY 1.21 states that the commercial/industrial land use designation shall be applied to those areas which are suitable for urban scale development and intensities. Those areas are limited to lands located within the urban service area and near existing urban centers. Since the site is located on U.S. 1 near the City of Vero Beach, is in an area of significant commercial development, and has a C/I land use designation, the proposed rezoning is consistent with policy 2.1 FUTURE LAND USE POLICY 4.1 states that land use districts shall be located in a manner, which concentrates urban uses thereby discouraging sprawl. The subject rezoning is in an existing commercial node along U.S. 1 where the land use plan proposes to concentrate urban uses, such as those uses proposed with this application. Redevelopment of the site discourages sprawl by directing development to an existing, former commercial site. In essence, the proposed rezoning facilitates commercial "in fill" development via redevelopment. Since the site is located on U.S. 1 and the rezoning/redevelopment project proposes to concentrate urban uses, the proposed rezoning is consistent with policy 4.1. FUTURE LAND USE POLICY 5.4 encourages the use of the Planned Development (PD) overlay district to provide design flexibility. The PD overlay zoning district provides the ability to allow for a wide range of uses, while controlling site development and appearance In this instance design flexibility is needed and proposed to make redevelopment feasible while ensuring technical site design and aesthetic upgrades. Since the subject PD incorporates PD overlay district design flexibility to provide a diversity of uses on an appropriate site with sufficient design controls, the proposed rezoning is consistent with Policy 5.4. • COMPATIBILITY Staffs position is that granting the request to rezone the property to PD will result in development which will be compatible with the surrounding areas Sites to the north, south, west and east are zoned commercial or industnal and were developed years ago in a manner consistent with the proposed zoning. Redevelopment of the subject site will not only be in keeping with the surrounding commercial/industrial area, but the proposed redevelopment/rezoning plan with its aesthetic enhancements and upgrades should provide an impetus for the upgrading of adjacent properties and other properties located along U.S. 1. • CONCURRENCY IMPACTS No concurrency related services or facilities will be adversely affected by the rezoning, since the rezoning is essentially a "lateral" rezoning from one type of commercial category to another. Concurrency for this project, however, is more specifically addressed in the PD plan analysis section of this staff report. • ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS These issues are addressed in the PD plan analysis section of this report. January 8, 2002 56 1