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DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENTS BY CATEGORY The proposed amendments can be grouped into five categories based on their subject. Each subject category of amendments is described below. Optional Agricultural PDs The proposed amendments to the Future Land -Jse Element make Agricultural PDs optional, rather than mandatory. for residential development outside the urban service area. Agricultural PDs are residential subdivisions located on agriculturally designated land (agriculturally designated land is outside of the county's urban service area). Other types of PDs are permitted only within the urban service area. The county's comprehensive plan and land development regulations currently require residential subdivisions of two or more lots (other than a one time lot split) on agriculturally designated land to be approved as Agricultural PDs. Within Agricultural PDs, and PDs in general special negotiated regulations allow developers additional flexibility in terms of subdivision and lot design (to meet market demand), as long as certain minimum standards are maintained. Among those standards is the requirement that residential density not exceed the density allowed by the underlying land use designation. In addition to providing developers with more design flexibility, the PD process also gives the Board of County Commissioners more discretion. compared to regular subdivision projects, with respect to project approvals. There are two key requirements that are applicable to Agricultural PDs, but not applicable to non - Agricultural PDs. The first is that lots cannot exceed one acre in size, while the second is that lots must be clustered on a relatively small portion of the overall project property. The remainder of the site. regardless of its ownership. must remain in open space (either as natural: agricultural; or to a limited degree. recreational areas) for as long as the property retains an agricultural land use designation. Over the past few years. several proposed Agricultural PDs have been considered by the Board of County Commissioners at public hearings. In reviewing those proposals, both the public and the Board questioned whether Agricultural PDs and clustering should be required and whether there were benefits associated with clustering. As a result of that questioning, the following public meetings on this issue were conducted: • two Board of County Commissioners workshops: • two Agricultural Advisory Committee workshops; and • one Professional Services Advisory Committee meeting. At the April 4.2000, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the Board instructed staff to initiate a plan amendment to eliminate the requirement that any residential development of agriculturally designated land must be approved as an Agricultural PD. The revisions related to Agricultural PDs involve changes to the Land Use Analysis section of the Future Land Use Element, and to Future Land Use Element Policies 1.10 and 5.8. In addition to eliminating the Agricultural PD requirement. those revisions make Agricultural PDs and clustering an optional (rather than required) development type for agriculturally designated land. While the revisions eliminate the requirement that residential development of agriculturally designated areas be done only through the Agricultural PD process with clustering required. the March 20, 2001