2006-322 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element was the causeway, itself, and the analysis indicated that the causeway would not need improvement by 2020. There are several reasons why hurricane evacuation clearance times will remain adequate through 2025 . Most of these reasons are land use related. First, the barrier island portion of the City of Vero Beach is primarily built out; the Town of Indian River Shores is mostly built out, and the unincorporated south barrier island area is nearing build out. Second, the north portion of the barrier island is developing at much lower densities than allowed by the 1990 comprehensive plan. Not only are some large projects, like Windsor and the Town of Orchid, developing at only about one unit per acre, but the County, the state, and the federal government have purchased hundreds of acres on the north barrier island for conservation purposes. This land will have zero density. A third reason hurricane evacuation clearance times will remain adequate is that many of the new units to be constructed on the north barrier island will be in developments like Windsor and Orchid, which have a high number of seasonal residents. Many of these property owners will not be in residence nor contribute to the evacuation population during the peak hurricane season of late summer and early fall. The final reason that future hurricane evacuation clearance times will be adequate is that the Merrill Barber Bridge improvement provided significant additional evacuation capacity. As indicated, no specific roadway improvements are needed by 2025 to accommodate hurricane evacuation. One additional assurance that hurricane evacuation needs will not increase by 2025 is that the Future Land Use Element and the Coastal Management Element of this plan prohibit any increase in allowable density or intensity for land within the designated coastal high hazard area. These elements also prohibit nursing home type facilities in the coastal high hazard area. Together, these policy initiatives ensure that the at-risk evacuation population will not increase significantly and that evacuation facilities will remain adequate. Concurrency One of the most important issues with respect to the timing of transportation improvements is Concurrency. Concurrency is a principle established by the state's 1985 Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act. According to the provisions of the Act, codified as Chapter 163 . 3161 of Florida Statutes, no local government may approve a development project unless the services and facilities needed to serve that project are available concurrently with the project's impacts. The Capital Improvements element of this plan establishes the County's concurrency management system. Of all the facilities subject to the concurrency requirement, transportation is the most important. It is transportation system deficiencies, more so than problems with other concurrency facilities, that have been responsible for delaying development projects throughout the state. Recently, the state changed the concurrency law to make the transportation concurrency requirements more flexible. Besides establishing several flexible transportation concurrency Community Development Department Indian River County 90