least two general sales and service department
stores. The additional desirable site development
standards for major retail centers, Standard
Nos. 2h through 2k, are generally similar to
those adopted for major commercial centers
under the previous plan. It should be noted in
this regard that a previously adopted standard
calling for the provision of off-street parking for
at least 5,000 cars has been replaced by a
standard calling for the provision of adequate
off-street parking.
Standards pertaining to requirements for major
office centers and additional desirable site
development standards for major office centers
similar to those established for major retail and
service centers have been added as Standard
Nos. 3a through 31.
Under the proposed standards, major industrial
centers have been defined as industrial areas
which accommodate at least 3,500 industrial
jobs. Under the year 2000 plan, it should be
noted, major industrial centers were identified on
the basis of employment levels and the areal
extent of industrial land use, having been defined
as areas accommodating at least 3,500 industry-
related jobs or encompassing a gross site area of
320 acres. The monitoring of development condi-
tions in the Region since the preparation of the
year 2000 plan indicates that industrial employ-
ment levels alone provide a sound basis for the
identification of major industrial centers. More-
over, this single criterion appears to be the best
means for the classification of industrial areas,
given the current trend toward a broader mixture
of uses at industrial sites.
The standards set forth in Table 126 incorporate,
as appropriate, major industrial center require-
ments regarding access to transportation sys-
tems, the provision of public facilities, and
proper adaptation to soil conditions from the
previously adopted plan (see Standard Nos. la
through li). The minimum site area standard
has been deleted, and certain minor adjustments
have been made to take into account the chang-
ing nature of industrial development. For exam-
ple, the requirement of direct access to railway
facilities, which would apply to traditional
industrial sites, oriented to heavy industry, has
been made dependent upon the nature of the
industries located in the area. Certain additional
additional desirable site development guide-
lines have been added (see Standards Nos. 1j
through In).

Objective No. 8, Standard No. I
Standard No. 1 under Objective No. 8 provides
for the preservation of prime agricultural lands
in the Region. The initial regional land use plan
set forth a generalized delineation of prime
agricultural lands aiong with a recommendation
that actual areas to be protected through appro-
priate agricultural zoning be determined locally.
Considered in the original identification of prime
agricultural lands were soil productivity, the size
of the individual farms, the size and extent of
the combined area being farmed, and other
factors. It should be noted that only large blocks
of farmland, concentrated areas of at least five
square miles, were included in the original
delineation. The Commission recognized that in
local refinements of the original delineation, it
may be desirable to modify the criteria used to
identify which agricultural lands ought to
be preserved.
Farmland preservation plans have now been
completed for and adopted by Kenosha, Ozau-
kee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and Wauke-
sha Counties. Those plans resulted in a
refinement of the agricultural land preservation
recommendations of the regional land use plan,
including refinement of the criteria used to
identify prime farming areas. In identifying
prime agricultural lands, the counties included
blocks of agricultural land considerably smaller
in size than initially recommended by the
Commission, areas as small as 100 acres. Most
of the county plans were accomplished within
the context of the "important farmlands" clas-
sification of soils promulgated by the U. S. Soil
Conservation Service. In an effort to incorporate
the county farmland preservation planning
standards into the regional land plan, prime
agricultural lands have now been defined as
agricultural lands in farms which meet the
following criteria: 1) the farm unit must be at
least 35 acres in area; 2) at least 50 percent of
the farm unit must be covered by soils which
meet U. S. Soil Conservation Service standards
for national prime farmland or farmland of
statewide importance; and 3) the farm unit
should be located in a block of farmland at least
100 acres in size.
OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS
In applying the planning standards and in
preparing the regional land use plan, several
overriding considerations must be recognized.

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