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2 <br /> Near the end of 1990, the situation involving the <br /> Orange Grove Fire Department was brought to the <br /> attention of the Planning Department again. <br /> Representatives of the Fire Department asked the <br /> Planning Staff to review its plans to determine if <br /> anything could be done which would permit the <br /> expansion. After considerable study, two <br /> alternatives were suggested. <br /> The first alternative involved amending the <br /> ordinance provisions to allow a waiver of impervious <br /> surface ratios for governmental protective and <br /> emergency service agencies. The second involved the <br /> granting of a perpetual easement on adjoining <br /> property [rather than actual fee simple <br /> acquisition] , limiting development and satisfying <br /> the impervious surface ratios indirectly. Of the two <br /> alternatives, the County Attorney felt that the <br /> latter one offered a possible solution to the Fire <br /> Department's problem. <br /> Although the Fire Department has not actively <br /> pursued such an amendment, recent events have <br /> suggested that changes be considered again. One <br /> situation involved the proposed construction of a <br /> new school located on a site partially in University <br /> Lake Watershed. To satisfy impervious surface limits <br /> and permit construction to proceed, a solution <br /> involving collection and disbursement of stormwater <br /> outside the watershed was developed. Although not in <br /> Orange County's jurisdiction, the school situation <br /> highlighted a potential problem for the County, <br /> given the approval of bond funding for new school <br /> construction. <br /> More recently, Orange County has been working toward <br /> identifying and constructing sites for recycling <br /> centers. The difficulty of installing such centers <br /> in watersheds was emphasized when a determination <br /> was made that an existing "green box" site could not <br /> be used because of insufficient land area being <br /> available to satisfy impervious surface ratios. <br /> While the site in question is existing, the same <br /> concern applies to new sites, several of which are <br /> to be located in watershed areas. As an example, <br /> recycling centers would have an impervious surface <br /> area of approximately one acre. To adhere to a 12 <br /> percent impervious surface limit, the total site <br /> would have to be slightly more than eight acres in <br /> size. <br /> While the focus to date has been almost exclusively <br /> on public facilities, the same difficulties could <br /> just as easily be experienced by privately owned, <br /> non-residential development. Examples which come to <br /> mind are existing churches, community centers or <br /> neighborhood convenience stores wanting to expand <br />