100 ATTEND ANTI-P&Z GATHERING

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission won't convince Doug Flannery that county planning and zoning is a good idea.

The Whitewater, Mo., area resident and Democratic candidate for 1st District commissioner was one of nearly 100 people who turned out for a meeting at the American Legion Hall in Jackson Wednesday night to voice opposition to the county planning issue on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Flannery and David Allen helped organize the meeting. Allen lives in Jackson but operates a business in Whitewater. They and other county residents organized the Committee to Protect Taxpayer and Landowner Rights. Allen was named president of the group.

The commission, which put the issue on the November ballot, wants to implement zoning regulations in the unincorporated areas of the county. For that to happen, voters must approve county planning. A simple majority is needed for passage.

Flannery and others at the meeting accused the County Commission of ignoring the wishes of voters. The county has operated without countywide planning since 1992 when voters rejected a proposal to impose zoning and tossed out planning as well.

"I believe that when planning and zoning was voted out, it was voted out for a reason," said Flannery. "It was hindering growth."

Allen said he is spending his own money for 1,000 bumper stickers to oppose county planning.

"I think if we beat it bad enough they may give up," he said.

Allen and others believe county planning and zoning would hinder rural businesses and impose unwanted regulations. They said the group must convince voters in the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson to oppose the ballot measure.

Calvin Sailer attended the meeting. He lives in Cape Girardeau but owns a farm in Oak Ridge, Mo.

Sailer said the group must convince city voters that their tax dollars will go to help fund enforcement of planning and zoning regulations in the county.

He and others believe the county would set up a planning and zoning office and hire staff to run it. Ultimately, they believe it would become a bureaucratic office full of inspectors to enforce the rules and regulations.

Sailer said people want "to do as they please" in the unincorporated areas. They don't want to buy costly permits.

Cape Girardeau resident Bill Rader opposes the measure. "I feel we ought to stand together and vote against it," he told the crowd.

If the county implements planning and zoning, rural residents could be charged with violations if they don't comply. "You could be crucified," he said. "It is like Nazi, Germany."