AUGUST OUT FOR COUNTY P&Z VOTE

JACKSON -- Voters in Cape Girardeau County won't see planning and zoning on the August ballot, but the proposal could come up for consideration in November.

A committee has spent the last two years drafting planning and zoning regulations for the county, but John Dudley, chairman of the committee, said the plan isn't quite ready.

In January the committee and the Cape Girardeau County Commission thought voters in the county would consider the plan in August. But Gerald Jones, presiding commissioner, said a November ballot issue is more likely.

In 1992, voters rejected a proposed countywide master plan, scrapping the 20-year-old planning commission in the process. Opponents feared the plan as written would have resulted in over-regulation.

The county has no planning or zoning. The County Commission appointed a committee in 1995 to write a plan for general land use. It wouldn't include building codes.

"We don't want to over-regulate anyone," Jones said.

However, the commission would like some control over placement of large industrial complexes or large animal production facilities, for example.

"We want our plan to be simple also," Dudley said. "We want four or five zones only and not a lot of subzones."

Complex planning and zoning regulations are hard to explain to voters and hard to enforce if approved, he said. "That's not what we want, especially if we are wanting to lightly regulate the county," Dudley said.

The group looked at a BOCA planning and zoning guide devised in 1996 for use throughout the world. Dudley said the BOCA planning and zoning regulations were simple to understand.

The Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission at Perryville is reviewing the county's proposal, comparing it to the BOCA plan and looking for ways to simplify the local plan. The group decided to start with the whole county zoned for agricultural use and then draw more restrictive zones based on what businesses and buildings are in place.

"We are using present usage to establish different zoning," he said. "We have maps in hand showing present usage."

The proposal also allows grandfathering for land usage.

However, the committee felt its plan was too cumbersome. "If you can't pick up the book and readily see what you can and can't do, we will have arguments all over the place," Dudley said.