Cape Girardeau County Commission may ask state to drop statute on peripheral zoning

The Cape Girardeau County Commission is mulling a move that would end the peripheral zoning debate once and for all -- by asking that the statute be stricken from the books.

The commission is considering a resolution, which they expect to vote on by the end of the month, to ask Missouri lawmakers to repeal the state statute that allows the creation of peripheral zones, which met huge opposition last year from county residents when such an attempt was made.

Commissioners met Monday with Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and Rep. Steve Hodges, D-East Prairie, to discuss the matter. Commissioner Jay Purcell was ready to vote in favor of such a resolution Monday, but Commissioner Paul Koeper wanted until the last week of January to study the issue.

Having the law on the books, despite the fact the commission unanimously voted down peripheral zoning last month, makes county residents anxious, Purcell said. The Cape Girardeau City Council, primarily member Mark Lanzotti, asked the commission to approve peripheral zoning, which would give the city zoning authority over up to two miles beyond its borders.

"The city of Cape could come back every couple of months or years and I just think that's unfair," Purcell said. "I think we should just resolve it. If the other commissioners agree, we'll ask our legislative delegations to repeal it and it will be gone forever. If they don't agree, at least the citizens will know where the county commission stands."

Crowell told the commission that he couldn't track the history of the law, such as who sponsored it or how long ago it was put on the books. The Missouri Association of Counties has no record of any county that has ever implemented peripheral zoning, he said.

"I don't even know why it's there," Crowell said. "It may be one of those laws that has seen its day and needs to be moved out."

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said he was going to consider the resolution but spoke as if he was leaning toward voting for it.

"At this point, we're going to take another hard look at it," he said. "But we know the will of the people."

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