CITY PLANNES GIVE COUNTY OFFICIALS SOME POINTERS

Simple explanations, anticipating difficult questions and offering maps and charts to explain the finer points of a proposal to adopt countywide planning were just a few of the suggestions made by the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday night.

A trio of county officials attended a city planning commission meeting to talk about countywide planning. They came to answer questions, seek advice and support of a proposal to establish planning in Cape Girardeau County.

Voters in both the cities and unincorporated areas of the county will decide Nov. 7 whether or not to establish planning. The ballot measure requires a simple majority for passage. Should the measure pass, then the county commission can adopt a master plan and eventually zoning regulations.

But people need to understand what is being proposed and how it affects them, commission members said. People who own property in the county need to understand that their existing land use will be grandfathered in, said Tom Mogelnicki.

Some people oppose the plan simply because they are confused about how it might affect them, said Harry Rediger. "The naysayers are causing the confusion."

Gerald Jones, presiding county commissioner, conceded, "We might be overlooking some simplistic things."

Once those questions are answered, people will be more apt to understand the plan and how it might be an improvement for the county, said Charles Haubold, planning commission chairman.

"We've got to convince people that this is good for the orderly growth of Cape and Jackson," he said. "This is needed. Without it you would have utter chaos."

The commission unanimously voted to adopt a resolution endorsing the county planning proposal. The endorsement does not need approval or action from any other city governing body.

Cape Girardeau County operated with county planning and zoning regulations from 1972 to 1992 when voters rejected the plan. Since then, the topic has created much controversy.

Supporters of planning say it protects landowner rights while opponents of the plan say it only creates more government intrusion.

Yet people need to understand that county planning isn't anything like building inspections, said Skip Smallwood. The county, if planning is enacted, isn't going to require that all projects meet BOCA regulations or that permits be purchased before construction can begin.

The proposed plan is less restrictive than the plan that had been in place since 1972, said John Dudley, chairman of a temporary county planning commission.

Although five zoning categories have been built into the plan nothing is final, said Roger Arnzen, director of the county mapping department.

Dudley said he had opposed a planning and zoning proposal in 1996 because it wasn't well written but this plan is "simple and straightforward" and should help protect property values, he said.

Several meetings are planned throughout the county to explain the proposal and get public input.