COUNTY NAMES P&Z PANEL; GROUP WILL DEVELOP PLAN FOR GROWTH

JACKSON -- While the 10 members of the new Cape Girardeau County Planning and Zoning Commission represent a wide range of backgrounds and professions, most share the view that reasonable limits to zoning regulations are needed.

"There must be some rules, but they should not be so stringent that people can't live with them," said commission member Gene Wills, owner of Wills Insurance Services in Jackson.

Fellow commission member and Gordonville-area farmer John Lorberg said any proposed regulations the planning and zoning commission develops should remain well within the boundaries of common sense.

"I don't think we need to get really technical, but we need to have some planning," Lorberg said.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission introduced the new planning and zoning panel Monday at the County Administration Building.

"You have a big job ahead of you -- to come up with a simplified plan for planning and zoning in the county," County Commissioner Larry Bock told the group. "I hope you will reflect what the needs are out in the county."

County voters defeated a proposed countywide master plan in 1992.

In a nod to the rancorous debate that accompanied that proposal, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones reminded members the public will closely watch their actions, and not everyone will be happy with the outcome.

"I hope you realize this is as popular as you will be," Jones said.

All three county commissioners said definitive plans and some level of regulation are needed to control construction growth in non-incorporated areas of Cape Girardeau County. However, they also said the board members shouldn't be overzealous in formulating rules.

"Planning and zoning works everywhere else in the world; it will work in Cape County," Commissioner Joe Gambill said. "Reasonable people working together can come up with a reasonable plan."

Any plan developed by the planning commission must be approved by county voters.

Currently the county has no authority to prevent an objectionable business such as a landfill from moving into the county, even if residents oppose a landfill as a neighbor.

One person from each of the county's 10 townships was appointed to the commission.

The members and the townships they represent: Dan Seabaugh, Apple Creek; Don Sievers, Byrd; R.J. McKinney, Cape Girardeau; John Lorberg, Hubble; John Dudley, Kinder; Don Moore, Liberty; Scott McDowell, Randol; John Wichern, Shawnee; Jerry Cox, Welch; and Gene Wills, Whitewater.

Jones encouraged the panel members to solicit others to participate and assist in the work of developing a master plan. Such people would be considered non-voting members of the planning commission.

Immediately following its introduction the planning commission convened its first meeting. R.J. McKinney was elected its chairman.

McKinney initially declined the position because he also serves on the city of Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission and was concerned that the public could perceive a conflict of interest. However, his fellow commission members felt that his experience and background made him the best qualified to lead the group.

Don Sievers was elected vice chairman and John Dudley secretary.

The group decided to hold its monthly meetings the fourth Thursday in every month beginning Jan. 23. Meetings will begin at 7 p.m. in the County Administration Building.

The County Commission set no time limit for the planning and zoning board to develop a master plan. Jones anticipates a plan to be ready within a year but is not holding the board to that timetable.

Before a plan can be submitted for voter approval, the planning commission has much work to do. That work includes finding out what regulations county residents feel are needed and, to avoid the controversy of the 1992 proposal, what residents feel is going too far.

"We are at ground zero," said Wichern, a cattle farmer. "There are a few things out here that we know need a little correction, but that's all we know right now."

Architect Dudley said the county planning commission should work closely with the city planning boards in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. However, he said the county's plan doesn't need to be as complex as those in municipal areas.

"I'm not a believer in total spot zoning but a more general growth type of regional planning," Dudley said.

Dan Seabaugh, a dairy farmer and president of the Oak Ridge Board of Education, said the county needs to move swiftly to tackle potential zoning problems before they develop.

"I think it's needed because the county is growing fast," Seabaugh said. "If we're not organized, one or two generations down the road could have a haphazard mess."