P&Z PANEL MUST BE IN PLACE SOON; IF NOT, VOTERS GET SAY

JACKSON -- A legislative glitch means Cape Girardeau County commissioners need to get cracking if they want to appoint a county planning and zoning commission.

Legislation that would have let commissioners wait until after Jan. 1 "got messed up," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said Thursday.

At the end of the legislative session in May, Senate Bill 723 was approved. The bill included a number of provisions relating to county government, including one that would have allowed first-class counties to appoint temporary planning commissions prior to holding elections on planning and zoning proposals or ordinances.

A bill signed earlier by Gov. Mel Carnahan gave that authority to second-, third- and fourth-class counties.

Previously, two elections were necessary: the first on whether to establish the commission, and the second to approve or reject the commission's zoning plan.

But after the voting, county officials across the state got the news: The House and Senate had voted on different versions of one provision in the bill relating to the state's landlord-tenant law, so the whole piece of legislation was declared void.

As a result, the Cape Girardeau County Commission must appoint a planning and zoning commission before Jan. 1, while the county is still second class. If commissioners don't meet that deadline, the issue will have to go to a vote of the people.

"We'd better be prepared then, and get our commission together," said Associate Commissioner Larry Bock.

Commissioners indicated they have already begun gathering names.

The county had a planning code from 1972 to 1992, when voters rejected a countywide planning and zoning master plan.

Associate Commissioner Joe Gambill said the zoning commission would serve as a mechanism for the county to address any unwanted development that might be proposed.

"I think the main emphasis here is that we are not advocating planning and zoning," Gambill said. "We're advocating getting somebody in place and letting them work on it."

The zoning commission must be made up of one person per township, which translates to 10 commission members.

If a zoning commission is appointed, and a master plan drawn up, voters will approve or reject that master plan.