ZONING ISSUE RAISES COUNCIL MEMBERS' IRE

SCOTT CITY -- The alleged disregard of one city council member for zoning regulations has drawn fire from three of his peers in Scott City.

Ward 2 council member John Rogers lives in the old Illmo part of town in the former Masonic Lodge, which is zoned for commercial use.

That has prompted council members Kenny Holder, Ward 2, LaDonna Phelps, Ward 1, and Ron Oller, Ward 3, to object to Rogers' living arrangements.

They contend that Rogers is taking advantage of his position on the council to ignore the city's zoning ordinances.

At stake is Rogers' seat on the council, which won't expire until April 1996. The council member recently sold his house in Ward 2, and although he owns another house, it is in another ward.

Rogers said that after he sold his house he planned to live in the old Masonic Lodge for about three months. Although he was told about the zoning ordinance, he thinks it is legal to use the building as a residence.

"I'm not the type of person to be shoved around," Rogers said yesterday. "In other words, I don't think those three people should dictate my life."

To support his position, Holder sought legal opinions from the city attorney, Frank Siebert, who told the city council this week that a residence is permitted on commercial property if it is an accessory to the operation of a business. A residence also is permitted when the commercial building had that use prior to adoption of the city zoning code in 1980.

But Phelps said a long-time Masonic Lodge member told her the building never has been used for residential purposes.

Rogers disputed her assertion, claiming there have been apartments in the building in the past. Besides, he said he plans to open a museum in the building.

As long as he operates a museum in the building, the zoning law allows Rogers to live there, said Siebert.

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan said Rogers applied last week for a business license for the building, listing the commercial purpose as a museum.

"I have plans to open an historical museum here," Rogers said. "I've been contacting people and trying to gather some historical artifacts."

Rogers said he hasn't done anything wrong.

"I thought I was right. They say I'm wrong," meaning Holder, Phelps and Oller. "Where they're coming from is that they want me off the council."

Phelps has a dim view of fellow council members who failed to press Rogers on the matter during Monday's council meeting, when the issue was raised.

Council members Brenda Moyers, Ward 1, Jerry Cummins, Ward 3, and Norman Brant and Bud Bader, Ward 4, didn't question Rogers' action.

"What they're saying is `We're above the law,'" Phelps said. "If that's the case, we may as well pile the ordinance books in the street and burn them."

Oller said that in his opinion, "Rogers is breaking the city's laws." He said Rogers' announced intention to open a museum is a "clever dodge on his part to circumvent the law."

Forhan disagreed.

"John Rogers is a very honorable man," he said. "If he's saying that he's putting in a historical museum, then you can bet that's exactly what it is."

Forhan said there is no deadline to begin operating a business once a license is issued.