COUNTY PLANNING

As Cape Girardeau County prepares for first-class status on Jan. 1, there's one more second-class option the county should exercise.

In second-, third- and fourth-class counties (Cape Girardeau County currently is a second-class county), commissioners have the authority to appoint a temporary zoning board. In a first-class county, establishment of a zoning commission requires a vote of the people -- at least for now.

Legislation approved by the General Assembly last session would have removed the voting requirement. But the House and Senate voted on different versions of one provision of the legislation relating to the state's landlord-tenant law, so the entire bill was thrown out.

Requiring a vote for a P&Z commission isn't the big issue. The specific rules and regulations of zoning -- the P&Z plan itself -- is what voters should -- and do -- have a say on. Removing the requirement for first-class counties to vote on the membership of a newly formed P&Z commission would simply save voters the expense of a needless election.

Zoning opponents may be quick to berate the need even for a commission to develop a P&Z plan. But don't judge too quickly. This temporary commission can't impose zoning on the county. That power rests with the people and the people alone. This board would have a single duty: to draft a proposed zoning master plan for the county.

In 1972, voters approved countywide planning but not zoning. When voters rejected the 1992 proposal for zoning, the planning office was also thrown out.

Yes, Cape Girardeau County has been fortunate since county planning was abandoned. There have been no major zoning mishaps. But it only takes one landfill proposal, one commercial hog operation, one X-rated business, one mobile-home park next to expensive homes to create an uproar. And the county is powerless to stop the development without a P&Z plan in place. Zoning is more an issue of protection than control.

County residents have every right to be concerned about mindless regulations that discourage legitimate development. That is why the zoning plan is what matters. As any plan is developed, all county residents -- proponents and opponents -- should have input.

The majority of county residents already live peaceably with zoning codes. About 45,000 people live in the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Both cities have active zoning boards. The 1990 census placed the county's population at nearly 62,000.

The county commission would be right to appoint a temporary P&Z board before the year's end. It is time to reconsider the issue of county zoning and to fully address concerns that drove out planning four years ago.

Government sticks its nose into people's business far too often. Good government should protect but not subject citizens to senseless rules and regulations. A successful zoning code would strike a balance between regulating new development and allowing local property owners to keep control of their land.