DECISION TO DROP P&Z LAWSUIT IS BEST FOR ALL

Unless plaintiffs decide some day to refile a lawsuit that alleges Cape Girardeau County illegally spent money to develop planning and zoning regulations before last November's vote on countywide planning and zoning, the question of whether the county acted legally in spending $29,000 for the plan will remain unanswered.

Those who brought the suit only a few days before last November's vote have decided not to pursue the legal battle because of the expense of getting written and notarized answers from each of the 75 plaintiffs to questions posed by the Cape Girardeau County Commission's attorney. A lead plaintiff said it would have cost them about $7,500 to answer all of the questions, and they didn't want to spend the money. So the suit has been dismissed.

Clearly, the county sought answers to those questions and a judge ordered they be answered despite objections of the plaintiffs' attorney in an effort to dissuade the plaintiffs from further pursuing the suit. The legal maneuver worked because only a handful of the plaintiffs were footing the bill for the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs contended that the county commission violated a state law governing first-class counties when it paid the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission the $29,000 to draft the regulations before voters were asked to decide the issue. The county countered that another state law allows a temporary planning commission to spend money to develop the plan.

One reason the suit was filed was because the county commission insisted on putting the issue before voters despite a vote some years ago that resulted in countywide planning, which would have led to zoning, being booted out. Voters made it clear then as they did last November that they don't want planning and zoning in Cape Girardeau County.

Regardless of whether the county was within its rights in spending the $29,000, the proposed regulations served a purpose in that voters knew when they voted last November what to expect if the proposal was adopted. The county conducted meetings to inform voters what to expect, making for a better informed electorate, and to that end the money was well spent.

With planning and zoning now a dead issue, it is best the plaintiffs didn't pursue the suit.

But if anyone ever decides to put the issue on the ballot again, it would be best to get an attorney general's opinion on the issue of proposed regulations.