THE PUBLIC MIND: ZONING BOARD DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T ANSWER TO PEOPLE

Dear Editor:

The proponents of planning and zoning have written a beautiful preamble to their book, extolling the virtues of planning and zoning. They make it sound so wonderful that it is hard to believe intelligent people would oppose it. However, we do oppose it because planning and zoning as we have it today does not live up to its promises. The proponents are telling us we need planning and zoning to be safe, but we feel it is our freedom, not our safety, that is in jeopardy. It is freedom that will keep us safe.

Freedom of a landowner to sell his property. Freedom of a city dweller to move to the county. Freedom to add sheds and barns and two-car garages. Freedom to raise horses, dogs, cats, cows and pigs. Freedom to choose the way our land will be used. Freedom to establish new businesses. Freedom to elect the officials who make our laws.

As we see it, the current plan for county planning and zoning has a major flaw. It gives a board of bureaucrats discretionary power over every citizen of Cape County. This board is not elected by the citizens of the county and it is not accountable to us. They have the power to practice "selective enforcement" of the law. Some people must obey the letter of the law. Others are totally exempt from the same law. They have the power to change the law "from time to time, as they see fit."

Proponents say it cannot protect us because it restricts our freedom to use our property as we see fit. How can we believe a law will protect us when we do not even know what the law will be? We want the right to decide, first of all, if we want to be protected, and then, the kind of protection we need. Why should we trust a discretionary board to make decisions regulating our lives? The government already has enough power over us, but at least with most officials we have the privilege of voting them out every few years. Imagine how hard it will be to get rid of a board we didn't even elect in the first place.

What happens if we vote to end county planning and zoning? Since 1972, 16 Missouri counties have voted to terminate planning and zoning. No county adjoining us has county planning and zoning. Cape County has grown and proposed without zoning. Rural Cape County is progressing nicely without all the restriction proposed in the current plan. We feel these restrictions could paralyze continued growth as people and business move to neighboring counties where the quality of life and freedom is not repressed.

We are not opposed to planning and zoning in principle. We are opposed to the present plan. We need some planning to provide for orderly growth, but we must have officials who are responsive to the people of the county. At our township meetings last winter, we were supposed to give input, to make suggestions. The people presently in power were not interested in our suggestions, but merely dictated the terms of the plan. We have tried to make suggestions to the planning and zoning commission to make this plan livable and reasonable. They do not listen.

They leave us no choice. We must terminate this plan in order to implement a more responsible plan. In 1972, Cape County voters answered yes to the question "Should we have planning and zoning?" This passed by only 201 votes, without carrying a single unincorporated precinct. Voters did not understand that they were granting a few people the right to restrict freedom of the majority.

Freedom is not discretionary. It doesn't matter whether you live in the city or the county. Do you want to trust your freedom to officials who do not answer directly to you? Let us remember we do not realize what freedoms we give up until we give people the power to take them away. Protect your freedom. Please vote NO.

Richard Schmidt

Citizens Against Unfair

Planning and Zoning