| Today's Feature First Draft Presented to County Planning
Commission.
The County Planning Commission
got its first look last Saturday at the first
draft of the proposed document scheduled to be
presented to the voters for approval next
November. The study included documentation of the
current population and land use trends in Jasper
County among other historic aspects. The
following is the final two pages of the document
dealing with recommendations for land use. A
meeting is scheduled on April 20 at the Carthage
Jasper County Annex to discuss some minor changes
yet to be agreed upon.
The report concludes:
"Land use is the interaction of land use
types. The location and relationship of one land
use type to another directly affects the land
values, the transportation needs, and the public
services in each community. The authority of the
County to guide its development by employing land
use regulations is granted by Missouri statutes.
Land use regulations, however, may not be
arbitrary. A key element in demonstrating that a
community’s land use regulations are a
rightful exercise of governmental authority is
the process of assessing the current land use,
comparing current land use with community
aspirations in the future, then determining if
zoning or some other form of land use regulations
can assist in moving the community from existing
land use to desired land use. If the answer if
yes, that zoning can be useful, then the
community should enact and enforce land use
regulations. This process is the heart of
comprehensive planning.
The current land use survey,
Map 8-1, was accomplished in March 1999 and was
limited to unincorporated areas of Jasper County.
The survey classifies land in Jasper County into
one of the following categories:
Residential - More than one
housing unit per acre, generally limited to
subdivision developments;
Agriculture - Open space and
land with one housing unit per one or more acres;
and,
Commercial - Land used for
commercial or industrial purposes.
Given the patterns found in the
current land use survey, Map 8-2 presents a
projection of land use patterns in the near
future.
As the data presented in
previous chapters of this report have
demonstrated, Jasper County is growing. It is a
county that will soon have a population in excess
of 100,000 residents. Increased population will
apply pressures to expand residential areas.
Increased economic activity will apply pressures
to expand commercial and industrial areas. Policy
makers will be forced to reconcile growth demands
with legitimate concerns for environmental
quality. Higher density development, especially
in the rural areas, will require close
examination of essential practices that threaten
the natural beauty of the County and possibly the
health of its residents. Land use regulations
offer the County a means of guiding growth. The
conclusion of this report is that zoning is an
appropriate tool for Jasper County. But, the type
of zoning that is established in the County
should reflect commonly held beliefs of the
community. Those beliefs include:
• Effective zoning does
not require a large and complex bureaucracy;
• Zoning must be
straightforward in its aims and understandable in
its implementation;
• Zoning should respect
private property rights; and,
• Zoning should not
involve itself with trivial issues; instead, it
should focus on larger land use and land value
protection questions.
There are specific issues that
should be included in Jasper County’s land
use regulations in order that the voters will
have a clear picture of what zoning would mean to
them. These issues were largely identified during
hearings held by the Jasper County Planning
Commission during most of the 1998 and early
1999.
The County has a
responsibility to adopt and enforce regulations
regarding water wells and septic systems.
Overall, zoning should include protections for
the health and safety of citizens and basic
guidelines for protection of the environment.
Land use regulations should
include specific guidelines for the location and
operation of Confined Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFOs) in order that operators and neighbors
know where each stands.
Some areas of the County are
inappropriate for residential and agricultural
use, i.e., the chat fields. That land should be
zoned as commercial/industrial.
Subdivision regulations
should be adopted by the County to govern issues
of density and infrastructure. The County zoning
law should include a permitting procedure that is
not burdensome to the applicant yet is open and
accessible to potential neighbors of the
applicant. Deliberations by the County Planning
and Zoning Commission should include sufficient
time and appropriate forum for public input.
All land in the
unincorporated areas of the County is
agricultural unless it is currently being used
otherwise. All existing uses are grandfathered.
The County Planning and
Zoning Commission (to be elected later-
editor), as a matter of policy, should
consult with the planning and zoning commission
of any Jasper County municipality when issues of
land use involve property within one mile of a
municipality with zoning regulations in place.
For municipalities without planning and zoning
regulations, the Jasper County Planning and
Zoning Commission should exercise jurisdiction.
Municipalities with planning and zoning in place
which conforms with Missouri law are Joplin,
Carthage, Carl Junction, Webb City, Carterville,
Jasper, and Alba.
Commercial/industrial zoned
property should be buffered from other uses. At
minimum, buffers should be fifty feet. The zoning
law should specify and describe appropriate
buffers. Buffers should not apply to
grandfathered properties. And, buffers are the
responsibility of the commercial/indus trial user
when that user is developing in residential or
agricultural land that has been rezoned.
The zoning law should
specify minimum lot sizes and set-backs:
residential use on individual septic system, .92
acre and set-backs of 10 feet on all sides;
residential use on sewer system, 7,500 square
feet and set-backs of 10 feet on all sides.
Mobile homes should be
treated as stick construction residential units
except that mobile homes should be skirted and
tied down. The zoning law should include
specifications for mobile home parks.
The zoning law should
provide regulation of location of adult oriented
businesses."
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State
Representative, District 126
Thanks to all
of you that voted in Tuesday’s election. No
matter which way or who you voted for, I
sincerely appreciate that you took the time and
effort to help make our electoral system work. To
those of you that did not vote, shame on you.
We had an Easter shortened week
this week in the Missouri House of
Representatives, not coming in until Tuesday. One
of the things I have been wanting to write about
actually took place a couple weeks ago, but with
the ballot issues and all the other things going
on, I haven’t been able to get to it. With
the short week, this is a good time to get to it.
There was an election challenge
this year regarding a state representative race
back in November. Over in Phelps County, it was
discovered that the county clerk, acting on her
own, moved a neighborhood from one House District
to another.
This is not allowed and is a
clear violation of State law. The only way
district boundaries can be changed is by the
redistricting commission, which is appointed by
the Governor, and redraws them every ten years.
The last time it was done was in 1991 and it will
happen again in 2001. The commission that will do
it then will be appointed by whoever wins the
Governor’s race in 2000. If you remember,
back in 1991, my district was changed by removing
most of Vernon County and adding a large portion
of Jasper County. The main stated purpose for
this is to reflect the changes in population and
to make sure every legislator represents
approximately the same number of people.
The race over in Phelps County
was decided by less than 40 votes and there were
over 100 voters affected by the illegal moving of
the lines. It appeared to be quite simple; void
the election and order a new one.
However, the law in Missouri is
clear; the members of the House of
Representatives are the sole judge of election
challenges. There was nothing the losing
candidate could do through the courts.
Since the declared winner was a
democrat and the loser was a republican it was
pretty clear early on what would happen.
Democrats control the Chamber with a five vote
margin and as a result also hold a majority on
each committee. The election challenge was
referred to the Elections Committee. Despite
overwhelming evidence that the boundaries had
been illegally changed and the election was
tainted, probably to the point of changing the
outcome of the election. the Elections Committee
voted along straight party lines to dismiss the
challenge and seat the original declared winner.
Democrats voted to dismiss the challenge and
republicans voted to send it to the full House to
be decided there. It is a real tragedy when an
election is not conducted properly. It is even
worse when the Majority party of a state refuses
to right an obvious wrong and displays such
partisanship in doing so.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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