Elbert County will soon be a county without a plan.
What happens when a county or business doesn't have a plan? Out
of control spending, or pet-projects, then bankruptcy or state
takeover, or higher taxes and more government to administer the
problems.
Usually a county or business has a growth plan for its future,
how and where to most efficiently grow, so both residents and
developers know how and where to focus their activity and how tax
money will be spent.
That used to be what our three most important documents
provided, the Master Plan (“the people's document”), the Zoning and
Subdivision regulation comprised a “plan” for the kinds of
development, and where in our county.
But the new versions our authored by our planning department,
and soon to be voted into rule by our Planning Commission and BOCC
have removed that predictability, by stripping-out the Future Land
use Map and “adjacency rule,” both of which which were intended to
preserve farm land and limit urban sprawl.
And yet, no fiscal impact study was commissioned prior to voting
on these changes. Our Planning Department changed its name to
“Community and Development Services”.
Together with interests some Planning Commission members have in
these changes, it's obvious developers are railroading planning.
And supporters of this change have some nearly-believable arguments
against planned growth and claim they have the backing of
fundamental Republican or Conservative ideas – but in reality this
lack of planning counters spending and taxation and size of
government concerns, tax-subsidized commercial growth, and effects
on and farming/ranching.
Don't let special interests railroad our county with super-slab
scale ideas. We can grow with planning, and keeping a balanced
budget. Planning is not counter to growth as some would have you
believe. Go to www.elbertnow.org to learn more
about this topic and how you can get involved, starting at the 7PM
Planning Commission meeting this Thursday Aug 27 in the Kiowa
Courthouse.
Ken Johanson
Elbert County
