Camden County citizens fed up with what they believe are unfair, expensive and excessive Planning and Zoning regulations have circulated a petition that seeks to put a question on the ballot asking voters to do away with P&Z in the county. The petition has 300 signatures, but its author has taken a break from actively promoting it, while the county works to reform its current Unified Land Use Code, which governs P&Z actions.
The exact question the petition proposes to place on the ballot is: Shall Camden County’s Lake of the Ozarks District planning and zoning be terminated?
P&Z in Camden County was voted on and approved in 1995. According to Missouri County Association Communications Specialist David Owen, the specific laws that determine how P&Z is repealed depends on which statutes the county adopted P&Z under, and that is determined by what class they were at the time of the adoption. In 1995, Camden County was a second-class county. Camden County Clerk Rowland Todd reported that P&Z was formed under statute 64. The first P&Z commission meeting was held in 1996.
Is this legal?
Missouri Statute 64.212.12 deals with the process for the termination of P&Z. In order for the county commission to consider placing the question on the ballot, 5 percent of the registered voters that voted in the 2016 governor’s race would have to sign the petition. According to Camden County Clerk Rowland Todd 22,449 registered voters voted in the 2016 election, therefore 1,122 signatures would be required. “But, they would need more than 1,122 because the signatures must be verified by our office, and some of the signers may be found to not be registered to vote in Camden County,” Todd said. He reports that there were approximately 30,000 registered voters in the November 2018 elections.
If at least 1,122 Camden County registered voters were to sign the petition, then the petition could be brought before the Camden County Commission to request placement on the ballot. An application for the question to be placed on the ballot must be submitted by the required state deadline, though the 2019 election calendar has not yet been released by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. Todd did not know the deadline at the time of this writing, but the Secretary of State’s office said they would announce the date within a week.
If the commission places the question on the ballot (at a cost of approximately $15,000) and if the majority of Camden County citizens vote to approve the question, then P&Z would cease to exist. The county commission would then have all authority, with no recommendations from a P&Z commission, over all things relating to county buildings and property.
Todd also said he believes that only those that live in the P&Z district would be able to vote for the termination of P&Z, but he is not 100 percent certain. In 1997, voters approved the P&Z district boundaries extending not more than 1/4-mile in certain areas, to not more than 3.5 miles in other areas, of the 645 ft. mark of the Lake of the Ozarks, measured from the means sea level.
Dan Barber initiated the petition after he became fed up with the cumbersome regulations he encountered while trying to build a storage shed on his 42-acre Agriculturally zoned property. “They required me to have a 911 address before I could get a permit,” Barber said. “In order to get a 911 address, I would have to spend $10,000 to pour concrete or the building would not meet P&Z criteria. I just wanted a place to put my tools and lawn-mower so they didn’t get stolen. The regulations make no sense.”
Barber has suspended efforts to obtain signatures until he sees the final revisions to the Camden County Unified Land Use Code. However, those interested in signing the petition may still do so at Skelton’s Key and Lock, located at 6196 Osage Beach Parkway Osage Beach, Mo. 65065
In defense of P&Z, Camden County Presiding Commissioner Greg Hasty said, "P&Z is important because the Lake of the Ozarks is growing. I’d hate to see us move backwards. We have a rapidly expanding economy that is becoming more urban, and just like anywhere else where there is a lot of growth, we have to grow beyond the place of wild west development. We have municipalities in the county that are spending a lot of money on infrastructure that have long term plans and that need an organized functional city, and our district surrounds every one of those municipalities. We have an obligation to protect their interests. It would not be in the best interest of our citizens to go backwards. We need a universal land use code that allows us to address the problems in our community."
In a not-so-veiled reference to a recent case in which the county told a paving company it could not expand its quarry further toward a cove lined with Lakefront homes, Hasty added, "Without P&Z we would have a rock quarry moving into a residential community."
Homeowners hugged and applauded after the Camden County Commission on Thursday, Feb. 22 rule…
Camden County is in the process of holding public hearings to gain citizen input on proposed changes to the Universal Land Use Code. “We want to be sure the final code reflects what the public wants,” Hasty added. The county has been working on the revisions for about two years. A proposed revised code was prepared by the county P&Z attorney and administrator, and it contains many changes ranging from administration to enforcement.
The next public hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at the Camden County Courthouse.
Following the public hearings, the county commission will appoint an advisory committee to the commission to make sure the rules of P&Z are practical and logical for the Lake. The new ULC will only be adopted by the commission after revisions by the P&Z commission and county legal, and a review by the advisory committee.
“We are looking for a fair and even-balanced playing field,” Barber said. “The restrictive laws and process are having a negative effect on new business and people moving into Camden County. People want a more positive and easier process. [P&Z has] muddied the waters so much, it is near impossible to follow the rules and build a house and not have it cost you $5,000 to $10,000 more than it should for fees and permits.”
“I agree we need to make changes to the code that will better fit our unique community,” Hasty said. “We need affordable housing and we need to reduce the cost of construction, so developers can make a profit.”
Citizens and business owners first began to speak in opposition to P&Z amid heated discussions about businesses encroaching into residential neighborhoods and the attempt to expand the P&Z district while Kris Franken was presiding commissioner.
Business owner Ike Skelton has long been outspoken in his views on P&Z. “I don’t like regulations,” Skelton said. “They were arbitrarily trying to expand the district. Once they get a little, they want to regulate more and more. Most subdivisions have a home owners association that has some sort of rules on what you can and cannot do. We do need to be sure sewers are done right, but I’d rather have a watch dog than a regulator.”
Several citizens at the last code revision public hearing voiced concerns that doing away with P&Z would open up a Pandora’s box of trouble, such as high traffic bars moving in next to lakefront residences and strip clubs next to schools.
“Freedom and liberty can be scary, and that is the price you pay,” Skelton responded. “I’d rather live in that slightly scary atmosphere, than be under someone’s thumb telling me what I can and cannot do on my own property.”
Currently, the P&Z commission is made up of citizen representatives from each of the townships in the county and the Camden County Road and Bridge department. Once the P&Z commission makes a recommendation on a case, the county commission has the final say on the decision. “We are very reluctant to overturn a ruling of the P&Z commission,” Hasty said. “We rarely do it, and only for extraordinary circumstances, such as a risk to public safety.”
