CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Camden County Presiding Commissioner Greg Hasty has been in office since January. Since then, he has had an "inside look" at the needs of the county, and he is pushing forward actions he believes will create a vibrant, stable economy as well as an exceptional quality of life at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Unified land use codes
One significant change the county is endeavoring to make since Hasty came into office is the revision of the Camden County Planning and Zoning District Unified Land Use Code. “There have been many controversies because of this code,” Hasty said. “There are real problems that need to be addressed.” The code changes were also recommended unanimously by Camden County Commissioners Bev Thomas and Cliff Luber, as well as Camden County P&Z Administrator Kim Willey.
A series of public hearings have recently concluded, during which the county heard from residents about what changes they would like to see.
“We need to plan for a future growth in our area that is going to be big. We also need to make Camden County a great place to live and do business,” Hasty said.
Master plan
Hasty believes there are issues with the county Master Plan as well. “The future use map shows most of our available highway frontage as being a suburban community, and not business. In my mind that is ludicrous, and not in the best interest of the county,” Hasty said.
The process to make changes to the master plan will begin after the land use code revisions are underway. First there will be public hearings and review of the items. Hasty says there shouldn’t be too many changes to the master plan, other than an expectation that highway frontage will be commercial in nature.
“It takes commercial growth to generate enough sales tax dollars to allow for the expansion of infrastructure such as sewer, water and roads into residential communities,” Hasty explained.
Hasty’s plan is to create a thriving environment for commercial growth in order to build a large enough tax base to fund the necessary infrastructure. Infrastructure will in turn, create more business. “Look at Osage Beach, they are a model of what we need to do lake-wide,” Hasty said. “The expansion of the central water and sewer in the 1980’s created the necessary infrastructure needed to allow all of the commercial development we see today.”
Hasty also believes the Four Seasons and Horseshoe Bend area will need central sewer and water as well, and in order to build and keep the cost down, commercial development is needed. “These sewer lines will also protect the lake water quality. If we can get those things taking place we will be well on our way,” Hasty added.
Hasty says he wants people to look at the bigger picture: "Frankly having the cities in our community working together and looking at our entire lake as one community, with common interests will benefit everyone. The Lake of the Ozarks has so much available in terms of quality of life, if we can link that to some good job growth and high paying jobs where young people can locate here, we can eliminate a lot of the issues we have had in the past."
Transportation
Hasty also believes there is huge untapped potential in southeast Camden County. “We have railroads there with immediate access to Interstate 44,” he pointed out. “If we start looking on a broader scale, we will see that the southeast area of Camden County is a big key to the future growth of our entire area. We can create high quality jobs. Take a look at Lebanon, look at their growth and their manufacturing and the wide cross section of industry they have.”
Hasty believes that keys to economic stability include expanding the Camdenton airport to 5,000 feet to welcome commuter jet landings, infrastructure, Lake of the Ozarks tourism, Richland and Stoutland railroad links, I-44, Osage Beach shopping, and a future massive convention center.
“I have lived here all my life, and this is why I ran for office. I have been thinking about these things for a long time,” Hasty said.
