<< Back 12/4/02 Jackson needs to get on with its land-use planning SMN When the incoming Jackson County Board Chairman Stacy Buchanan convinced the board to agree to a delay in naming a Smart Growth Committee, the reasoning seemed sound enough. But Buchanan and others might excuse us if we’re beginning to become a little worried about Jackson County’s commitment to long-term land-use planning. The fact is the county needs to take several steps to address this issue, steps that so far have not been taken. Buchanan said the new Jackson County board needed to meet and outline what avenue it is going to take on land-use planning and smart growth. Then, it can appoint a committee and give it specific instructions, said Buchanan. The residents of Jackson County can only hope that this committee will be named soon and that it will have the opportunity to do the job that citizens want. During more than a year of smart growth meetings at more than two dozen locations throughout Jackson, hundreds of citizens expressed an interest in enacting measures that will preserve the county’s rural nature, offer protection for the county’s valuable waterways, and provide direction for the fast growth that is even now occurring. Citizens showed up at these meetings and voiced their opinions. As of yet, though, the process has yielded few results. The broad goals adopted by commissioners in July are merely a starting point for what needs to be a more comprehensive plan. We have a good recent example of the shortcomings in some of the ordinances currently on the books in Jackson County. The sediment ordinance is flawed, as evidenced by the fact that the chairman of the county planning board violated it but was not even fined. And since he remains as chairman of the county planning board, the entire county is losing its credibility as a place where such ordinances are taken seriously. There is also the long overdue hiring of an experienced, professional planner. Jackson officials said in July the money was in the budget to hire a planner, but as of yet it hasn’t happened. Having an on-staff professional will give commissioners a valuable resource as they try to resolve these and other difficult issues. What Jackson County has now after a year of work is four broad outlines and strategies for implementing them. It also has a new board that should set the record straight right from the beginning — it will tackle these important issues and set Jackson County on a course to deal effectively with coming growth. A new planner and a working Smart Growth Committee are important steps in this important process.