Chicken Little or Polly Anna, zoning is not going away

Frontiersman editorial board

Attend a public hearing on a hot-button issue such as zoning and you'll hear a blend of pie-in-the-sky and the-sky-is-falling views of the world as it pertains to the issue. Zoning is no different.

At Tuesday's public hearing, Chicken Littles ruled the roost. Zoning was the first step in an all-too-short road to socialism, if you believed some speakers.

And certainly, in our pages, at other meetings and even in information distributed by the Mat-Su Borough, zoning has been portrayed as a simple fix that would keep the "bad guys" out and may even increase property values down the road.

While both higher property values and a socialist regime remain to be seen, it's likely the truth lies somewhere in the middle, obscured by flyers touting one view or another.

That central truth may mean zoning. Maybe this plan or maybe another, but the Valley's growth spurt has made people stop and take notice, and wonder what are the potential consequences of unplanned growth. Is haphazard growth a benefit to businesses? Do residential areas benefit from the unregulated purchase of nearby properties? How could this impact our future, and what will growth without regard to the uses of surrounding properties look like in five, 10, or 20 years?

Opponents of this particular zoning document have said it is too much, too soon, when in reality, it may be too much, too late. The time for implementing a plan such as this is when the area is undeveloped enough that the lots that conform to the plan greatly outnumber the lots that would need grandfather rights. Unfortunately, we Alaskans tend to take a long, slow skeptical look at anything the government proposes, and that has resulted in a reluctance to make a move toward zoning until it was blatantly apparent that it was needed -- and now it's hard to fashion any plan.

Yes, this particular plan has flaws. It does not cater to the uses on every lot in the borough and, indeed, lumps many together that may not belong together. It is a wrinkled cloth and ironing is a thankless duty. But it is a beginning. And because zoning is not an issue that will die away, the best way to make the plan livable is to dig out your iron and help.

Chicken Little and Polly Anna may have carefully fashioned screams or blessings, but they do nothing to address the task at hand. If you don't like the plan, offer workable solutions. If you do like the plan, offer ways to improve it. But because we're all in this together, those who shirk their duties will have a plan they don't like, and they've only got themselves to blame.