Your neighbors paid for their land, too

Frontiersman editorial board

Tonight may be the night things finally change in the Valley. Or it might be the night things finally stay the same … or it may just be another night.

The assembly is expected to make some kind of decision about conditional use permits -- or CUPs -- in the Mat-Su. For now, CUPs will be as close as we're likely to get to anything like zoning, and even this has been a heated topic. The mantra for many anti-zoning people has been "Planning, yes. Zoning, no." The idea being that you can control the problems that come with growth with covenants and, perhaps, CUPs. Often, Houston -- the one in Texas -- is used as a positive example.

Indeed, Houston has no zoning, and it is considered a well-run city by many people who make a habit of thinking about such things. It must also be said that Houston employs an alarming number of attorneys, and those attorneys are usually busy settling grievances pertaining to land use.

The Mat-Su is the fastest-growing area in the state. Zoning or not, we certainly need planning. The question is, how do we plan without some kind of framework -- some kind of criteria -- to keep it consistent and effective?

It seems many of the opponents of zoning are falling back on that old American standard -- self-determination, or rugged individualism, take your pick. "It's my land, and I'll do what I want with it." They conveniently leave out the rest of that sentence, however. "It's my land, and I'll do what I want with it, even it it messes up your plans to do what you want with your land."

That is the caveat that makes the American celebration of self-determination work. The idea is that I can put my feet anywhere I want as long as I don't step on your toes to do it. Yes, you paid for the land. But your neighbors paid for their land, too. Some people move out here to take advantage of the growth in the area. Good, we need people like that. Some people move here to escape the noise, smells and crush of the city. We need them, too. It is possible to encourage one without penalizing the other. Sure, we'd like to live in a world with little or no rules. We'd also like to live on our own land without the smell of cooking asphalt invading our cookouts. It's time to step up to the plate and adopt some kind of growth guidelines before our community outgrows its appeal.