Zoning ordinance rewrite catching heat

Rewritten Dothan city zoning ordinances published in its entirety in the Dothan Eagle a week ago have spawned complaints from people who say they did not know a rewrite was under way.

Others have complained to city commissioners that the rules are oppressive and related to United Nations Agenda 21, considered by some to be a socialist view on sustainable development.

District 6 Commissioner Keith Seagle brought up those concerns last week during the city commission meeting.

“The calls and e-mails are from citizens concerned that this is overbearing, big government and it is intrusive upon their lives. There is even some concern it is a reflection of UN Agenda 21, seen as socialist restrictions on use of private land,” Seagle said.

Seagle addressed that last concern head-on. Planning Director Todd McDonald said these rewritten ordinances are in no way related to a 1992 UN action.

Also, an e-mail has circulated telling people the new ordinance means they can’t park a vehicle with a magnet sign advertising their business, in the driveway of their home, which is not accurate.

“Some have said it is so restrictive you have to have permission to change the color of your house, and that is not the case,” Seagle said. “There are people concerned about it being far-reaching and certainly, people don’t like any restrictions. But nobody appreciates building a $300,000 home and have someone put in a pig farm on one side of you and an adult bookstore on the other side of them. We need reasonable rules and regs.“

Another concern was that the information had not been made public. McDonald has since put together a public involvement record detailing meetings of the rewrite committee dating back to 2008.

All of those meetings with a community-based rewrite committee were open to the public.

The document has also been talked about during planning commission and city commission meetings over the last several months. Public hearings, advertised in the Eagle, were held but sparsely attended. Four articles on the rewrite were published in the Eagle  this year.

The entire 130-page document was published as a legal notice on Aug. 15.

The legal notice also drew complaints because the type was small, but the new document and an 18-page summary of the changes are published on the city’s website, at www.dothan.org. There is a link to the documents on the bottom left of the home page.
McDonald sees the new document as a redefined and restructured more user-friendly ordinance. The project has included a total of 512 volunteer man-hours.

Seagle said the city has made many efforts to involve the public. “The message I would like to give out is this is not an ‘us versus them’ situation,” Seagle said. “This is all of us as a community coming together to decide what the standards will be. And it was not written in isolation but by a committee of volunteers — average citizens who came together.”

Phase II of the zoning rewrite has already begun. It involves the revision of parking standards, the sign ordinance and a buffer clause, which is being incorporated into the tree preservation ordinance. The group is meeting at 7 a.m. Tuesday in the Civic Center to begin sign discussions.

Another public hearing on the document is set for Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. during the next city commission meeting.