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Show Demands Reply The Iron County Commission held a public hearing Saturday evening in the City and County Building in Cedar Ce-dar City on an issue of a proposed change in the zoning adjacent to the highway north from Cedar City. ' Ivan Matheson, member of the county commission and representative to the Planning and Zoning Commis sion, opened the session with a series of statements rela tive to this paper's reporting of the event in the February '21 issue. Matheson read a portion of the story in text then made several statements relative to the paper and knowledge knowl-edge of the issue which we feel justifies a reply. The chairman indicated that the person who wrote the article had not bothered to check with the count rommissioners before preparing the story. For your information, Mr. Matheson, up to the point of the public hearing Saturday evening, the proposed change in the zoning question was never before the commission com-mission body but was rather handled through the plan ning and zoning committee with a final recommendatior to the commission. It is a fact, that the author of the storj has met- with the county planning and zoning commission com-mission on several occasions and has had frequent dis cussions on the problems of the organization, including the one up for discussion last Saturday. Minutes of the meeting were also used as the basis for the report. The Iron County Commission had published a lega' notice indicating the time and place and specifications oi the public hearing in this paper. With this background in formation on the case in point and planning and zoning in general, what obligation did the author have to contact con-tact you, Mr. Matheson. The chairman of the planning and zoning commission commis-sion following the public hearing indicated that he felt the article in question was not out of order or that it misrepresented mis-represented the facts of the proposal. The commission also pointed out that an illustration used in connection with the article had been used on several sev-eral occasions and did not represent the commission or state as far as policy is concerned. The illustration was, we should point out, used at a meeting on the state level concerning the very issue in question and which, in fact, Cedar City was used as the example situation. These remarks resulted in a move to have Mr. Matheson Mathe-son removed as chairman of the hearing owing to apparent appar-ent bias. The hearing then resulted somewhat similarly to a 'previous hearing on an issue of zoning along the access roads to Cedar City in AvMch many people spoke, butj 'tew to the issue. As a matter of fact personalities became: more of an issue in the hearing than the issue itself. I Few people spoke either in favor or or against the proposal for which the hearing had been called. Most -statements were statements either for or against zoning in general and did not pertain specifically to the issue. It was also unfortunate that none of the testimony at the hearing represented any organized group, but was rather confined exclusively to personal opjnions. in a letter to the editor in this paper rebruary 2(, the Retail Merchants of the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce Com-merce expressed a belief that a change in the area in question ques-tion would be against the best interests of Cedar City. However, at the hearing Saturday night no statement representing this group, was presented to the commission for consideration. Some concern was expressed specifically against zoning entirely, but again no organization was shown and it was again simply statements of individual opinions. The problems of zoning, which we believe to be imperative im-perative to the future growth of the entire county, need to be heard. Certainly a program such as this can not and should not be shoved down the throats of the citizens. Regardless of the outcome there needs to be a compromise com-promise of ideas, for under present circumstances it appears ap-pears that Iron County is due for further splits that will be detrimental to its growth. Full development of our resources and promotion of the area as a tourist mecca, as suggested by Mr. Matheson, Mathe-son, is necessary for use to reach a full potential. We hope that some way, somehow, the unity that is needed can be brought about so that all may reap the benefits ben-efits of a unified effort throughout the county. Each of us in the county is interdependent on each other for a realization of this and a concicntious effort to work together must be developed. To this end we are dedicated. |