Commissioners Deny Rezoning Requests

by Curly Morris - February 5th, 2007 - Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald

GATESVILLE - Gates County Commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday against approving zoning requests made by 81 citizens who had sought to have their lots designated as Residential Mobile Home subdivisions (RMH-1).

The vote came after Gates County Planning Director Randall Cahoon informed the board of a ruling made Friday by the North Carolina Institute of Government on the recent rezoning request.

"For this board to consider each request as individual reclassifications would be illegal," Cahoon said. "The board would have to prove a reasonable basis for each request, or else it amounts to what is known as spot zoning."

This is the problem with zoning in America. There is clearly a market for these mobile homes, or there would not be so many people who wanted to rezone their land to provide them. However equal protection under the law says that trying to control rezoning is in fact taking the value of the land. What is hard to determine is whether the value for society as a whole is improved or impeded by a selective approval process that allows some to provide the homes, but not others.

Who gets to decide? Was a blanket denial the best solution for Gates County? Is there a need for the low cost housing that is provided by these mobile homes? Are neighbors inconvenienced that much by allowing others to provide a home that for many is better than they currently have?

Like most zoning, it all depends on what serves your personal interests, doesn't it?