Letter: Candidate tells how zoning can help Boone County

As well intentioned as he may be, the editorial writer for the Columbia Tribune does not know the difference of up from down when it comes to zoning and re-zoning requests. A property is up-zoned when the density of the property is allowed to increase. It is down-zoned when the density of the property is decreased. When he talks of an increase in density as a down-zoning, he is creating his own definition.

I was trying to show in my editorial piece, "Where have all the Farms Gone?" published in the Missourian and the Columbia Business Times that by providing an incentive to landowners and developers to allow for a greater overall density on say a third or less of the property, a greater return to both the original property owner and the developer could be achieved, thus retaining open spaces and the rural quality of Boone County.

Karen Miller makes the mistake of thinking open space will be preserved by keeping the 2.5 acre density when all that will do is carpet the county with McMansions. We need new plans such as described in the now classic volume "Rural by Design" by Randall Arendt to prevent urban sprawl. Miller has no plan to preserve the rural quality of Boone County.