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To the editor.
It is a fact that all of us would prefer that things were always simple. It is also a fact that we are more comfortable with things that remain the same. In the case of many of those who ask that Rappahannock’s zoning ordinance of 1973 remain in effect, I believe that these desires for simplicity and for sameness are the motivating factors. However, hardly anything is as simple as we would like, and change to meet changing conditions is both necessary and desirable.
I have worked in the zoning and planning law field almost exclusively for the last four years, and practiced law for eight years before that. There are several conclusions I have come to in that time after much study, observation, and from the best teacher of all, experience.
First: Zoning law is not simple. In fact, it is one of the most complicated of issues that local government must deal wit&JpdaHNRMrtmi isaieecannet.brproperly dealt wtthnnleas standards, rules, and laws which » equately address the problems. Irforder to have the proper laws, which can withstand legal challenges, and which can be definite enough to.prevent arbitrary action, you must get the best expert advice available when drawing your laws. (Richard McNear, a Rappahannock resident and farmer, has been a planner for many years, and is wellrespected throughout the state. He wrote most of Fauquier County’s zoning ordinance as their Planning Director, and Fauquier has never lost a zoning case since he has been there.)
Second: Many zoning ordinances are similar in many respects. This is because most of any zoning ordinance’s bulk deals with administrative practices, definitions, and other general provisions. Since the primary factor in anv ordinance is that it must ho lorallv
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