Editorial:

"Zoning is very important.  It gives people some sense of what the future will hold for their property and how the community will develop over the years.  It allows them to make plans for their property with some sense of certainty about how the property around them will develop.  They know, for example, that because of zoning, they don't need to worry about whether an oil refinery will be built in their back yard.  Zoning prohibits that sort of thing.  But when someone ignores zoning rules and a community takes no action, property values throughout the community are placed in jeopardy.  Uncertainty breeds doubt.  Doubt breeds skepticism and mistrust.  All of that creates an atmosphere in which property values can suffer."

CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, April 9 - April 15, 1999