LETTERS

e county’s proposed zoning changes come after the commissioners voted 2-1 ( omas and Teal yes, Laydon no) to rezone so a 220-unit apartment complex can be built on the northwest corner of Scott Avenue and Parker Road. Over 50 upset homeowners from Stone Creek Ranch and the Pinery, many of them residents for decades, testi ed at the January commissioner hearing to voice their concerns about strained water resources, more tra c, and other problems. e month before, the eight-member Planning Commission had voted unanimously to deny the developer’s rezoning request because this large development didn’t meet some of the rezoning criteria, primarily that it was not compatible with the character of the surrounding neighborhood according to current zoning regulations and the Douglas County Comprehensive Master Plan. Two commissioners ignored the advisory body they had appointed and voted to rezone anyway. Now the proposed zoning criteria changes would essentially allow more apartments to be built by removing the requirement for new development to preserve the character of the existing neighborhood. Zoning is the mechanism that determines the very nature of a community; zoning