The Citizen reported on Congressman Westmoreland’s support of legislation that would allow landowners to bypass city and county zoning laws and file suit in federal court to appeal local ordinances regarding land use.

This in its simplest terms sounds like a real neat exercise of personal freedom, and that is how Mr. Westmoreland would like it to sound.

In reality, however, it flies in the face of all the hard work each city, county and state works to create the zoning laws that are put in place to see that we keep our communities under control and under a master plan that keeps over-development in check and guarantees a semblance of beauty and order as we develop.

It is hypocrisy for Mr. Westmoreland, who claims to be a conservative, to run to the federal judicial system to subvert whatever local controls we citizens put in place for our local communities.

Why does Mr. Westmoreland on one hand tell the federal EPA to stay clear of oversight on chemical spills and pollution adversely affecting our citizens, and on the other hand wants the federal judiciary to rule on the development of local land?

The reason is simple. Mr. Westmoreland, a land developer and the recipient of a huge cash flow of campaign contributions from land development PACs, knows that the only way to have landowners like Group VI and other big-box developers (not local homeowners) get their way is to tie up local cities like Peachtree City, Tyrone, Fayetteville and all others in the federal courts in expensive litigation.

If a large developer does not like the zoning ordinance that limits new construction to one home per two acres, and wants to build on the order of two homes per acre, the developer just ignores any zoning waiver or appeal to the local city, and goes directly to the federal court.

The litigation waged by the big-pocket developers will break the budget of any fiscally responsible city, and the big developer will win by default every time.

The PAC money and individual contributions by corporate land developers and big insurance companies (who invest in real estate) pour into the campaign coffers of our elected officials. It is obscene and not fair.

We need to preserve the integrity and lawful institutions of our city, county, and state ordinances which govern the development of our local communities. We cannot and should not allow big money and the deep pockets of land development to run roughshod over the local land use ordinances and never should we allow big-money campaign contributors to bully us to submission in expensive federal court litigation.

Juan Matute
Peachtree City, Ga.

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