For decades, Trigg County’s apparent lack of zoning control and code enforcement inside and outside of Cadiz has been both lauded and lambasted by locals — some appreciative of negligible government overreach, others wishing for better property protections, more secure investments and a cleaner community.
This conversation continued late Tuesday night, when resident Jason Ward brought his concerns to the Cadiz-Trigg County Planning Commission.
A retired civil engineer with both the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the U.S. Navy Reserves Civil Engineer Corps, he and his family reside in Cumberland Shores near Lock E Road and US 68/80.
At the top of his issues list: his own subdivision of Cumberland Shores.
A development now more than 40 years old, Ward asked for assistance in dealing with his neighbors — who seemingly “lack pride” in their properties, some of which have stacked tires, or “look abandoned.”
In reviewing this area’s covenants and restrictions, Commissioner Chapell Wilson found the answer.
Ward was first prompted to speak after discussions began on Trigg County’s acceptance of medical marijuana cultivation and distribution, in which he asked the planning commission to “be proactive” about future businesses and homes.
Ward suggested that at the very least, improved permitting procedures could go a long way in the county — allowing for agricultural, industrial, recreational and residential proprietors to begin creating better boundaries in which to live.
Commissioner Ken Culwell, however, reflected on the state of Trigg County in 2015 — when Planning & Zoning offered guidance on a critical issue around poultry farms, only to get completely rebuffed at the goal-line.
Mike Heffington, acting Planning & Zoning chairman, also noted that the body doesn’t have the authority to change zoning ordinances at the city and county levels — and can only advise owners and accept plats based on current local law.
Culwell, meanwhile, reinforced this understanding.
Todd Wallace, former Planning & Zoning chairman, affirmed that the community’s biggest difficulty in any litigious matter is that there is no zoning in the county “at all.”
Two specific locations that were referenced as problems in Tuesday’s conversation: the state of disrepair at King’s Auto Sales and the Gateway Shopping Center, across from the Cadiz Fire Department, and the rotting mess on top of Rainbow Hill, near Hamtown and the Subway.
