Walker County Property Owners
	Walker County Ballot Measure Would Create Parkway Zoning Authority Along I-22 Since Alabama local governments can't do much without authorization from the legislature or even a change in the state constitution, Walker County officials and lawmakers hope area voters will pass a November ballot measure on a constitutional amendment that would let them create a Corridor X Parkway Authority with power to zone along the county's 40-mile stretch of the new $650-million Interstate 22, long-slated to run from Memphis, Tennessee, southeast to Birmingham, Alabama. The authority's zoning power, reports Birmingham News writer Kent Faulk, would be limited to land within a mile of the interstate's interchanges and a half-mile of the state right of way, covering land use, building design, landscaping and signs. ''You've got one shot to develop the property along the corridor correctly, and if it's not done now, it may never happen,'' says Walker County Economic and Industrial Development Authority executive director David Knight. With construction already under way across Marion County and on the western edge of Walker County, the newly formed Walker County Property Owners Political Action Committee (PAC) is fighting the ballot through posters, newspaper ads and its website. PAC co-founder James Blackstone thinks the authority would become an unelected government, which could try to extend its zoning power countywide, usurp condemnation rights, and hinder rather than promote corridor growth. Bill co-sponsors, state Democratic Representatives Tommy Sherer and Ken Guin, reply that the interstate opens unique economic prospects and the authority would ensure the corridor remains attractive. They urge voters to read the bill and the ballot before going to the polls. -- Birmingham News 10/19/2004 Resource(s): www.al.com/birminghamnews/ http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/bydate.asp?res=1024
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