I was browsing newly-filed bills by area legislators and saw an interesting one sponsored, undoubtedly at the request of the City, by our local State Representative, David Pearce. According to the official bill summary for HB215, "This bill permits the City of Warrensburg to annex areas along a road or highway up to two and one-half miles from the existing city boundaries."

I think the reason Warrensburg wants this is to control some of the development out to Max B. Swisher (Skyhaven) Airport – once they've annexed the right-of-way contiguous to the airport, they can annex the airport. However, there are other potential consequences.

One of these is speed traps. A quick look at a county map tells me that Warrensburg would be able to ticket people on US-50 from Skyhaven to the first curve at Montserrat, on MO-13 from OO/V in the north almost to Y in the south, on DD past Hickory Hills. Do we have another Lone Jack in the making?

Those of us who defeated zoning in 1997 recognize another possible consequence should zoning ever be voted in; another part of state law gives cities a say in county zoning decisions up to two miles from their city limits. Think about that.

I read somewhere, possibly in conjunction with an article about tax breaks for a developer, that growth is Warrensburg's objective. Rapid growth is certainly good for developers, speculators, financiers and commercial chains; I'm not sure that it’s good for those who have enjoyed Warrensburg as it has been.