Contributed by Councilman Wade Hill 

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — The Fort Payne City Council will have its regular meeting January 17th at 6:00 pm to allow for public comment on a comprehensive slope/land use ordinance. This meeting is to allow all parties to have the opportunity to express their concerns for the future of our city.

This meeting will allow the council to take all concerns and weigh them out prior to passing an ordinance that will have long-lasting effects on our community. This proposed ordinance will address the development of Fort Payne in areas on the side of Lookout Mountain and extreme slope areas.

Our major concern is the clear cutting of timber on areas of the mountain that could leave devastating results for generations to come. Erosion, land disruption, and the appearance of this type of activity leaves are all concerns that we feel must be addressed.

It is our desire to have a comprehensive ordinance that will allow property owners to use their property but also prevent activities that will have a detrimental effect to the adjoining property owners or have a negative impact on the natural beauty of our city.

While this ordinance is being drafted there is a moratorium in place preventing the cutting of all timber on the side of Lookout Mountain from the bottom foot area to the brow. The proposed ordinance will address several issues relating to development, the type of operations allowed to remove any timber on the side of the mountain, and future use of this area.

All the information we can acquire at this point will be used to formulate this ordinance and adopt a document that will be in the best interest of our citizens and property owners for future years. This task is not taken lightly and we desire to have a finished product in place soon to allow for the proper use of this beautiful asset to our community.

Once it is adopted, this ordinance will have enforcement features in place that will ensure compliance. These features must be included to give the ordinance enforceable components which keep negative activities from occurring.

All public comment is encouraged at this time so we can make informed decisions soon. This matter is important to our community because it has repercussions that last for generations.

We look forward to this meeting as we continue to address the issues of our community in a public and transparent manner. We realize this is a controversial subject but it must be addressed. Doing it the proper way with all concerns noted will allow us the ability to hopefully pass a document that will be good for our community and still allow the proper development of property in our great city while preserving its natural beauty.