SUMMERDALE — Knowledge is power — especially when it involves voting on important issues such as the Planning District 14 Zoning Referendum.

That was the gist of a zoning education meeting that took place March 10 at Mount Gilead Church in Summerdale.

The proposed referendum would mean zoning District 14, which contains a small portion of the city of Fairhope, Silverhill and a vast majority of Marlow and Summerdale on either side of Fish River.

These areas are all currently without any zoning ordinances, but under the referendum — which is part of Baldwin County’s comprehensive plan called Horizon 2025 — the areas would become zoned and any development would be subject to a review by Baldwin County’s planning and zoning department.

Voting will take place April 13, and in the meantime, residents of the affected areas are meeting to get more information on how zoning would affect their property.

“It is not the purpose of this meeting to advise anyone how to vote on April 13,” said Arlene DiPietro, one of the meeting’s organizers and a resident of District 14. “We are here to share information. When you cast your ballot, every vote that is cast will impact each and every one of us.”

Four speakers gave presentations, all of whom are residents of Baldwin County. The information presented was collected from previous County Commission meetings, the proposed referendum and Horizon 2025, in addition to other materials released by various departments of Baldwin County, DiPietro said.

Leonard Smart, who lives in District 14 on the Fish River, told about some of the environmental implications of the zoning referendum.

Smart said an area running mostly along the east side of the Fish River, according to the referendum, will be zoned for protection of wildlife or migratory animals.

“There are going to be serious effects if this zoning comes into play,” he said.

If a resident currently has a home or building on a piece of property that would fall into this zoning area, they would be grandfathered in under the ordinance. However, if 50 percent or more damage occurs to the building, whether by fire or a natural disaster, Smart warned that it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to rebuild what had been damaged under the new zoning laws.

“If you have less than 50 percent damage, you have one year to build back by their standards,” he said. “(It) will be taken over ultimately by the government.

“These rules and regulations that they’re trying to impose on us right now are very restrictive to anything you might want to do in the future.”

Willie Williams lives in District 17, and he spoke to the crowd about the trials he’s gone through in observing the county’s attempt to zone his district, and why he is against zoning.

He shared one case of a church in the zoned area of District 15 that tried to make an addition to the church. It sat on property that had been zoned as R-1, or residential.

In order to build the addition, the church proprietors had to petition the planning and zoning department to either apply for rezoning for $500 or be granted conditional use for $250, all at the church’s cost.

Williams also brought up the issue of a nonconforming structure that is more than 50 percent damaged, and how it would be difficult to rebuild in a new zoning district.

“Some of these zoning regulations basically would wipe people out,” he said.

When the zoning referendum for District 17 came to vote, Williams said the voters knocked it down with an overwhelming 89 percent voting against the referendum.

“They say they’re here to protect your property value,” Williams said, in reference to zoning being viewed as controlled growth by the government. “That’s basically having your property devalued, because you can’t do what you want to do with your property.”

District 14 resident Steve Manhard, however, was one of the few who spoke for zoning, saying that his farmland property is being surrounded by three subdivisions that will house a proposed 2,000 people. He also said two dirt pits have been placed near his property.

“I am for zoning adamantly,” he said. “You are getting a one-sided presentation on zoning. There should be three legs that happen in any zoning discussion — a planning and zoning representative, people who talk against zoning and people, like myself, to explain to you in detail why we’re for zoning.”

He said he feels zoning is the best way to protect property value.

“There’s got to be a balance somewhere between my individual property rights as a landowner and homeowner and how far I can go in terms of affecting my neighbor with my property. There has to be a balance and that balance is zoning.”

Joe Godwin, who served on the planning and zoning commission for 12 years, told those in attendance to learn as much about this issue as possible before voting.

“People need to be well-informed. You need to look at this thing very deeply because you just don’t understand how this is going to effect your property,” he said.

Godwin warned that if someone already has a grievance against something his or her neighbor is doing, don’t vote for zoning thinking that it will solve any current situation.

“If you think that zoning is going to keep Joe from keeping a chicken in his yard that he already has, he’s going to be grandfathered. So you’re not going to run me and my mule off because I already have it,” he said metaphorically.

“Utopia is having control over your own property,” Godwin concluded.

DiPietro urged District 14 residents to thoroughly research the matter by viewing maps, the zoning referendum and the Horizon 2025 plan before casting their votes on April 13.

All those items can be obtained online at www.co.baldwin.al.us by following the Planning and Zoning Department link.

If the referendum passes, a five-member advisory board will be appointed to zone District 14.

The poll at the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, 13355 County Road 32 will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the District 14 Zoning referendum on April 13. For absentee voting information, contact Circuit Clerk Jody Wise Campbell at one of the county Courthouse locations or online at clerk.baldwin@alacourt.gov.