Opinion letter to the Honorable Charles S. Broomfield

hrJSWER BY LETI'ER: ASHBY January 12_, 1970 F J L E 0 c:?J Honorable Charles S. Broomfield State Representative District 87 4801 North Lister Kansas City, Missouri 64119 Dear Representative Broomfield: OPINION LE'rrER NO • 21 This letter was prepared to answer your question whether a city ordinance of North Kansas City 1s valid when such ordi- nance requires t hat the members of a planning and zoning com- mission be freeholders. Section 71.150 of t he Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1959, reads, in pertinent parts , as follows: " Prope~ty qualifications for officers pro- hibited. --No propert y qualification shall be required of any person to render him eligible t o any office in any city or in- corporated town. ' The ordinance of North Kansas City reads as follows : "Sec. 2-51. The planning and zoning commis- sion shall consist of stx members, five of whom shall be freeholders. The membership or t he first commission appointed shall serve respectively, one for one year, one for two years, one for three years, one tor four years, and one for five years. Thereafter members shall be appointed for terms of five Honorable Charles s. Broomfield years each. The mayor of the city shall be an ex officio member of the planning and zoning commission. (Orcl. No. 2509, § 4.) " In t he ease of FOre v. Hoke, 48 Mo .App. 254, it was held that the word "freeholder" means t he owner of an estate in fee in land. Section 89.070, RS~~ 1959, reads as follows: "Zoning commission--aphintment--duties.-- In order to avail itse r of t he powers con- ferred by sections 89.010 to 89.140, such legislative body shall appoint a commission, to be known as 'The Zoning Commission', t o recommend the boundaries of the various original district& and appropriate regula- tions to be enforced therein. Such commis- sion shall make a preliminary report and hold public hearings thereon before sub- mitting its final report and such legisla- tive body shall not hold its public hearings or take action until it has received the final report of such co~ssion. Where a city plan commission already exists, it may be appointed as the zoning commission. • Section 71.150, eupra, is a st atute of general application governing the "qual.ifications * * * of any person to render him eligible to any office 1n any city or incorporated town. " It would apply to members of the 'planning and z.c.:ir.g commission 11 appointed under Section 89.070, supra. Thus, the requirement ot t he city's Section 2-51. supra, requiring its members be freeholders would run contrary to and be in violation of the provisions of Section 71.150, supra. We conclude t hat Section 2-51 of the ordinance requiring the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission to be free- holders is in violation of Section 71.150, RSMo 1959, tbr t he reasons stated above and illegal. Very truly yours, JOHN e. DANFORTH Attorney General -2-