In the 1960s, civic groups interested in orderly growth pressed for establishment of the Gloucester Planning Commission. The board of supervisors followed through, naming in September of 1964 a who’s who of upstanding citizens: Robert Hutcheson, G. Nelson Carter, Mrs. F J. Mellar, Mrs. James Thrift, William M. James, John Ward Jr., Robert W. Jordan and George Catlett. They first met in February 1965.

At the same time, seven stalwart men of Mathews County took the oath to serve: R. Otis Foster, E.L. Soles Sr., Herbert Taylor, W.I. Hudgins, L.L. Smith, Russell E. Armistead and Allen Moughon.

Since those early years, the commissions have grappled with subdivision ordinances, especially such important regulations as lot size and road requirements; comprehensive plans, which came into being in the mid-1970s; and many other topics dealing with land use.

Acting at the direction of county supervisors, planners in both communities spent years to develop zoning ordinances to meet the particular needs of their communities. These discussions went on and on, finally congealing into law in the 1980s.

Today, planning gets a dirty name among some citizens who suspect an infringement upon their property rights. We don’t agree. We believe their work helps to preserve property rights (especially the rights of neighbors for the peaceful enjoyment of their land) and the health and welfare of the community.

We also point out that today’s planning commissions, just like the originals, are made up of stalwart and well-respected community residents, conscientiously trying to carry out instructions from the supervisors who appointed them.

They go to meetings, weave solutions through complex issues, and try to make peace after heated public hearings, in order to make their communities great places to live not only now, but in the future, as well.

And they go to all the meetings for practically peanuts: in Gloucester and Mathews, planners receive $25 for each meeting they attend ($50 for the chair in Mathews). Such unprincely sums cannot begin to compensate for the time and effort commission members put into deliberations on the cases and ordinances which come before them, and the aggravation they may receive from attacks on them and their decisions.

These planners are among the unsung heroes of community volunteers who are diligently serving the people they live among. While the work is sometimes onerous, their decisions are merely advisory. They differ from the rest of us in that they agreed to serve and took an oath to do their duties to the best of their abilities. They are our neighbors.