MOST RECENT CENSUS NUMBERS PROVE ENCOURAGING FOR THE COUNTY

Population estimates released last week by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Missouri Office of Administration show Cape Girardeau County growing at a rate that outpaces nearly three out of four Missouri counties. This is encouraging news.

With an estimated increase of 1,685 people between the 1990 census and 1992, Cape Girardeau County apparently has enjoyed a 2.7 percent growth rate. City population estimates are forthcoming, and it's expected Cape Girardeau and Jackson will realize significant growth as well. City officials in Cape Girardeau questioned the accuracy of the 1990 census count here, which showed virtually no growth in the preceding decade. We hope the county's growth is a reliable indicator of a similar gain in the city's population.

Regardless, the county figures alone bode well for local government planners and private developers. The market tells us that developers won't build among a stagnant populace. Businesses won't expand and hire additional workers unless there's an increased demand for goods and services. New businesses won't locate where there aren't ample customers. And although much of the growth in Cape Girardeau County undoubtedly is in outlying areas, those residents work, shop and are entertained in the city of Cape Girardeau.

Growth patterns tell city and county officials where to concentrate planning for infrastructure improvements and expansion, while the swelling population provides the tax base to finance those capital projects. Moreover, community population figures are crucial in almost every federal calculation used for grants, subsidies and other programs. Another factor that comes into play is something called extra-territorial zoning. State law permits some cities to exercise planning and zoning regulations within a narrow belt of property outside the city limits.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer says if outlying areas are developed according to city codes, annexation -- and growth -- is more feasible. The hitch: Only cities with a population of 35,000 or more are given the expanded jurisdiction. At 34,438, according to the 1990 census, Cape Girardeau's population falls a few hundred persons short.

But given the recent annexation of Twin Lakes subdivision and its 200 or so residents, continued development of an annexed area along Bloomfield Road, and the growing county population, Cape Girardeau's population is rapidly approaching the threshold.

The fact that people increasingly are choosing to reside in this area shouldn't come as a surprise. We believe there are many good reasons for living in Cape Girardeau. A low tax base is attractive to industry, and careful city planning helps ensure orderly residential and commercial development. As a regional hub, citizens have within reach abundant retail, medical, education and recreation resources.

It stands to reason then that, statewide, Cape Girardeau County has grown at a pace similar to fringe counties around the metropolitan hubs of Kansas City and St. Louis and in the Ozarks, with its booming tourism trade. Cape Girardeau has seen steady growth in its retailing and industrial base and an increase in new residential construction throughout the 1980s. While the official census count of 1990 failed to bear witness to that growth, it's our hope that the 1992 estimate will provide a more trustworthy yardstick. Certainly, the county population estimate is a good indicator.