Request By:
Honorable Wilfrid Schroder
Attorney at Law
526 Greenup Street
Covington, Kentucky 41011
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of September 2 in which you, on behalf of the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission, raise the question concerning the procedure for publishing zoning ordinances involving zoning regulations adopted pursuant to KRS 100.207 which contain penalty provisions. At the same time you point out that Senate Bill 26, effective July 15, governing cities generally requires, pursuant to KRS 83A.060 (9), that ordinances imposing fines, forfeitures, imprisonments, taxes or fees shall be published in full. You also point out that KRS 100.207 provides that zoning regulations may be published by stating the title and general description of the regulations.
Under the circumstances, you raise the question as to whether the general publication requirement found in Senate Bill 26, particularly KRS 83A.060 (9), takes precedent over the specific publication requirements under KRS 100.207.
Prior to the enactment of Senate Bill 26, the question was raised concerning the publication procedure for zoning ordinances involving zoning regulations and amendments thereto to which we responded in OAG's 72-241 and 74-151 [copies attached] which indicate that such ordinance need only be published by title and general description.
In answer to your specific question concerning which statute would take precedent where a zoning ordinance dealing with zoning regulations under KRS 100.207 and 100.211 is involved, we are of the opinion that the zoning statutes mentioned would govern under the rule of statutory construction that a specific statute on the subject controls a more general statute. In this regard we cite the recent case of
Heady v. Commonwealth, Ky., 597 S.W.2d 611 (1980), from which we quote the following:
". . . Simply put, the specific statute controls a more general statute. This rule of statutory construction is firmly established in the law of the
Commonwealth. City of Bowling Green v. Board of Education, Ky., 443 S.W.2d 243 (1969);
Morton v. Auburndale Realty Co., Ky., 340 S.W.2d 445 (1960). It is the general rule as well. See
Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. Mathews, W.D.Ky., 435 F.Supp. 5, 13 (1976); 73 Am.Jur. 2d Statutes Sec. 257."
Thus the ordinance in question need only be published by title and general description.