[CPEO-IRF] Jacksonville (FL) rethinks the master jet base proposal

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Please excuse the duplicate posting.

[The conflicts in Jacksonville, Florida (see below) and Virginia Beach, 
Virginia between the boosters of a master jet base and residents of 
nearby neighborhoods reminds me of the 1996 argument we had in Mountain 
View and Sunnyvale, California over whether to allow the Civil Reserve 
Air Fleet to sponsor air cargo operations at the former Moffett Naval 
Air Station. In such situations, civic leaders who normally speak for 
the community, unchallenged, often run into tenacious opposition from 
residents who feel that their homes and neighborhoods are threatened. 
That's why it is important to work with the public at large, not just 
their local elected officials, when resolving conflicts between military 
operations and the quality of life in the surrounding community. - LS]


Peyton withdraws Cecil bond ordinance

Tony Quesada
Jacksonville Business Journal (FL)
October 6, 2005

Mayor John Peyton has withdrawn a proposed ordinance that would 
authorize issuing $50 million in bonds to help relocate Cecil Commerce 
Center tenants so the Navy can make it a master jet base.

Peyton said the normal time frame for acting on legislation is too short 
to evaluate the impacts of bringing 200-plus Navy jets, 12,000 personnel 
and a $770 million payroll to the Westside.

"I will reintroduce the legislation if it is in our community's best 
interest to do so," he said during a news conference Thursday at City Hall.

The ordinance was introduced in September to meet the city's commitment 
to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission that it and the 
state would pay the costs to clear Cecil of incompatible uses. Gov. Jeb 
Bush promised to work with state legislatures to appropriate $150 
million for that purpose.

...

For the entire article, see
http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2005/10/03/daily31.html

See also
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=43754


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
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