[CPEO-MEF] Arizona anti-encroachment law

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The following is re-posted from the Military Discussion List of the
International City/County Management Association:

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ARIZONA ACTS TO CURB GROWTH AND STOP ENCROACHMENT AROUND LUKE AIR FORCE BASE


This post is a synopsis of a series of articles from the newspaper
Arizona Republic. The conclusions drawn are not necessarily those of
ICMA or the Military Communities Consortium.
-----------------------------  

Luke AFB has been an economic driver for Glendale and the greater
Phoenix area. Whether or not Luke is a possible victim of a potential
future BRAC round (as alluded to in the article, but very debatable), it
has many issues related to encroachment and urban sprawl.   In early
April, Governor Jane Hull signed a bill that requires enhanced reporting
requirements for developers, municipalities and school districts so
nearby military air facilities could comment on issues of compatibility.
The law, which aims to protect Luke AFB from encroachment, will take
effect July 1, 2001.

The law in essence has defined what is appropriate or compatible land
usage around Luke and actively seeks to restrict development.  Using
"noise contours and potential accident zones" the state would deny
resources to facilities that would have non-compatible activities, such
as schools. The noise contour zone measures the decibel level of the
F-16s that fly in and out of Luke and is the area in which residential
development is considered encroachment by the facility.  The law has
caused plans for the construction of two elementary schools and three
proposed renovations to be scrapped.

The next step is to determine what to do about the encroachment that has
already occurred and how to resolve disputes with potential developers
or property right holders of the land adjacent to the facility. The
state originally sought a $15 million dollar "agricultural preserve
district" to act as a buffer to the airfield or as an alternative, $7.5
million to protect the area from continued encroachment by retiring the
development rights permanently. These ideas were spurred on by
supporters of the facility who fear that encroachment could be used
against the facility if a base closure committee is formed. Last week,
the state approved a $3 million measure to temporarily block development
of the farmland around Luke.

An agricultural preservation district seeks to lease property
development rights from the landowners around Luke for two years so that
farmers can continue farming the land instead of selling it to
developers.  The law authorizes $2 million for long-term support of the
agricultural preservation district, while $1 million will be used to
develop land-use plans. (Davenport, May 7, 2001.) The law leaves open
the option of leasing or acquiring development rights, and it specifies
a period of 25 years with a review of the terms of the leases or
acquisitions every five years. But the main problem for Luke is that it
is experiencing extreme pressures from the residential community.  

Landowners around Luke are unhappy that the state will not put up money
to lease all of their property rights and last month threatened the
"biggest land lawsuit in state history." With the agriculture
preservation district/land-use block only getting $3 million of the
proposed $15 million, land owners may feel that they will suffer
unfairly, by having their land usages restricted with no reimbursement
from the state.  Thus, the state will have to continue to work with the
landowners to ensure the property values stay at a reasonable rate.  

Key Provisions of the laws:

*       Cities near military bases must include consideration of base
operations in their general plans.
*       Cities must hold public hearings when considering planning and
zoning changes that would affect military bases.
*       Property owners next to bases must notify potential buyers or
renters about compliance regulations.

Background:

Luke Air Force Base is the largest F-16 training base with more than 200
F-16 Fighting Falcon jets assigned to it. More than 1,000 pilots
graduate from there annually. It generates an estimated $2 billion a
year for the state economy and the cities of Glendale and Phoenix.

Sean Tolliver, ICMA <stolliver@icma.org>

Articles cited: Ricardo Pimentel, "Luke AFB shouldn't be a special
case," Arizona Republic March 27, 2001: David Madrid, "Bills viewed as
critical to Luke; Base defenders fear inaction to bring closure,"
Arizona Republic March 11, 2001 B6: Lori Baker "Luke law scraps schools;
noise-zone construction prohibited," Arizona Republic April 4, 2001, se.
A. p.1: Lori Baker and David Madrid, "Schools may relocate amid jet
crash fears," Arizona Republic May 1, 2001: David Madrid, "Luke
Preservation faces possible veto," Arizona Republic May 3, 2001 p. B4:
Paul Davenport, "Hull signs spending bills for rural programs,"
Associated Press May 7, 2001: David Madrid, "Luke Preservation Faces
Possible Veto; Hull Opposes Development Leases for Lands," Arizona
Republic May 3, 2001, sec. B, p. 4: David Madrid, "Lawsuits over Luke,"
Arizona Republic April 11, 2001, p. 1 and "Air Bases are on State's
Radar," March 22, 2001 p. 4.

 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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