[CPEO-MEF] Text of Congressman Taylor's letter to the Biloxi City Council

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Text of Congressman Taylor's letter to the Biloxi City Council
THE SUN HERALD
 
BILOXI — Over the past ten years, the Mississippi Gulf Coast has 
experienced an unprecedented level of economic growth. As the U.S.
Representative for South Mississippi, I have been closely following the 
development in cities such as Biloxi and the significant positive
impacts that have resulted from it. The gaming industry has redeveloped 
our landscape and has allowed our cities to flourish in ways that were
previously unimaginable.

As a former state senator, I am proud to have played a significant part 
in the passage of the legislation that permitted gaming in Mississippi.
Throughout my career in public service at the local, state and federal 
levels, I have always supported development that forwards the interests
of our communities. However, we must be careful not to harm our military 
partners in our pursuit of new opportunities.

It has been my policy to honor the decisions of local communities in 
determining their individual long-term growth strategies. In matters
that affect federal policy, I have sought to ensure that the economic 
viability of the entire Mississippi Gulf coast is preserved.

Keesler AFB has been the subject of many encroachment issues including 
most recently the proposed construction of the Portofino Towers. Because
of the $1.4 Billion annual economic impact and the good, long-term 
relationship that the community has had with this installation, I have 
publicly expressed my concerns about this and other projects that could 
affect its future.

On November 22, I contacted the Air Force to seek their assessment of 
the potential impact of the Portofino Towers project upon flight 
operations and flight training at Keesler AFB. At my request, the Air 
Force provided me written assurance that the Portofino Towers project, 
as currently proposed, meets FAA criteria and would not impede the 
approach and departure zones for Keesler AFB (see attached).

While they don't consider the Portofino Towers project to be an airspace 
encroachment issue, the Air Force did express concern that its future 
residents may complain about the "aircraft noise, operating hours, and 
perceived risk to safety of surrounding residents as Keesler-based 
aircraft take off and land over existing homes." If the leadership at 
Keesler were pressured to "modify flight patterns and procedures, with a 
concurrent increase in calculated risk, to satisfy community concerns," 
the Air Force would consider it to be a "significant/undesirable" 
encroachment issue.

I shared this concern in a recent conversation with Mayor Holloway. I 
was pleased to hear that the Mayor intends to work with the City Council 
to provide written notice to each potential buyer of residences in 
Portofino Towers forewarning them of the noise that they can expect by 
living so near to Keesler Air Force Base. I hope the Mayor and City 
Council also will provide similar notice to each subsequent owner prior 
to the resale of a property in this development.

I also would like to commend Mayor Holloway and General Peterson for 
their efforts to create a new city ordinance that is intended to ensure 
that this and future projects in Biloxi do not negatively impact the 
flight operations and flight training at Keesler AFB. It makes sense, 
and I strongly urge its adoption by the City Council.

Encroachment is a real threat to military installations. Since 1988, 451 
military installations have been closed across the nation through the 
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Ninety-seven of these 
closed installations were comparable in size to Keesler AFB or larger. 
After his election in 2000, President Bush requested that Congress 
authorize another two rounds of base closures. Over my strenuous 
objections, Congress provided President Bush the authority to establish 
another round of base closures that will occur in 2005.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and its Subcommittee 
on Military and Installations and Facilities, I have seen bases closed
and the communities that host them harmed because of encroachment from 
unplanned or incompatible commercial or residential development. With
another BRAC round a little more than two years away, we must be careful 
to ensure that any future development neither jeopardizes nor is 
perceived to harm the long-term missions of our military installations. 
 Encroachment is a key element in the criteria used to determine which 
bases survive or close. Unregulated growth can severely restrict an 
installation's ability to generate, project and/or sustain combat power 
in support of the national military strategy. Encroachment interferes 
with military readiness and can have the effect of de-valuing an 
installation to the point that it may become a prime candidate for
closure in 2005.

An installation's ability to expand its current support base and to 
accept additional missions and functions also may be hampered by 
encroachment. In fact, the Air Force expressed its concern that the 
Portofino Towers project "may limit our ability to change the Keesler 
AFB mission in order to meet future needs of the Air Force." In the 
previous BRAC rounds, many installations were closed solely because 
urban growth near the facilities compromised their ability to provide 
safe and effective military training.

In the same manner that physical encroachment is a BRAC concern, 
airborne noise also poses a significant threat to an installations 
future. As the Air Force transforms to meet the operational requirements 
of the 21st century, they are moving toward aircraft with more powerful 
engines. Unfortunately, however, that also means more noise will be 
produced. As communities have expanded closer to military installations, 
concerns over noise from military operations have increased. Pressure 
from groups at the local, regional, and state levels have restricted and 
reduced military training at several installations across the nation.

To sustain the growth in our communities, we need to preserve our 
existing economic interests. We must always be mindful that we don't 
leave any of our strategic economic partners behind or possibly 
jeopardize their long-term missions. Taking steps to protect Keesler AFB 
today will ensure that Biloxi and our entire region will continue to 
reap the benefits of this premiere Air Force facility for the next 
50-plus years.

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