[CPEO-MEF] Oceana Naval Air Station noise/development issues

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Navy has been tuned out, crowded out at Oceana

By JON W. GLASS
The Virginian-Pilot
September 12, 2004 

VIRGINIA BEACH ? In this Navy town, where many embrace the roar of
fighter jets as the ?sound of freedom,? city leaders never miss a chance
to tout their partnership with the military. 

Even so, they repeatedly have turned a deaf ear when asked to rein in
development that the Navy has said threatens the mission and future of
Oceana Naval Air Station. 

>From 1975 to mid-2004, the City Council ignored Navy objections in
nearly three out of every four votes, based on a review of Navy letters
and city records. 

Of 70 development proposals examined, the council approved 51 over Navy
opposition while denying 19. More than half of the votes came during the
go-go 1980s as careening growth turned the Beach into Virginia?s most
populous city. 

The pattern is revealed in a stack of letters written by more than a
dozen captains who commanded Oceana. The letters, released earlier this
year by the Navy, show that the officers fought a mostly losing battle
to keep growth at bay. 

But they also show that the Navy is not blameless. Some Oceana skippers
lobbied City Hall more aggressively than others. The Navy also offered
little or no resistance to housing developments in low- and
medium-jet-noise zones around Oceana until last year ? a stance the
military now regrets. 

The letters offer a historic window on a long-running, high-stakes
debate that involves national defense, property rights and money. 

...

for the entire article, see
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=75482&ran=184651

-- 


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
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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