[CPEO-MEF] Encraochment/Noise at Oceana Naval Air Station (VA)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Residents say it clearly: Don't condemn homes near Oceana

By JON W. GLASS
The Virginian-Pilot
January 19, 2005 

Special report: Oceana Under Pressure

VIRGINIA BEACH - Voicing anger, disbelief and fear, dozens of residents
pleaded with the City Council on Tuesday to reject a proposal to condemn
and buy homes around Oceana Naval Air Station. 

The recommendation is one of 24 the council is considering as a way to
protect the air station from encroaching development. It drew nearly
unanimous disapproval at a public hearing attended by more than 200.
Residents lined the walls of the council chambers and flowed into the
hall at the municipal complex as nearly 50 speakers voiced adamant
opposition to being forced from their homes. 

The proposal would affect at least a dozen neighborhoods located under
the flight path of jets arriving and departing Oceana's runways, where
the risk of a jet crash is highest. 

Residents said they've learned to live with the loud noise and accident
potential, and that they love their homes. 

"Please remove this cloud and find other methods to satisfy the Navy,"
said Erma Bell, a property owner in Oceana Gardens. "For 64 years, I
have lived with the airplanes flying over my home. I do not oppose the
Navy; we need them." 

Mary Strickland, a Nottingham Estates resident, said, "The plan is not
realistic and it's not right." 

"If you want to appease the Navy, you need to do it by not sacrificing
our homes and our lives," said Samuel Reid, an Oceana Gardens resident. 

The council gave no indication after the hearing on whether the
impassioned outcry was enough to shelve the recommendation. 

...

For the entire article, see
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=80780&ran=151409

-- 


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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