Posts Tagged ‘encroachment’

An environmental consulting firm is looking at a range of factors that could interfere with missions at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to prepare a plan for addressing encroachment at the installation. The effort is part of an Air Force-wide initiative to identify, manage and address the causes of encroachment. The final product of the assessment is an encroachment management plan, which will include recommendations to preserve the installation’s missions and promote compatible development in the community. Fredericksburg, Va.-based Marstel-Day will consider a variety of factors, including urban growth, noise, air and land space restrictions, air and water resources, and energy development. The Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan is expected to take nine to 11 months to complete, reported the Minot Daily News.

The residents of Valparaiso, Fla., may not be embracing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets at Eglin Air Force Base, but they have grown to accept the new supersonic and stealth aircraft and a noise profile that is louder than the aircraft it is replacing. The city had sued the Air Force over the noise, which resulted in a settlement that called for the installation located on the Florida Panhandle to take several steps to mitigate the sound, reported Military Times. Now leaders from other communities concerned about the impact of the F-35 are looking to Valparaiso for strategies to cope with the noise. It’s not clear how much louder the F-35 is than other aircraft because of the multiple variables affecting sound levels, according to the story. Valparaiso Mayor John Arnold says that so far the noise has been manageable, but he is concerned about the impact when Eglin’s F-35 fleet grows from 22 to 59.

Commissioners from Havelock, N.C., home of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, criticized the new budget proposed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for failing to support military communities in the face of a looming BRAC round. “We’re the most military friendly state in the union, but we can’t get any help from the state to protect the bases …

A group of nine counties and cities in New Mexico and Texas have formed a regional planning organization to conduct a joint land use study that will identify potential land use conflicts that could interfere with the missions at White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base and Fort Bliss. The study covers a large swath of south central New Mexico and the western-most tip of Texas as the three installations encompass more than 3.4 million acres with restricted airspace spanning nearly 10,000 square miles …

One month after approving a request to rezone land for a residential subdivision that the Navy said could threaten its use of Fentress Naval Auxiliary Field, the Chesapeake, Va., City Council this week reversed itself and voted against rezoning the site that is located about two-and-a-half miles from the airfield. The city council’s original vote ignored repeated appeals from the Navy and violated an agreement Chesapeake and Virginia Beach made with the Navy after the 2005 round of base closures to limit development near the two facilities, reported the Virginian-Pilot …

Florida lawmakers last week approved bills that would extend the ability of the state to protect military installations from incompatible development. On Thursday, a Senate committee passed a measure allowing Florida’s Military Base Protection Program to fund the purchase of land bordering military bases needed to prevent conflicts with residential and commercial development …

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday awarded $2.6 million in defense support task force grants to 10 projects intended to preserve the state’s military installations and boost its reputation as a military friendly state. The 2012-13 grants were awarded to the Bay County Defense Alliance, National Simulation Center in Orlando, Highlands County EDC, city of Jacksonville, Tampa Bay Defense Alliance, Santa Rosa County, the Greater Pensacola Chamber, the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze and the Florida 8 (a) Alliance in Jacksonville …

Marine Corps representatives last week briefed commissioners and planners from Pamlico County, located on the coast of North Carolina, about the possible ways a wind farm could interfere with flight operations at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The representatives from Marine Corps Installations East told the county officials that tall wind turbines present a threat of collision to low-flying aircraft and can hamper the use of radar …

Lawmakers in eastern North Carolina are considering an ordinance regulating structures higher than 350 feet as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the flying mission at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The ordinance would require structures such as wind turbines, cell towers and buildings to obtain a permit from Craven County. The move comes as neighboring Pamlico County is addressing concerns of the Marine Corps about a proposed wind farm …

The county of Accomack, Va., has issued a request for proposals to solicit consulting services to prepare and complete a joint land use study for the county and Navy Surface Combat Systems Center Wallops Island, Va., pursuant to the scope of work in the RFP. Accomack County and SCSC desire that the JLUS work products and deliverables listed in the scope of work be completed by March 31, 2014. A non-mandatory, pre-solicitation conference will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13 …