Hampton Roads Military Developments

[hoobo]

So Dawson's Creek really exists.

[rusthebuss]

So Dawson's Creek really exists.

The show is in NC.

[hoobo]

The show is in NC.

It was filmed there. But it was set in New England if I recall. I just found it funny that Jax had a place with the same name that was likely built when the show was on the air.

[vdogg]

I doubt this will effect the outcome of them going to Cecil Field. This is a political battle for money for the states.

I doubt it will have much of an effect either. 900 homes in APZ's is still far less than the 1800 Va. Beach has to contend with. They will more than likely view this issue as a minor bump in the road. I think the citizen complaints may be what actually sinks that deal.

[rusthebuss]

It was filmed there. But it was set in New England if I recall. I just found it funny that Jax had a place with the same name that was likely built when the show was on the air.

No I remember them showing NC plates on the cars and it was suppose to be set in NC as well. I could be wrong but thats what we have google for to find out the answer.

I doubt it will have much of an effect either. 900 homes in APZ's is still far less than the 1800 Va. Beach has to contend with. They will more than likely view this issue as a minor bump in the road. I think the citizen complaints may be what actually sinks that deal.

Well i think the people in Jax are just as angry as the people here in Vabeach. Shoot they have a couple web sites against the moving the jets. What it boils down to is that Jeb wants it and he will probably get it. I think Jeb brought this up after the intial BRAC list. Politics you got to love it.

[bobliocatt]

Cecil protesters give council earful

Leaders of the Better Westside group hired a sound crew to blast the noise of fighter jets, just outside of city hall, as skeptical city council members recieved updated information on the Navy returning, from city planners and mayoral officials.

Inside, opponents applaused as Councilwoman Suzanne Jenkins made this comment.

We've spent all this money to take it from a jet base to a commerce center, and now we're going to pay the Navy to come back. They ought to be paying us"

Btw, there are only 68 homes in the primary crash zone and 826 in the secondary crash zone.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...met_noise.shtml

[bobliocatt]

Jacksonville withdraws $50 million funding bill for Cecil

With criticism and questions mounting from the Westside, John Peyton announced today a crucial funding bill for reusing Cecil Field as a Navy base will be withdrawn from the City Council.

"I will only reintroduce the legislation if it's in our community's best interest to do so," Peyton said of the $50 million bond package.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...et_peyton.shtml

[hoobo]

VB's encroaching. Jax's is realizing getting Cecil back may not be all that fun. So give the Navy what it wants: Lemoore NAS East, a base with significant buffer in rural eastern NC.

[vdogg]

Jacksonville withdraws $50 million funding bill for Cecil

With criticism and questions mounting from the Westside, John Peyton announced today a crucial funding bill for reusing Cecil Field as a Navy base will be withdrawn from the City Council.

"I will only reintroduce the legislation if it's in our community's best interest to do so," Peyton said of the $50 million bond package.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...et_peyton.shtml

That link doesn't seem to work anymore lake.

[bobliocatt]

^Hopefully this works.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...et_peyton.shtml

[okinawatyphoon]

Jet-noise zone restrictions develop

"The city Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously endorsed rules that would restrict the development of new homes and hotels in jet-noise zones around Oceana Naval Air Station."

[bobliocatt]

Jacksonville Council leader: No Nay Jets

Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Hyde supports business park over Navy at Cecil Field

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor..._20056405.shtml

Its looking like the Navy will have to find another spot, because local opposition to giving the Navy $50 million and Cecil back is gaining strength in critical places.

Interesting quotes from the article:

At a council committee meeting Monday, nine members -- not including Hyde, who wasn't present -- said they don't support giving the Navy $50 million. With Hyde included, a majority of the 19-member council is against the funding.

And he wrote that if the Navy or the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission still insists on shifting the base to Jacksonville, then the city should recoup the money invested in the base since 1995 for infrastructure improvements. That investment totals $133 million from city, state and federal agencies; it was unclear Monday if Hyde would want to recoup that total amount or just the city's portion. The Navy also should be forced to pay any costs for relocating homes and businesses, he wrote.

"There is no way I'm going to vote one dime towards this," Councilwoman Gwen Yates said.

Councilman Ronnie Fussell said the city can't afford such an expenditure because of a tight city budget and expensive bills, such as for road improvement projects and expanding schools, that soon will come due.

[vdogg]

It sounds like the governor forgot to ask the city if they even wanted this thing to begin with. You think they would've researched exactly how much opposition there would be to this before making the pitch to the Navy. Also, this only resolves Oceanas immediate concerns. Long term, that base is still gone. Of this I have no doubts.

[odumonarch]

It sounds like the governor forgot to ask the city if they even wanted this thing to begin with. You think they would've researched exactly how much opposition there would be to this before making the pitch to the Navy. Also, this only resolves Oceanas immediate concerns. Long term, that base is still gone. Of this I have no doubts.

I don't find Navy jets at Cecil Field that sexy at all. First off, Jacksonville is expanding at a rapid rate since Cecil Field closed in 1999 because the city relaxed all rules on development and now, we see houses here and there that would not of been there due to Cecil Field. Second, there are plans for converting Cecil Field in a commercial park, or even a small private airport if the city wants. Third, Florida is growing at a huge pace, and moving the Navy jets in there will stunt the state's economy.

Yes, Cecil Field will still be long gone, but how do we move Oceana? The Pilot reported that houses were built around Oceana starting in 1952, 23 years before Navy even drew up its accident and noise zones around Oceana. Virginia Beach fought to bring the bigger jets, and even more personnel, and more money to the city. Now the city has a wad of cash, but noise problems. I think it's a better tradeoff if you are in serious need of $$$, yet you inform your citizens of negative consequences. Oceana is the largest employer in the Beach, and closing Oceana will put the Beach in a severe recession for a short period of time, but the Beach will trade that off with tons of new development (business, high tech, etc) and more money in the city because all of the rules will be relaxed. TC is going to expand, yes, but the city needs ways to find new money without screwing up Oceana.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

I don't find Navy jets at Cecil Field that sexy at all. First off, Jacksonville is expanding at a rapid rate since Cecil Field closed in 1999 because the city relaxed all rules on development and now, we see houses here and there that would not of been there due to Cecil Field. Second, there are plans for converting Cecil Field in a commercial park, or even a small private airport if the city wants. Third, Florida is growing at a huge pace, and moving the Navy jets in there will stunt the state's economy.

Yes, Cecil Field will still be long gone, but how do we move Oceana? The Pilot reported that houses were built around Oceana starting in 1952, 23 years before Navy even drew up its accident and noise zones around Oceana. Virginia Beach fought to bring the bigger jets, and even more personnel, and more money to the city. Now the city has a wad of cash, but noise problems. I think it's a better tradeoff if you are in serious need of $$$, yet you inform your citizens of negative consequences. Oceana is the largest employer in the Beach, and closing Oceana will put the Beach in a severe recession for a short period of time, but the Beach will trade that off with tons of new development (business, high tech, etc) and more money in the city because all of the rules will be relaxed. TC is going to expand, yes, but the city needs ways to find new money without screwing up Oceana.

I must say that your first sentence made me laugh a bit.

And secondly, I agree with the points made in the second paragraph.

I don't believe Virginia Beach is handling this very well... Whether they want to see it or not, it's going to be closed, and they need to buck up and realize it. For the first time ever, I think Hampton is doing something better than Virginia Beach (their preparations for Monroe) and I think VB should look to their northern neighbors on this one...

[rusthebuss]

I agree. This base is closing and they need to be prepared for it. This is something that we can recover from in a decent amount of time if the city is prepared for this. Better sooner than later. They need to be ready while the boom is going on! If they wait it really could hurt the city of Vabeach.

[odumonarch]

I agree. This base is closing and they need to be prepared for it. This is something that we can recover from in a decent amount of time if the city is prepared for this. Better sooner than later. They need to be ready while the boom is going on! If they wait it really could hurt the city of Vabeach.

Yes, but a lot of old Fort Monroe is going to be converted into a historic site, and the people that are going to run Fort Monroe is not going to demolish it, but maintain it forever. But the area that was closed off is going to be turned into homes, and a ton of them.

I agree that Virginia Beach was totally unprepared for the closing. A lot of citizens were aware of the noise potential that the new jets that are around Oceana that bring it, and BRAC threw Virginia Beach in a cesspool by adding Oceana to the list of closing/consolidating bases. I think Oceana might shrink, because of the base's importance and the potential that it brings to the region. If you put the Super Hornets out of Oceana, that will reduce the amount of noise by a LOT, but also severely reduce the # of personnel, and the # of dollars that are going to be put in the economy. Virginia Beach has better be prepared by allowing Town Center to grow, the resort strip to grow, and the northern part of the city to grow too. The military says that it takes years for the base to close, but it should be ok given that Virginia Beach has other stuff to worry about, especially expanding Town Center out of the concentrated area, and allowing people to benefit.

[vicupstate]

Jacksonville Mayor Cancels pursuit of Oceana

Read it here :

Peyton cancels pursuit of Navy for Cecil Field

[Seven Cities]

I was just about to post that myself, but you beat me to it. Oceana can breathe a little easier now. Despite this turn of events, I still think the Navy may want to move its master jet base somewhere else if development around Oceana isn't put into check.

[vdogg]

I was just about to post that myself, but you beat me to it. Oceana can breathe a little easier now. Despite this turn of events, I still think the Navy may want to move its master jet base somewhere else if development around Oceana isn't put into check.

And I still think we will want them to do that anyway eventually. The Navy's terms are simply not politically viable and somethings gonna give (just wait til they start taking homes). At least with this they'll leave more at a time and in a manner of our chosing.

[bobliocatt]

Navy feels snubbed, military's backers say

Peyton's decision on Cecil's reopening may halt future ideas like a nuclear carrier, they say.

"Now, it is important that the Florida congressional delegation come together to work hard to reassure the Navy that they are a welcome part of Jacksonville," said U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., whose district includes Cecil Field.

Retired Navy Capt. John Leenhouts, who testified as an expert on Cecil Field for Jacksonville in Florida's Base Realignment and Closure hearing in July, said Peyton's move could hurt the city's chance to get a nuclear-powered carrier. It could also hamper the Naval Air Depot's chance to get more work at the end of the decade because the majority of planes it works on now will be retired, he said.

"This sends a strong message to the Navy that Jacksonville is not a strong advocate of the military," said Leenhouts, a former Navy pilot who flew a record 1,645 carrier landings. "It's a sad day for the Navy and a sad day for Jacksonville."

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor..._20086111.shtml

[vdogg]

Navy feels snubbed, military's backers say

Peyton's decision on Cecil's reopening may halt future ideas like a nuclear carrier, they say.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor..._20086111.shtml

I could see how the Navy might feel snubbed. Jacksonville really should have researched how much public backing they had for this before they went after it. It's really not the local authorities saying no, it's Jacksonvilles people. It is refreshing to see them respond to the peoples concern in such a forceful manner, but they really did leave the Navy (and the BRAC commission for that matter) high and dry on this one.

[bobliocatt]

^No, local polls show that a majority of Jax citizens wanted Cecil to reopen. However, like in any situation there was a small group of NIMBYs that raised a big fuss and our Mayor wussed out early because he has the spine of a jelly fish.

Most here aren't upset that the city backed out, instead people are pissed that he let a small group influence his decision, instead of properly conducting the planned study to evaluate the positives and negatives of returning the base to the Navy.

However, according to the Jax press, the BRAC's stance on Oceana will remain and if it is deemed that Cecil is the best place to relocate the base, they may take it anyway.

[urbanvb]

Virginia Beach City Council won't support taking Oceana homes

By MARISA TAYLOR AND JON W. GLASS, The Virginian-Pilot

[rusthebuss]

Virginia Beach City Council won't support taking Oceana homes

By MARISA TAYLOR AND JON W. GLASS, The Virginian-Pilot