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An 18-month study funded through a grant from the Department
of Defense (DOD) Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) and the Tri-County Council
for Southern Maryland is now underway in the area in and around the Naval Air
Station (NAS) Pax River, Maryland. The Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) is being
conducted in hopes of reducing conflict between the military installation and
surrounding community while also supporting the missions and objectives of
each.
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The Office of Economic Adjustment acknowledges that military
bases and residents adjacent to military installations are often in conflict.
Residents can be exposed to unacceptable noise levels and hazards and the
warfighter’s training and readiness can be impaired by the normal activities of
civilian life. Therefore joint planning
efforts can help to resolve some of these inevitable conflicts.
The Pax JLUS is organizing to promote understanding,
encourage cooperative land use and resource planning collaboration and
coordinate strategic actions that will support the goals of each interest. The
study will support the tri county area that includes Southern Maryland’s NAS Pax
River installation.
JLUSs have been organized in other areas as well and have
proven to be very beneficial. The resulting benefits of such a study include:
-Protecting the health and
safety of residents living or working near military installations.
-Preserving long-term land use
compatibility between the installation and the surrounding community.
-Promoting comprehensive
community planning.
-Encouraging a cooperative
spirit between the local base command and local community officials.
-Integrating the local
jurisdictions’ comprehensive plans with the installation’s plans.
Some of the compatibility factors that the organizers
hope to address in the study are sub divided into three major categories:
man-made factors, natural resources and scarce resource competition.
The study area includes military usage issues related
to the following in the Southern Maryland/northern Neck Virginia areas:
-Chesapeake Test Range
-Military airspace with
associated special uses airspace
-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
airspace
-Supersonic corridors
-Safety areas
-Noise contours and complaints
The kick off meetings began this week throughout the
region. The purpose of these meetings is to provide an overview of what a JLUS
is, its process and its anticipated outcomes and time frame. Additionally, the NAS Patuxent River Complex
will present their mission to “educate the public about military activities and
operations and associated impacts in the study area”. Upon completion of the
study it is hoped that the JLUS will become a framework for strategically and
collaboratively making land use decisions that will maximize the benefits for
each of the unique communities within the Southern Maryland region.
Read more at Baynet.com and NAS Pax JLUS
Photo Credit: U.S. Navy
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