Dahlgren joint land use study requested
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- Published on Wednesday, 05 September 2012 14:41
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The King George Board of Supervisors directed that a date be arranged for a representative from Naval Support Activity South Potomac (NSASP) to attend an upcoming board meeting and provide a briefing on the county sponsoring a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) with the Navy Base at Dahlgren.
The direction on Aug. 21 was prompted by an Aug. 13 letter of request from Captain P.R. Nette, Commanding Officer of the Navy Base at Dahlgren.
Supervisor Joe Grzeika asked and the board concurred that a meeting be set up for a briefing at an upcoming board meeting. Nette had offered in his letter to meet with the board to discuss the JLUS, and also mentioned Rich Tenga as a point of contact for the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA).
Grzeika said he had discussed the Joint Land Use Study with Captain Nette, adding, “Given the uncertainty facing the federal budget he thought we should consider having the OEA representative come to discuss the JLUS and the funding, so we get it first hand and have a commitment and understanding of the process and the role the county would play.”
Grzeika added, “We should probably try to get the meeting in October or November so we have sufficient time to take any action prior to the end of the Government Fiscal year next September.”
Though there has been talk of a JLUS in the community, this is the first time a request has been made to the county.
Nette related in his letter that after funding had been approved last November, the topic had been brought up last December during a meeting with reps from King George, Colonial Beach, Charles County, MD, and the Town of Indian Head, MD, who serve on the executive committee for the South Potomac Community Relations Council (COMREL).
Reps from the four jurisdictions suggested getting an okay from the federal government to split the JLUS into two separate studies, one for each of the two bases. Nette also indicated a preference voiced for waiting until their jurisdictions had completed reviews of their Comprehensive Plans prior to starting the JLUS studies.
Nette said that he announced in March of this year that approval was finally granted to split the grant funding and studies, which apparently prompted his letter of request to the county in mid-August.
PURPOSE OF JLUS
The county’s Comprehensive Plan is to play an important part in the JLUS process.
The purpose of the JLUS is in part to identify compatible uses issues confronting both the civilian community and the military installation and to recommend strategies to address the issues in the context of local comprehensive and general planning programs.
PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
According to Nette’s letter, the plan is for the county to provide staff support for sponsoring the study that will be conducted by a consulting firm and paid for by a federal grant.
First, the county is expected to establish a policy committee to oversee the project to include selection of the consulting firm. The county also will establish a technical advisory group to identify and study technical issues by working with the consulting firm.
As of this week, Travis Quesenberry, county administrator told The Journal that Gary Wagner, public affairs officer for NSASP, has now instead requested that the Board of Supervisors set a special meeting for detailed briefing to take place on the JLUS.
Quesenberry said that request will be on the agenda for a decision by Supervisors at its next meeting scheduled for Sept. 4.
MEETING SCHEDULED WITH PLANNING COMMISSION
At the meeting on Aug. 21, a short initial briefing was provided to Supervisors on a draft proposed revision to the county’s Comprehensive Plan that was forwarded to them by the Planning Commission. The briefing was provided by Jack Green, Director of Community Development.
Supervisors requested that a joint meeting with the Planning Commission be scheduled for Oct. 2, at 5 p.m., prior their regular meeting scheduled for the same evening at 6 p.m.
Phyllis Cook
