| CCAJN - Keep the Pressure On! | |
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..."Please keep pressuring the city, state, and federal officials to approach the Oceana problem reasonably and responsibly. Keep reminding them that perhaps the (questionable) ecomonic benefits of having fighter squadrons based here are insignificant when weighed against the adverse impact felt by almost one-third the city's population. Keep in the forefront of the discussions the fact that this is a serious quality of life issue. Never let the politicians forget that Virginia Beach needs to look forward, and plan for the day when the Navy pulls its fighter jets out of Oceana for good. Remind them that despite anything they do, any policy they enact, any effort they put forth, the jets are leaving one day and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. Common sense dictates that the Navy base its jets somewhere where effective pilot training can occur. American taxpayers should demand no less. How many taxpayers are aware that both Navy and elected officials agree that pilot training at NAS Ocean is sub-optimal? In addition, if they knew, would they not question why both Navy and elected officials continue to insist that NAS Oceana remains "suitable" and "viable" for the foreseeable future? I do. Moreover, I am glad there is an organization like CCAJN to put out the message." Name withheld, February 6, 2006 |
| Base Realignment Position (see CCAJN News Service of April 7, 2005) | |
| * | Copy of Letter to City Council
March 28, 2006 from Barbara Clark I understand you feel you need to do whatever it takes (almost) to save the jets. But I am not comfortable with spending taxpayer dollars to suppress Virginia Beach's economic development potential, especially without a vote. Be that as it may, I am particularly shocked by the proposal to "encourage" property owners to give away avigation easements without compensation and to give up their right to sue over jet noise. The jets will be louder. The AICUZ and crash zones will therefore most likely grow. Citizens have a right to be heard and to attempt to protect the peaceful enjoyment of their property. It would be frightening if you pass this particular amendment because it would feel like you are not interested in protecting citizens' rights, or even working with the Navy to try to live peacefully together. They can do whatever they want and citizens have no say. Would they be able to land on our homes??? This amendment would affect the entire Oceanfront, the gem of our city, that has tremendous economic development potential. |
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With all the funding for 2005 for the OLF taken out of the Budget, why are you not stressing this fact to prevent any of the planes from coming to Oceana. The OLF in Washington County, is an integral part of moving the planes to Oceana. FR Doc 03-229838, explains the decision to move the Super Hornets to Oceana and mentions that OLF Fentress will only be able to accommodate one Carrier Air Wing. I think it is time for someone to ask for the Courts to step in and put a hold on anymore planes being diverted to Oceana until the issue of the Washington County OLF is back on track and fully funded. The OLF that would be accessible to both Oceana and Cherry Point was a major factor to re-align the Super Hornets to Oceana. Charlie Bowdoin, Virginia Beach, April 10, 2005 |
| * | BTW - All the negative talk of economic
impact is reactive gag reflex! If NASO were to realign to a better
use (not close), I think you'd see MORE business migrating from
other area cities to SE VB. Corp landing industrial park has
NOT attracted out of town businesses BECAUSE of the jet factor.
VB has something everyone seems to miss....WEATHER , WATER &
location!!! Many zipcodes would see an increase in real estate
values over time. When Detroit had auto manufacturers close plants
in the late 70's, did it blow away? No... If a message filtering
out the noise of "doom & gloom" economics was spread
out to the masses... It would help this effort. I worked at NASO from 81-87, left the area for the mountains of PA for 4 years, and came back last summer primarily due to weather. I couldn't believe the building boom in this area, and the usual lack of city planning with respect to roads. Having the perspective of being away for 4 years, I truly believe the city has lowered the quality of life here due to their greed for tax base. Your Org is not the enemy here, the city "same ole - same ole" attiude coupled with a dose of arrogance is!... G. Basham, April 29, 2005 |
| * | Thank goodness that this action is being taken....... The Hornets have to go........ The noise lately is INTEROLABLE................Any person who says that this type of noise is compatible with normal community living is kidding themselves....... The political/economic interest must be silenced and recognized for what it is........ Bring in any other aircraft, but move the Hornets................... Please push this action...................., M.J., Virginia Beach, April 8, 2005 |
| * | Just for the record, I concur and fully support your position as relates to NAS Oceana. You can log me in as a resident of Southall Quarter, Howard B. Allen, April 8, 2005 |
| * | I agree. It's obvious the navy and even city council have little respect for the quality of life we as citizens use to enjoy and now have to endure., Dave, April 7, 2005 |
| * | I fully support CCAJN's position on jet aircraft realignment at Oceania. The position offers a rational basis for reducing the environmental impacts that excessive jet noise is imposing on a sizable percentage of the local population, and it preserves the economic benefits of the base to the overall community. The position is a "win-win" situation for all concerned., Herb K., April 10, 2005 |
| * | I support you in your efforts to make Virginia Beach a quieter and safer place for all., S.B., April 9, 2005 |
| On Noise Complaints "The Numbers Game" (see E-news dated 3/30/04) | |
| * | You hit the nail on the head. I
live in Shadowlawn and my wife and I have given up on calling.
I wish there was a way to easily register a complaint via a web
site or something that could document the exact issues and complaints.
I have lived in Shadowlawn for 10 years and before I purchased
my home I was sure to research the flight paths to make sure
I was not in one of the very high noise zones as I was when I
lived near Birdneck and 264. After confirming the fact and just some limited noise heard from a distance and the occasional flyover for air show practices which were all acceptable, everything seemed to change a few years back. After complaining several times and writing a letter I did receive a phone call back and was told that the noise zones had changed since I bought my house and that there was nothing I could do. So basically, the information that the Navy and city provide can be changed without any regard for property owners that are impacted. With this I disagree. On occasion I've had people say "well, you should have know better buying a house at the end of a runway". That is not the case. I purposely did not buy a home in the higher noise zone and chose my home based on it's quieter area. Then the Navy changed the flight pattern which causes jets to fly directly over head. That is my issue. A few years back someone spoke at our civic league meeting and said that jets should not be flying directly overhead except during air shows and air show practices which is rare. He explained why they would fly overhead and that he would take this information back and discuss it before their flight operations to make sure the planes stayed within the flight patters. For Shadowlawn and the southern part of the resort oceanfront, flyovers happen when jets take a wide turn back to Oceana. If the Navy would stop this practice, I think you'd have a lot of folks in our neighborhood who would be a whole lot happier. --Mike, March 30, 2004 |
| * | I have to agree with most residents.
I stopped calling the hotline because it never seemed to do any
good or I could not get through (busy). It has been unbearable
the past 2 days, but I'm guessing the return of the Bataan may
have something to do with that. I'm curious to know how much
the tax payers paid for the "million dollar enclosure"
on the base where the planes can be worked on and the sound muffled.
I'm guessing the doors are never closed due to jet fumes. It's
a continuous loud sound of jet motors running at all times of
the day. --Paula Gross, March 30, 2004 |
| On Flawed Chamber Study (see E-news dated 2/27/04) | |
| * | The survey was conducted following the most inaccurate statistical design possible (standard random sampling) and it used a relatively small sample size of residents relative to the total population to measure three variables one of which was the impact of jet noise. A properly designed survey would have included areas closer to the base where the noise is much worse in addition to the other two areas sampled that are further away from the base - a stratified random sampling plan should have been applied across these areas and a larger sample of opinion should have been collected. This would offset the bias in the statistical estimated derived from the 500 respondents used and the margin of error in the statistical results would have been reduced significantly. If reaccomplished in this fashion, the estimate of the number of people in VaB who are highly impacted by jet noise would have been much higher - perhaps as many as 175,000 or more. The survey results provided the survey's sponsors with the answers they wanted to hear - e. g. keep the base open, it provides great economic benefits, and the majority of city residents aren't concerned about jet noise. Many years ago, I taught business statistics in a community college. One of the texts I recommended for outside reading was "How to Lie With Statistics." The book has been out of print for many years; this survey makes me believe it's still being read. --Herb Kline, March 17, 2004 |
| * | (Response to guest letter in Soundings on Chamber Study) I live in Oceana and never been ask to do a survey. I bet if they did the survey here. They would have gotten a lots of complaints. Where I am is directly where the plane get ready to land and or take off. The decibel here probably go way pass it max limits. Even the deaf people probably can feel it taking off or landing every 3 - 5 min. There are nights I can't even watch the TV since I could not hear it. Due to the planes coming and going. There will be no end to this. We need to solve this problems. --Geri, March 17, 2004 |
| On Encroachment, the City of Virginia Beach's
response, and CCAJN's stated position have prompted membership to speak out. Here is what a few of you have to say: (to read CCAJN's position on encroachment, go to Hot Topics.) |
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I understand the Navy's desire to
implement the JLUS to restrict development in the high noise
areas. However, in the case of the Laskin Road area the development
is already here. It makes little sense to challenge new residential
area development, when in many cases existing residents are already
in place which are adjacent to the areas that the Navy is opposing
for development. This would only make sense if the Navy/City had a plan to roll back existing encroachment. Are there any proposals to publicly condemn property in the high noise zone, and for the Federal Government to buy this property up and thereby move out residents which are impacted by the adverse noise levels? name withheld, March 29, 2004 Follow on e-mail: Since there is no plan for a "rollback", I presume that the myriad of high noise and health and safety risks associated with fighter jet carrier landing training does not exist for current affected residents. Either there is a health and safety problem; or there is no health and safety problem. If it is a problem then the City of Virginia Beach and the Federal Government should embark on an active program of removing residents and businesses within the high noise, and safety crash zones (not to mention prohibit future development). If there is no health and safety problem then there should be no further restrictions on property development. I find that the approach by CCAJN, the City, and the Navy to be inconsistent. How can on one side an argument be made that a naval fighter jet training base must be maintained within the heart of one of the most densely populated cities on the east coast, while at the same time say that the Navy can make restrictions on how selected tracks of land are developed which lie between already developed property within the same densely populated city? I guess the idea is to keep the number of the affected population low enough to allow politicians to ignore the results of their zoning policies. Great for the developers and too bad for the 160,000 (give or take a few thousand) fools who should have not have chosen to live in Virginia Beach in the first place. But I guess an honest assessment by the City of Virginia Beach that living within large areas of the city is a health hazard does not fit within the city's marketing and development strategy. But as usual it is all about money. . . who (developers, real estate agents, bankers, and building contractors) gets to cash in and who (residents) pays the price in increased health and safety risk. All of which was promoted and approved under the authority of our publicly elected city officials. I suppose that expecting public officials would take responsibility for maintaining public safety is asking too much. Thanks for your answer to my question and I appreciate your efforts in attempting to influence the management of this colossal failure in public policy. |
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All the news about encroachment and such, but nobody ever talks about the simple fact that Oceana is making MORE NOISE with LOUDER JETS and MORE OF THEM. I've lived near Oceana all my life. I eventually bought a house near Oceana. I didn't really mind the noise. I kind of admired those awesome machines. In a way I feel betrayed. I was willing to deal with the noise and did so for 30 years. I had no idea it would get MUCH WORSE. I will soon be leaving the area because of the noise. F/A18s are simply TOO LOUD to be based near where people live. Simply put, there is a limit to what people should be expected to tolerate. As much as I don't want things to get louder I would also hate to see Oceana closed. If we could be assured that the F/A18s (current or "Super") would not perform "touch and go" flights at Oceana, things should be fine. The occaisional Earth-shaking roar of them going to and from the base would probably be tolerable. .-- F.S., February 14, 2004 |
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Based on the dubious logic behind
"DNL" noise measurement: if I get hit by a speeding
bus, I should be just fine because most of the day I was not
being hit by a bus.-- F.S., February 14, 2004 |
| * | I agree it would be
silly to go against all your previous positions and advocate
more growth around Oceana. That would, among other things, be
morally wrong. I would hope that people like John Warner would
simply side with the Navy and tell the city if it wants the military
to keep the base here it will have to listen to them, not try
to go over their heads. As far as the issue of jet noise goes back, I wrote an article for Metro Magazine in the mid 70s, urging that Oceana be closed, since it was making the area uninhabitable and threatened the lives of residents. In the next month's issue Congressman Whitehurst responded, saying Oceana was overall a big benefit to the city. That was just about 30 years ago. The argument that nobody minds jet noise is really a stupid one. Of course, the Navy has to field all those phone calls from unhappy residents, so they know there's a problem. Incidentally I think your current attitude toward Oceana is the correct one to take and is so moderate toward the problem that there is really no rational argument against it.--Ed Bacon |
| * | I totally agree with the approach CCAJN has used in the past and continues today. Keep up the good work and thanks for doing what most of us are unable to do. The City Council seems bent on "suicide" because of their greed. --Bob Clapp |
| * | Though I wish more people would make the connection between this area being second in the nation behind Pittsburgh in "brain drain," and the potential of high tech corporate development should the Navy decide a city of 435,00 is not the ideal place to train pilots and abandon Oceana, I agree your agenda of pragmatic compromise is the high road. Let's hope, though, that the developers get their way and, as you say, nature takes its course. Thank you for your great work on behalf of many of the residents of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.--name withheld |
| * | My thoughts where the
same as others members, that keeping quiet on the encroachment
issue and letting the Council drive the jets out would have
been the best approach. However I see your point, also. I'm curious
as to weather the reduction in fly bye's with jets 2 to 4 times
louder is actually a better quality of life or not. We'll
see? Thanks for the effort and keep up the good work! --Dave |
| * | Kudos is due to all CCAJN Board members for defining your policy and sticking with it. Openness and consistency is not something VA Beach city council can be relied on for. Keep up the good work you're doing. It is encouraging to know that someone is keeping tab on what is truly for the best of our community. --Gabe Jimenez |
| * | I agree 100% with CCAJN policy and appreciate them taking the high road. If CCAJN had taken the position early on to close Oceana NAS then I do not think that the changes agreed to by the Navy would have been considered, let alone adopted, because CCAJN would have been considered a crazy extreme group and no one would have taken them seriously. I too, do not want Oceana NAS to pull out of Virginia Beach, even though I live in Chesapeake. I don't think it is necessary as long as the second OLF is built. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before we get the field but, at least the Navy is trying to help the citizens somewhat have to say, secretly, a little part, just a little part of me would like to see Oceana pull out, or at least really threaten to, so I could see the city Council squirm. --Teresa Lane |
| * | I am in full agreement with your
logic and your plans and your email. The City Council
may, in the end, drive the Navy out. But whether
that happens or not, CCAJN is doing an incredible job of staying
the course and being persistent and knowledgeable on the subjects. --Sylvia Boecker |
| On the Pilot's Out of Touch Editorial on Noise Complaints, (see E-News dated 12/29/03) and (see E-News dated 1/10/04) | |
| * | The letter that was published by the Pilot and by a editor of the Pilot is a tremendous disgrace for journalism as a whole. The New York Times fired a reporter (Blair) for his outright lies.The Pilot has yet to even file an apology. Concerning the era that we live in, where we count on our Media to be a trustworthly source of information, I will never believe anything in print from them again. They are an absolute disgrace! --Dave Sawyer, January 10, 2004 |
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If they don't think there are many jet noise complaints then they need to go back and review the hearing that was held at the Pavilion! Marcia Humphrey, January 10, 2004 |
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I have tried on several
occasions to submit a noise form to Oceana using the form available
on their web site. The form will not work or transmit. I fill
out the information and attempt to send. Can you help me to find
out what I can do to correct this problem. I want to complain
about several things to do with Oceana noise. Please help........J.C.,
January 12, 2004 CCAJN RESPONSE: Ray Firenze at Oceana is the Community Relations officer, 433-3158. Troy Snead, the PIO, is actually the guy who runs the Website, I don't know his extension, but he can be reached through the Oceana switchboard. |
| * | We need to thank all those individuals that have put "I love Jet Noise" bumper stickers on their automobiles for they have essentially admitted to a problem. They truly are advertising our cause and not theirs. -- Gabe, December 29, 2003 |