Right decision: Buffer zone around base insurance community needs

The Wayne County Planning Board and the county's commissioners are about to combine their efforts to make a decision that is not only in the best interest of the community now, but also one that could save it from heartache in the future.

The board has called for approval of stricter rules on buffer zones around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, which would limit what kinds of subdivisions can be built there.

And it is absolutely the right decision.

There will be some who will see the call for the rules as the base dictating to this community and its property owners what they can and cannot do with their land. And for some that will be hard to take.

But they are wrong. This is the right decision and one that shows leadership and foresight.

The truth is that keeping that safety and noise space around the base is important -- both for the people who would live around there and for the future viability of the base.

But we also have to think ahead -- to the next time the government is looking for areas that no longer need to keep -- or want to keep -- their bases.

Wayne County does not want to be on that "maybe" list -- and this is one of the ways to make sure this community survives another Base Realignment and Closure Commission. And that is critical to this county's future health and prosperity.

Published in Editorials on June 9, 2010 10:35 AM