THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230156
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
The ``Resolution of Concern,'' adopted Tuesday night by the Chesapeake City Council regarding the proposed racetrack near the Suffolk-Chesapeake border, is a political maneuver, pure and simple.
It appeases Chesapeake opponents - mostly from the vote-rich Western Branch area - and treads lightly lest Chesapeake finds itself butting heads with Suffolk over such a delicate, vital matter as industrial development.
The discussion - not just Tuesday night's but the turmoil created by the racetrack's announcement - also points out the neighborly obligations of one Hampton Roads city to the others.
Various Suffolk boundaries, for instance, adjoin Chesapeake, Isle of Wight County and North Carolina, so what they do potentially could affect Suffolk. Indeed, Isle of Wight's approval of a massive coal-storage yard near Windsor is as much a concern for bordering Suffolk residents and Hampton Roads residents whose drinking water comes from nearby lakes as for county residents.
Still, Suffolk has not officially stood in the way of the facility. The city has left to Isle of Wight and state and federal agencies making sure that health, safety and environmental standards are met.
The Chesapeake City Council's action Tuesday night had the appearance of an orchestrated, theatrical performance.
First, member Dr. Alan P. Krasnoff offered the ``Resolution of Concern,'' citing impacts of more traffic on access roads and the noise of a racetrack on area real estate.
Then, it was on to Dr. John M. de Triquet, who declared, ``I think the data is in'' to oppose the racetrack as detrimental to health, welfare and safety. Alluding to recent resistance to additional development on South Battlefield Boulevard, he asked, ``Why are we allowing, or not commenting on, creation of another hazard?''
The people of Chesapeake, he said, deserve from the council an ``equal amount of conviction and voice'' the council recently afforded snakes.
And then it was time for the peacemaker, Mayor William E. Ward, to advance the ``integrity of intracity cooperation'' and caution the council to be ``very careful'' in moving to the point of confrontation. Amend the resolution to encourage dialogue, Ward urged.
It was a point well taken, especially since Suffolk already had moved to be the good neighbor. What too few Chesapeake or Suffolk folks know is that Mayor S. Chris Jones and others met several weeks ago with Mayor Ward and others for a dialogue they hoped would resolve concerns about the racetrack and industrial park in which it will be placed.
However, when CAR - Citizens Against the Racetrack - filed suit against Suffolk to block rezoning for the racetrack, the city's legal advisor said dialogue should end. Instead of resolution, then, CAR just might have to settle for cutting off its nose to spite its face.
The Chesapeake City Council was right not to follow suit - even if Western Branch does have what racetrack opponents depict as 25 percent of the city's voters. Confrontation could get very expensive - for both cities.
As Mayor Ward pointed out, Chesapeake hardly asked Suffolk's or Portsmouth's permission to establish Chesapeake Square Mall in Western Branch. Indeed, Suffolk was at one time the front runner for the mall, and there's no question of the mall's impact on the neighboring cities.
Intracity squabbling is the last thing needed in the delicate business of industrial recruitment. Companies are sensitive to such issues, and that could drive them away.
At some point, every city and neighborhood in Hampton Roads must realize that they are not islands, political shows to the contrary.
Comment? Call 446-2494. by CNB