THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503090202
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Chesapeake homeowners who are unhappy about the prospect of having their pastoral tranquillity disturbed by a proposed automobile raceway will get another chance to have their say.
The Suffolk City Council, which authorized construction of the race track two months ago, agreed this week to go back to the starting line.
Suffolk Mayor Chris S. Jones allowed that, ``in the spirit of open government,'' a new public hearing on the track would be held on March 29. The mayor's statement was carefully worded so as to avoid admitting any wrongdoing.
Fact is, though, the spirit of open government had a lot less to do with it than state law. Suffolk City Council violated it when they failed to notify Chesapeake officials of the rezoning issue in a proper and timely way.
Opponents of the track have filed a lawsuit alleging that Suffolk had not given Chesapeake the 10-day notice required when one city considers a zoning change involving land located within a half-mile of its border. Judging by Suffolk's sudden change of heart, their own lawyers apparently agree that things weren't on the up and up. In any case, they are worried, and rightly so, that the lawsuit could tie up the city's efforts to develop the industrial park where the track would be located.
The issue has strained relations between the neighboring cities. Chesapeake's own City Council, while reluctant to go too far in condemning the actions of another council, would like to find a way to appease the aggrieved residents of Western Branch. Chesapeake council members have been mixed up in these ``not in my backyard'' fights before, and they are perfectly willing to let their counterparts in Suffolk take the heat on this one.
Backers of the race track view the snafu over notification as a technicality, a mere failure to dot the i's and cross the t's. It's more than that. Clearly, the first public hearing did not reflect the extent of the opposition to the track.
Property owners on both sides of the Chesapeake-Suffolk line who will have to put up with the noise, traffic and general nuisances that a race track might bring ought to have an opportunity to make their case. It's a strong case, supported by evidence from no less competent source than Suffolk's own Planning Commission, which recommended that the race track's application for a rezoning be denied.
Another hearing, of course, won't necessarily change minds of Suffolk city council members. They've already heard the best arguments against the track and have given it a green flag anyway.
The hearing later this month is just a pit stop; it doesn't mean the race is over. by CNB