— from David Turnoy —

Recently Rhea Miller of Lopez Island wrote a guest column in The Sounder which also appeared in Orcas Issues. In this column she spoke of the growing effort of the military to operate in our communities and the promotion of this idea by the Washington state Commerce Department.

The concern is that the military may be able to take over land-use planning, leaving no room for local wants or needs. Several bills to this effect have been introduced in our legislature, often supported by Democrats (who tout jobs) as well as Republicans. Luckily, so far, none has passed. We need to nip this in the bud.

You can help by copying and pasting my letter below into the first slot on the form found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CompatibilityInputForm, which will go to the state Commerce Department. Should you want to look at the guidebook for civilian-military compatibility, that can be found at ww.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/growth-management/growth-management-topics/military-base-land-use/.

Here is the letter to paste in:

I am concerned about the Growth Management Civilian Military Compatibility Guide. The guidebook lays out what is needed to attract more military activity to Washington state. This guidebook impacts communities beyond the actual location of military bases. Military operations may take place anywhere within reach of the base, impacting those communities outside of the base’s location. These communities need to have a voice regarding the impacts. Currently, most communities are not even aware of this guide.

Based on the guide, recent bills have been introduced to the WA legislature that would put the military in charge of land use planning, overriding any input from citizens about what they want in their communities. There would be no way to hold the military accountable for any impact from its operations, basically giving the military a blank check. This is a taking of local rights and is forbidden by the state constitution and by the 5th Amendment. Luckily, so far these bills have all been defeated.

However, as the guidebook is further promoted, there will be more such bills introduced. It is thought that adding military activities adds jobs and improves the local economy. But there is no proof for this idea. In fact, an economic study from South Whidbey shows that by giving military commerce a higher priority than other commerce, it actually weakens the local economy. Washington state needs a sustainable economy based on a variety of jobs including tech, education, agriculture, tourism, outdoor recreation, and small manufacturing, not an economy based on the military.

We can appreciate and support the military without having to give up our rights as US citizens. I would prefer that efforts to promote this guidebook be abandoned.

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