Why put Lemoore and the Navy on a collision course?

The jet controversy in Lemoore spilled over into an animated, four-hour planning commission meeting Monday, most folks opposing a portion of the city's proposed general plan that calls for housing under an a flight path east of lemoore Naval Air Station.

Steve Griffiths of Lemoore, who owns a travel planning agency in Tulare, very eloquently expressed the rationale of the opposition in a Valley Voices column Saturday:

As our Valley continues to grow, conflicts between agriculture, industry, development, residents and the environment occur every day. All are important, and challenging, but few have such far-reaching effects.

The base contributes millions of dollars a week to the economy, and its personnel work around the clock to defend our national security.

The city has been working on its general plan for almost two years now. It's amazing -- and frustrating -- that the idea for these houses has survived for so long. To address concerns, the city says it would seek strict requirements on the houses and require homebuyers to waive their rights to sue because of noise.

That's just nuts. The proposed general plan needlessly puts the Navy, the city, landowners and residents on a collision course.

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