A settlement agreement approved Thursday by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will give Luke Air Force Base a fighting chance to land the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, officials said.
Its key component is a land use ordinance prohibiting new single-family development in high-accident and high-noise areas around Luke Air Force Base, Auxiliary Field 1 and Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field.
The agreement is between the state and county, and resolves more than a year of court litigation centered on encroachment near the base. It started in August 2008 when Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard sued the county in an attempt to uphold state law.
In April 2004, the state Legislature passed a law requiring every city and county with a military facility to adopt general land-use plans and enforce zoning regulations that assure development is compatible with the high noise and accident potential of military airport operations.
"I've heard this from the military on a number of occasions, that it's one of the best protective ordinances in the nation, and has been a model for others in other parts of our country," Goddard said.
His suit alleged the county violated the law by not having a plan, and also by issuing residential permits near Luke. Between January 2005 and March 2008, the county issued 96 residential permits around the two auxiliary fields and the main base, he said.
County Supervisor Max Wilson, R-District 4, defended the county's actions, saying it continued to approve permits because of fear landowners would sue the county for taking their property without due process of law or just compensation.
With the help of Gov. Jan Brewer, the state agreed in the settlement to defend any potential claims and hold Maricopa County harmless.
The agreement comes at a critical time, because Luke is one of five bases competing to be the second training site for the military's new F-35.
"True consensus is kind of rough to get these days, and here we have local, state and county government regardless of party, standing up and saying we need to do whatever we can to protect a critical economic and defense asset, not just for Arizona but for the United States," Goddard said.
The Air Force has started to evaluate the eligible bases for the F-35, and one of the items worth five points on its checklist asks about existing land use restrictions, Goddard said.
"Our united message today is clear to the decision makers in Washington. We stand ready for the F-35, and the state of Arizona will do all we can to make it happen," Brewer said.
Emily McCann can be reached by e-mail
at emccann@westvalleyview.com.
