The Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission took some expected flak this week before establishing the renamed Air Force Base Force Protection Overlay District, which will limit to about two stories the height of new buildings within a half-mile of the base.
It’s painful to see residents negatively affected by the district, but the height limits were recommended by no less than the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management as a way to limit opportunities for espionage or attack. In response to neighbor complaints, planners rescaled the size of the district last month. City and county leaders had to balance property owners’ remaining concerns against the potential catastrophic economic impact of losing the base. And surely buying property near a military base always carries risk.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
One Comment
It’s design to help save the base from future BRAC cuts.