By Associated Press
EDINBURGH, Ind. (AP) — The Indiana National Guard has pulled back on a legislative proposal that would have given military officials a say in the approval of residential and business development near two major combat training sites, but the issue could come up again next year.
A bill introduced in the General Assembly would have created 3-mile buffer zones around Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near North Vernon.
Proposals for projects such as subdivisions or shopping centers within that zones — which would have included the town of Edinburgh, Prince’s Lakes and a stretch of Interstate 65 — would have had to go to the military for review.
The legislative proposal was dropped in the past week after some local officials and residents worried the military would have veto power over developments, which they said would diminish property owners’ rights and hurt land values.
Indiana Adjutant Gen. R. Martin Umbarger said he hoped a committee of military, state and local officials could come up with a plan that would ease local concerns while still giving the National Guard some say in developments near the installations where millions of dollars are invested each year.
“We want to assure we’ll have a seat at the table, assure we have some voice other than another neighbor, just because of the investment,” Umbarger told the Daily Journal of Franklin.
Umbarger said the size of the buffer zone could be changed because the military does not want to control what happens in Edinburgh. Umbarger also said the Guard doesn’t want to stop subdivisions, stores or restaurants from being built nearby.
But he said he would prefer not to have a group of strip clubs and bars built near Camp Atterbury, and if a housing development was planned he would want potential residents warned about the noise and activity they would experience.
“We need some kind of protection of (the installations), but whatever we do — I want to assure everybody — will be something the community can accept,” said Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne.
If the committee comes up with a proposal, it could be considered during the 2011 legislative session.
