One of the most important issues facing Arizona is the long-term preservation of Luke Air Force Base. It is the largest single site employer in the state of Arizona. The impact of Luke on Arizona’s economy is staggering with over $5 billion in assets, real property, buildings and land, and 188 aircraft. Luke employs more than 7,300 personnel and contributes more than $1.4 billion into the state’s annual economy.

On a national level, Luke is the premier fighter-training base in America. It is a vital link in the defense of our country.

Luke has been a valued member of our community for more than 60 years. When Luke was originally built, the population of Maricopa County was about that of the city of Peoria now, about 129,000. The entire state had about the population of modern Peoria and Glendale. As our communities have grown, unfortunately we have taken its presence for granted. Because the base has been there far longer than the vast majority of the people in Arizona, we just assume that the billions of dollars Luke pumps into our economy each year will always be there. Too often, we overlook the highly skilled, well disciplined, and valuable neighbors that are here because of Luke AFB and we fail to equate the jets in the skies of the West Valley to the freedoms that make us the envy of the world.

Rapid development and urban sprawl has become a significant threat to the future of Luke. In 2005, about one quarter of this nation’s military bases will be selected for closure. The federal government has no interest in keeping facilities that cannot fulfill long-term missions because of limited capacity and threats by uncontrolled development. Predictability of airspace, military operating areas, development patterns, zoning and the ability to rely on state and local government protections around military installations are all key to sustaining the long term viability of Luke’s mission.

In recognition of this, mayors and city councils throughout the West Valley, our congressional delegation, and supporters of Luke owe Rep. John Nelson, R-12, and a debt of gratitude for his efforts in the 2004 legislative session. He took heroic steps to strengthen the missions carried out by our military installations statewide. With overwhelming support of the Legislature, veterans groups, public officials and private citizens, H2141 was passed in 2004. It applies the same safety and compatibility protections around Luke’s Auxiliary Field No. 1 (Aux. 1) that exist around the main base. Without these protections, development pressures would surely close down this mission-critical asset for Luke’s fighter pilots.

Fighter pilots who train at Aux. 1 repeatedly practice their approaches and departures, flying very slow and low to the ground. There were more than 13,000 operations at Aux. 1 last year alone.

While Rep. Nelson’s bill is essential to keeping these missions viable, careful consideration was given to protecting the rights of landowners while balancing the need to continue the important mission of training fighter pilots for combat. Commercial, industrial, agricultural and other uses were spelled out in the legislation as “compatible” around the auxiliary field, to not deprive landowners of the ability to realize value on their property. Also under H2141, “grandfathering” rights were extended through the end of this year to all landowners who had taken actual steps toward development of any type around Aux 1. These provisions were crafted to conform to long-standing U.S. Supreme Court decisions that balance individual property rights with community responsibilities to regulate compatible land uses.

In addition, landowners will soon be able to draw down nearly $5 million annually set aside by the state to offset potential earnings from land sales to high-density developers. At the Congressional level, “land swap” legislation is being introduced to allow for the purchase of land around military facilities at fair market value, for those landowners interested in selling property near the base. Recent federal legislation allows the Department of Defense to purchase development rights around military installations to help buffer against further encroachment from development, while providing compensation to landowners in areas next to military installations.

With so many opportunities for residential development elsewhere and the viability of other compatible land uses near these facilities, the desire for unconstrained sprawl should not outweigh the benefit Luke AFB brings to both our community and our nation’s defense. The future of Luke requires a strong determination by our citizens and political leaders to ensure the long-term sustainability of Luke. To weaken the protections put in place to preserve Luke’s mission would be to allow unbridled development to close down one of our nation’s finest military installations.—

John Keegan has served as mayor of Peoria since 1997. From 1991 to 1995, he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives.