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Stafford County adopts Joint Land Use Study

3 Jun 2014 | Steve M. Hundley Marine Corps Base Quantico

With the adoption of the Marine Corps Base Quantico Joint Land Use Study by the Stafford County Board of Supervisors June 3, the significant challenge of implementing the study’s recommendations can begin. Stafford County was the final JLUS partner to approve the document. Prince William and Fauquier counties, and Marine Corps Base Quantico signed off on the final version of the JLUS earlier this year. Facilitated by AECOM consulting services, the final JLUS is the culmination of an 18-month process in which representatives from the base and the three counties met frequently to work on issues of common concern and interest. The study funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment is designed to bring military installations together with their surrounding civilian neighbors to focus on finding solutions to problems of common concern.

The result of the MCB Quantico JLUS effort is a document that provides a road map to solving many of the vexing problems that confront Marine Corps Base Quantico and the surrounding region. A total of 40 recommendations are offered in the JLUS that were designed to correct or mitigate those problems. Issues or problems were identified in eight broad categories including coordination; communication; military operations; transportation systems; utility/municipal services; Virginia legislative initiatives; community development/planning; and environment/conservation/open space.

The Quantico Regional Executive Steering Committee was designated in the JLUS to be the standing mechanism to continue dialogue between the partners and to implement the proposed JLUS recommendations. Created well before the start of the JLUS process, the QRESC structure was established for the sole purpose of discussing issues and solving problems of mutual concern to the base and the three adjacent counties.

Now that all JLUS partners have signed off on the final document, the important implementation phase of the project can begin. 

Some of the proposed recommendations can be implemented in relatively short order of a few months, while others will require years to implement or will be ongoing efforts. Amending the QRESC charter to recognize the JLUS partnership and establishing mutual notification procedures are two examples of short-term recommendation implementation. An example of a long-term implementation is finding a solution to the use of Garrison Road as an ordnance transportation route to supply some of the MCBQ ranges. Pursuing funding to plan and construct an on-base ordnance transport route is expected to be very expensive and unlikely to occur during this period of severe budget reduction. Reducing military and civilian airspace conflicts while protecting the training mission will be an ongoing coordination process between the JLUS partners, the FAA and Stafford Regional Airport, among others. 

The QRESC is expected to meet this month to begin the JLUS implementation process.


Marine Corps Base Quantico