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Plan irks Beach leaders
VIRGINIA BEACH — City officials say a plan to sell 564 acres around Camp Pendleton shows that state officials are more interested in boosting the treasury than serving the citizens.
Vivian E. Watts, secretary of transportation and public safety, told city officials in a recent letter that the state has declared the land surplus property. She said the land, which Includes a city golf course, a tennis center and a fire training station, must be sold for "fair market value.”
She said the city will get the first opportunity to buy the land. Otherwise, it will be sold to private developers.
Mayor Robert G. Jones said the proposal “just fails to recognize what the purpose of local government is. What they seem to be doing is defining the public interest as maximizing the cash flow into the state treasury.”
Virginia Beach officials say that if the state is going to sell the land, the city should get a price break because the property is used for public purposes. “We are trying to serve the same constituency as the governor and Mrs. Watts are,” Mayor Jones said.
But Mrs. Watts said the state always sells surplus property to municipalities at fair market value.
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