What is a Joint Land Use Study?

A Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) is a cooperative land use planning effort conducted as a joint venture between an active military installation, surrounding cities and counties, state and federal agencies, and other affected stakeholders. The JLUS collaboration is funded through the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA).

What Are the Objectives of a JLUS?

The primary objective of a JLUS is to reduce potential conflicts between a military installation and its host community while still accommodating new growth and economic development, sustaining economic vitality, and protecting the general public’s health and safety, without compromising the operational missions of the installation. JLUS programs have three core objectives:

UNDERSTANDING. Increase communication between the military, local jurisdictions, and stakeholders to promote an understanding of the strong economic and physical relationship between the installation and its neighbors.

COLLABORATION. Promote collaborative planning between the military, local jurisdictions, and stakeholders in order to safeguard the mission of the installation from future incompatible development.

ACTIONS. Develop and implement strategies for reducing the impacts of incompatible activities on the community and military operations. Devise tools to support compatibility in the future.

How Long Will The Project Take?

The Hampton-Langley JLUS is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010.

How Will The Project Be Undertaken?

The project will be completed in six phases:

Phase 1:	Project Initiation
Phase 2:	Analysis and Mapping
Phase 3:	Analysis of Land Uses and Potential Future Conflicts with Military Missions
Phase 4:	Recommendations
Phase 5:	JLUS Document
Phase 6:	Implementation

What Are The Opportunities For Public Input?

The public can be involved in the JLUS development by providing input and guidance to the process through informing the Policy Committee representatives of their issues and recommendations, submitting comments and feedback online by clicking the "Comments" button on this website, and attending any of the three public focus meetings and / or four public review and input meetings.

• Public Focus Meetings: These three meetings will take place one each for the City of Hampton, City of Newport News, and City of Poquoson and York County areas. They will serve to ensure public awareness is kept on the JLUS process and tailored to that specific area, as well as communicate and coordinate any actions that each jurisdiction chose to implement through the government and public processes.


• Public Review and Input Meetings: These four meetings will serve to obtain public input on the draft JLUS plan as outlined.

Who Will Guide The Development Of The JLUS?

Two committees, comprised of city, county, military, and other stakeholders will guide the development of the JLUS. The committees include:

Policy Committee (PC). This committee is responsible for leading the direction of the JLUS and monitoring the implementation and adoption of policies and strategies.

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). This committee is made up of representatives from different agencies and the development community. The TAC identifies and addresses technical issues, provides feedback on report development, and assists in the development and evaluation of implementation strategies and tools.

What Will The Hampton-Langley JLUS Address?

The Hampton-Langley JLUS will provide all stakeholders:

• A detailed land use assessment for surrounding high growth areas.
• A baseline of existing incompatible land uses around the installation.
• Assessments of regional growth trends along designated transportation corridors.
• A plan to assist surrounding communities with decision making.
• Recommendations and strategies to promote compatible land use planning around Bay County and surrounding communities.

What Are JLUS Recommendations?

JLUS recommendations may involve revisions to the communities’ comprehensive plan and traditional land use and development controls, such as zoning, subdivision regulations, structural height restrictions, and promotion of planned unit development concepts. Additional actions may include amending local building codes to require increased sound attenuation in existing and new buildings, land exchanges, transfer of development rights, and real estate disclosure.

How Have Past JLUS’s Been Successful?

Previous JLUS’s have shown a high success rate. The JLUS effort can directly benefit both the jurisdiction and the installation by:

• Protecting the health and safety of residents living or working near military installations.
• Preserving long-term land use compatibility between the installation and the surrounding community.
• Promoting comprehensive community planning.
• Encouraging a cooperative spirit between the local base command and local community officials.
• Integrating the local jurisdictions’ comprehensive plans with the installation’s plans.

What Is Compatibility?

Compatibility, in relationship to military readiness, can be defined as the balance and / or compromise between community and military needs and interests. The goal of compatibility planning is to promote an environment where both entities can coexist successfully. Study area data on existing conditions obtained from the TAC and PC meetings will be analyzed to identify future compatibility issues. This analysis will also identify the influence of regulatory measures on land use decisions and consider existing and projected development trends within the study area. The JLUS will study a set of 24 compatibility factors that are used to help ensure all compatibility issues are identified and addressed. While some of these issues may not occur in this study, they are presented below to provide a sense of the comprehensive nature of the JLUS evaluation.

What Are The 24 Compatibility Factors?