[CPEO-MEF] Taylor Concerned With Portofino Condos

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Mississippi
12/04/02
Taylor Concerned With Portofino Condos

'Portofino,' that's the name of the new condominium project stirring 
some controversy in Biloxi. A New Orleans developer wants to build two, 
13 story towers on the site of the Slippery Sam's Water Park on the 
Biloxi Strip. But, congressman Gene Taylor doesn't think this is such a 
good idea.

Tuesay, a representative from Taylor's Gulfport office read a letter, 
from the congressman, addressing encroachment issues to Keesler Air 
Force Base.

Congressman Taylor says that unregulated growth can severely restrict 
the base's ability to generate and sustain combat power, and that 
encroachment is a key element used to determine which bases survive and 
which close.

Developers want a unobstructed view to the sea for their towers. 
Tuesday, all the cloud cover kept visibility low, but on a clear day, 
with the sun shining, future residents will be able to look out their 
windows and gaze for miles.

It's the height of those future towers that has some worried. Bill 
Felder addressed the Biloxi council with a message from Congressman 
Taylor about the development.

"With another BRAC round a little more than two years away, we must be 
careful to ensure that any future development neither jeopardizes nor is 
perceived to harm the long term missions of our military installations," 
Congressman Taylor's representative Bill Felder read.

Keesler military base provides about 1.4 billion dollars every year to 
our local economy.

"Encroachment interferes with military readiness and can have the effect 
of de-valuing an installation to the point that it may become a prime 
candidate for closure in 2005," Felder read from Taylor's letter.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=1036138

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~