I'm not currently doing much posting around here, but when I initially read this, I thought about posting it. I think the entire story is interesting, and I hope I can remember to follow-up so I...
I'm not currently doing much posting around here, but when I initially read this, I thought about posting it. I think the entire story is interesting, and I hope I can remember to follow-up so I can see how it plays out. There's a lot to unpack - what voters voted for, do their votes matter, the contractual agreement between the county and the site owners, can someone get out of a contract because a community voted against the use, and more. I had hoped some people around here would have some thoughts because all I have are questions!
My first reaction was that this is an interesting argument from the county’s side. Can a referendum say a specific project can’t go forward? The actual ballot question was, “Shall the resolutions...
My first reaction was that this is an interesting argument from the county’s side. Can a referendum say a specific project can’t go forward?
The actual ballot question was, “Shall the resolutions of the Board of Commissioners of Camden County, Georgia authorizing the Option Contract with Union Carbide Corporation and Camden County’s right and option to purchase the property described therein be repealed?”
It’s pretty clear that the voters said this specific contract shouldn’t go forward. But couldn’t the county just build it in a different location? Sure, they’d have to restart the FAA clearance process again, but it’s basically just saying the county needs to walk away from the current deal.
But beyond that…why do they think this is a good idea? There’s such a small chance that it would be a success. I mean, there’s absolutely no infrastructure there. Even if they build a launch site, they still can’t compete by with something like Houston or Cape Canaveral, which has a huge support system outside of just the space port.
If anything, I could see private enterprises like Blue Origin playing them and stringing Camden County along as a pawn to get a better deal from NASA for use of their facilities.
A Georgia county has filed a lawsuit seeking to force a company to sell land on which the county has long planned to build a launchpad for commercial rockets.
Commissioners in coastal Camden County said in a statement Thursday that Union Carbide Co.’s refusal to sell the 4,000 acre (1,600 hectare) property, if allowed to stand, “will cause the County the loss of the Spaceport Project as well as an enormous financial loss in excess of $11 million.”
County officials have spent that sum over the past decade seeking to license and build Spaceport Camden, a site for launching satellites into space. Opponents say the project would pose safety and environmental risks that outweigh any economic benefits. The county held a referendum in March in which a large majority voted to kill the land deal.
I'm not currently doing much posting around here, but when I initially read this, I thought about posting it. I think the entire story is interesting, and I hope I can remember to follow-up so I can see how it plays out. There's a lot to unpack - what voters voted for, do their votes matter, the contractual agreement between the county and the site owners, can someone get out of a contract because a community voted against the use, and more. I had hoped some people around here would have some thoughts because all I have are questions!
My first reaction was that this is an interesting argument from the county’s side. Can a referendum say a specific project can’t go forward?
The actual ballot question was, “Shall the resolutions of the Board of Commissioners of Camden County, Georgia authorizing the Option Contract with Union Carbide Corporation and Camden County’s right and option to purchase the property described therein be repealed?”
It’s pretty clear that the voters said this specific contract shouldn’t go forward. But couldn’t the county just build it in a different location? Sure, they’d have to restart the FAA clearance process again, but it’s basically just saying the county needs to walk away from the current deal.
But beyond that…why do they think this is a good idea? There’s such a small chance that it would be a success. I mean, there’s absolutely no infrastructure there. Even if they build a launch site, they still can’t compete by with something like Houston or Cape Canaveral, which has a huge support system outside of just the space port.
If anything, I could see private enterprises like Blue Origin playing them and stringing Camden County along as a pawn to get a better deal from NASA for use of their facilities.