Camden County Sues to Force Sale of Land for Georgia Spaceport
Camden County commissioners are taking Union Carbide to court in an effort to force the company to sell land for a planned spaceport in Georgia. The Associated Press reports:
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.
Commissioners opted to disregard the vote, which they contend violated Georgia’s constitution. But Union Carbide balked at the county’s efforts to move forward with closing on the property. The company said last week that the deal was off because it had been “repudiated” by voters.
The county filed a civil suit Wednesday in Camden County Superior Court in hopes of keeping the spaceport project alive. Commissioners said the company still has a “contractual obligation to sell the property.”
Spaceport Camden would host small-satellite launches.
3 responses to “Camden County Sues to Force Sale of Land for Georgia Spaceport”
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So basically the county is forcing them to sell the county what is basically a toxic waste site…
Useful is where you find it.
Let’s pull aside the curtain for a moment and let the shadows retreat from the sun. The majority of Camden’s residents are fair-minded and have thoughtfully considered the impact of a spaceport on them and their legacy. We’ve prayed on it, asked for God’s direction, then drew a conclusion. I can tell you, then, that the shock and disillusionment left in this referendum’s wake truly pales the skin.
The itinerant NIMBY’s and urbanites who foisted this deception on us straight out of the D.C. playbook knew they couldn’t carry a vote, so they gave their Beltway friends a call, and they decided on a plan. Having inspected the ballot myself, I was appalled at the misuse of process and weasel words that could make a seasoned lawyer blush. If the organizers had truly wanted to take the voter’s pulse, they wouldn’t have resorted to the language stipulated in the referendum. The citizens expect yes to be in favor of the spaceport, and no to mean the opposite.
I can’t say I fully understand their motives, but there are certainly some who would benefit financially from the millions put forward to secure this vision if it were to fail. If you’re familiar with the name George Soros, I’d suggest looking up how he made his ill-gotten fortune. The bottom line is that we can’t allow ourselves to lose this opportunity and the investment we’ve already made. The instigators will continue their assault, but we cannot let them defeat us – demand transparency.