Move the radar in Virginia Beach

If we're worried about national security at Virginia Beach because tall buildings block one-third of the range of the Federal Aviation Administration's radar at Oceana Naval Air Station, the answer is not to do nothing and hope a hurricane clears the view.

The answer is to move the radar. Yes, it's expensive. Depending on the extent of the construction and relocation, anecdotal estimates to move the radar to Fort Story or the Eastern Shore range from a few million to $25 million.

Yes, it would be complicated. The Air Route Surveillance Radar Model 4, which spins 360 degrees, is part of a network of 43 radars installed in the 1990s, primarily along the outer rim of the United States. The FAA uses it to direct air traffic; the Navy uses it to help manage offshore training, the Air Force monitors objects up to 250 nautical miles out between the New Jersey shore and the Outer Banks.

The radar detects unidentified aircraft, which means it is also a national security tool. But it has a huge blind spot.

A study the city commissioned determined that 34 percent of the radar's reach at the Oceanfront is blocked by tall buildings, some approved by the FAA in the past five years. As a result, developers planning one 200-foot-tall hotel on 34th Street at the Oceanfront have permission to build because a high rise nearby - the Mayflower Hotel, built in 1949 - already blocks the radar there. Building another wouldn't make a difference.

Nineteen blocks south, however, plans for a 165-foot hotel have been rejected because that hotel would further impede the radar's view.

Whether the city ought to be allowing high-rises is not the debate. In December 2008, the Virginia Beach City Council unanimously approved a plan to remake the resort into an urban space that includes high-rise hotels and office buildings.

In fact, the Beach already has about 35 buildings taller than 110 feet, or 10 stories, the maximum height the FAA allows in the resort area within reach of the radar.

In May, city officials talked about the radar with congressional and Department of Defense staffs. DOD officials said they would review the issues and respond within two months. The city has heard nothing.

If it's a national security issue, as the feds claim, then our security already is in peril because the radar doesn't detect anything in the shadows of tall buildings. The radar needs to be moved, immediately, to a place where its range is unencumbered.

Who should pay for the move is a matter that can be negotiated. And it should be - before our vulnerability to natural disaster or security breach jeopardizes the safety of the region or nation.