Recall Votes Target Blackwater's Plans In Potrero

NBCSan Diego (2007-12-10)

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More Info: Blackwater, Blackwater West, Local Politics

POSTED: 10:00 pm PST December 10, 2007
UPDATED: 10:18 pm PST December 10, 2007

POTRERO, Calif. -- Residents in the town of Potrero will vote Tuesday on whether to remove five members of an advisory planning board from office.

At issue is a proposal by security contractor Blackwater Worldwide to build a firing range in east San Diego County.

North Carolina-based Blackwater wants to turn an 800-acre former chicken farm into a training camp for law enforcement officers. The facility would include 11 firing ranges, a driving track and a helipad. Opposition to the plan intensified in September, after Blackwater guards were investigated in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

The recall vote targets planning board members who endorsed Blackwater's plans. The Potrero Planning Group endorsed plans for the camp, but final approval may still be months way.

Planning Board Chairman Gordon Hammers has said the camp would provide an economic boost to the area.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has the final say on the project. It has not scheduled a vote.