The Bay County commission, Panama City commission and the Panama City Beach council unanimously approved the Bay County Joint Land Use study today.

The purpose of the study is to protect the viability of current and future missions at Naval Support Activity Panama City.

It creates a one mile buffer around the base to prevent interference with military microwave tower frequencies or safety measures. It also sets line of sight guidelines, limiting building heights depending on their distance from NSA.

"The military bases here represent a huge boost to our economy. They do so much for our community. So this is an effort to coordinate with them when we make any land use changes to make sure that we don't interfere with any part of their mission,” said Panama City Mayor Scott Clemons.

Each local government will look at potential changes and consider the strategies recommended in the study. They also agree to keep open lines of communication.