Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, February 24, 2005

Contingency plans under study if Hanscom were to close

By Barbara Forster

Complex and fast-moving are the best ways to describe efforts to turn a
potential Hanscom Air Force Base "worst-case-scenario" into a "good thing."

The Hanscom Area Towns Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 15, was apprised of
contingency planning if the base were to close. Armed with a $156,000 grant
from the Office of Economic Adjustment (an agency of the Department of
Defense), Sasaki Associates and Garrity and Knisely are beginning to create
a proactive study with two primary goals.

One goal is to evaluate, at a conceptual level only, the likely effects
of a closure on such things as the economy, social and government services.
Another goal is to begin to identify concepts for future reuse. The study
will also define parameters for a more detailed future plan.

Fred Merrill of Sasaki Associates stressed that this pre-closure study
is strictly conceptual. "It is not a detailed post-BRAC reuse plan," he
said.

Having such a plan does not affect the military's decision to close or
not to close the base, but it could give HATS and the towns a head start
into the post-BRAC detailed planning process should the base close.

The deadline is mid-May when the first base closure list is announced.

The "what-if" process is not part of the Massachusetts Defense
Technology Initiative, which is working actively to keep the Air Force in
the Bay State. "They are going full steam ahead to save the base," said HATS
Chairwoman Sara Mattes of Lincoln.

Plans are necessary

"This is a very intricate legal process with complex reuse issues,"
said Lincoln Town Manager Tim Higgins, who spearheaded the effort for
federal financial assistance. "It's akin to developing a new community from
the ground up."

David Knisely of Garrity and Knisely agreed. "This is a new day in base
closures," he said.

In previous rounds, the military gave away property. This time the
Department of Defense wants to avoid environmental cleanup issues so the
bases will be sold quickly making developers responsible for the task. "If
the military does it (the cleanup), it drags on forever," said Knisely.

Other federal agencies including the rest of the armed services have
opportunities to get the land, if they want it.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development gets in the act, too.
"HUD has to approve reuse," said Knisely, noting that the plan must
"adequately" address the needs of the homeless.

The scenario is further complicated for the Hanscom communities because
land in the area is so valuable.

Given an anxious seller, speed is a critical factor. The entity, known
as the Local Redevelopment Authority, that negotiates with the military must
be in place and ready with a plan on how to use the land once closure
decisions are made. According to Knisely, making plans after the decision
will be too late. "The military won't wait for an LRA to get together," he
said.

The "local" authority can be town-, regional- or state-based or some
type of combination. The Office of Economic Adjustment, which funds the
planning group and will provide addition money for a reuse plan if the base
closes, certifies the LRA as the negotiating agency.

Knisely believes that "OEA would rather work with towns than regional
or state groups."

Regardless of how the group is constituted, Knisely repeatedly stressed
that cooperation among the various interested parties, including entities
like Massport, is essential. "The stakes are high so it's worth getting in
the sandbox and going through the issues," he said. "The services are very
good to deal with if they have a good partner."

However, Catch-22 is at work. Formal discussions at the state level
about the future of the base if the Air Force pulls out are not likely to
happen in the next few months. Keeping the base open is the only topic up
for discussion, said Mattes.

Base data

The 830-acre base is part of all four towns: 48 percent of the land is
in Lincoln, 30 percent in Bedford, 21 percent in Lexington, and less than
one percent in Concord. "Each town has already zoned the property that the
base sits on," said Bedford Selectman Sheldon Moll.

The uses are all different, he said.

Current land use at the base includes 295 acres or 35 percent for
employment, 244 acres (30 percent) for open space, 200 acres (25 percent)
for residential, and 77 acres (9 percent) for retail. The base has 3.5
million square feet of office space and another million in housing. Only
nine acres or so are related to airfield activities.

Although Merrill described Hanscom as a "small town" where people live,
work, learn, and play, he noted that the base is "heavily weighted toward
employment."

Ninety-five percent of base water comes from Lexington, but only a
third of the allocation is used. Wastewater goes to Bedford through the
MWRA.

Senator Susan Fargo reported that the legislature unanimously passed a
$260-million-bond bill to fund a plan to expand Hanscom Air Force Base by
1.25 million square feet of space including 4,000 new jobs and 800 new
housing units. The proposal does not extend the footprint of the base but
uses part of the base's 76 acres of parking space for the housing and new
research and development facilities.

The money is for infrastructure aspects of the plan. The bill also
identifies MassDevelopment as the development authority.

Getting the money in place was critical, said Mattes. "This shows the
Pentagon that we are serious," she said.

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