Concord Journal
Thursday, April 7, 2005

Resisting airport expansion
By Casey Lyons

(Editor's note: This story is the fifth in a series that looks at the
importance of Hanscom Air Force Base to the surrounding communities, the
possible impact of its closure and its proposed expansion.)

A closure or realignment of Hanscom Air Force Base could mean anything,
but some resident groups are already hoping it will not mean one thing:
Expansion of Hanscom Field. If the BRAC process determines the Air Force
Base is to be closed or realigned, some special interest groups fear it
could lead to the expansion of the adjacent civilian airport.

On May 16, the secretary of defense will submit a list of proposed
closures and realignments to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
Commission. This fall, BRAC will submit its recommendations to President
George W. Bush. Federal, state and regional officials are anxiously waiting
to see if Hanscom appears on the secretary of defense's list.

Hanscom Field was established using federal grant monies in 1940.
Several years later, the Air Force Base was commissioned at the site. By
1959, Massport, the Massachusetts Port Authority, took control of the
civilian airport, according to the organization's Web site.

With a nationwide increase of corporate jet travel, Hanscom Field has
felt the pressure to accommodate, but has resisted expansion of
infrastructure. If the BRAC process finds Hanscom Air Force Base on the
closure list, expansion of the airport is one of many possible outcomes.

Massport officials won't speculate at this time, preferring to express
support for the expansion of Hanscom Air Force Base, instead of the civilian
airfield, known as "Logan's reliever airport," according to Massport
spokesman Richard Walsh.

Hanscom Field has become the busiest general aviation airport in New
England, and the second busiest airport in New England in terms of total
flights, behind Logan International Airport in Boston, according to
Massport's Web site.

Walsh said Hanscom Field has always been a hub for corporate air travel
and general aviation, and "the type of activity you see at the airport is in
support of that function," he said in response to a question on recent
construction, and the addition of freight and commercial carriers to the
airfield.

Though Hanscom Field has undergone changes in recent years, Walsh said
that construction has been done by third parties seeking to enhance or
replace existing hangars for private planes and functions.

He also said the late-1990s addition of commercial traffic to Hanscom
Field corresponds with a general upswing in the economy. Prior to the
recession of the mid-1990s, Walsh said, Hanscom Field had served as a hub
for commercial traffic, though on a limited basis.

"Hanscom (Field) like many airfields of its size, has a history of
limited commercial activity," Walsh said. "Aviation in general is cyclical
and based on the economy."

Asked if Massport would seek to increase its operations, should Hanscom
Air Force Base be decommissioned, Walsh declined to speculate. Instead, he
noted Massport's work to keep the Air Force Base open as a main driver for
the area's economy.

"Our effort right now is working with (the Massachusetts Defense
Technology Initiative) to carry the state's argument to keep Hanscom (Air
Force Base) off the closure list," he said.

Like local politicians, boards, interested parties, and special
interest groups, Massport supports the Mission Capacity Expansion Plan,
proposed by Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, and
fast-tracked through the state Legislature, Walsh said. The proposal set
aside $262 million in bonded funds to expand Hanscom Air Force Base and the
Natick Labs, should they remain off the BRAC closure list.

Walsh also noted a symbiotic relationship between Massport and Hanscom
Air Force Base, though he said the two organizations have no official
connection. Since Hanscom Air Force base is such a driver of the economy in
eastern Massachusetts, it brings in corporate passengers with business in
the "high-tech belt" of state Route 128 and Interstate 95, he said.

Said Walsh, "Our interest in the Air Force Base is similar to the four
towns (Bedford, Lincoln, Concord and Lexington), which is to keep a large
generator of the economy running along smoothly and efficiently."

Walsh declined comment on whether there would be enough space for an
International Airport should Hanscom Air Force Base's 846-acre parcel go on
the market, saying, "It wouldn't serve our base closure discussion well."

In a statement Anna Winter, executive director of Save our Heritage, a
Concord-based nonprofit organization aimed at historic preservation, noted
its stance on the potential closing of Hanscom Air Force Base and what that
could mean for Hanscom Field.

"We are longtime supporters of the Air Force Base and hope that it will
stay open. It has always been a good neighbor. However, regardless of the
outcome of the BRAC process, we will continue our effort of more than a
decade to restrain the growth of Hanscom Field airport so as to keep it in
balance with the sensitive historic and natural sites that surround it."

Margaret Coppe, president of Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area's
Irreplaceable Resources (ShhAir), a nonprofit organization geared at
preserving historical and natural resources in the four Hanscom area towns,
said her group is backing the plan to maintain or enhance Hanscom Air Force
Base.

She said, "We feel its an asset in many ways to the community."

Should the base close however, ShhAir remains wary that Massport may
seek to increase operations.

"Our concerns are if (the Air Force Base) land is disposed of Massport
will be looking to increase operations out here and one of the ways they can
do that is by increasing infrastructure."

For ShhAir, a larger Hanscom Field translates into more noise, ground
traffic and potential for air pollution, said Coppe. The main concern for
ShhAir is noise, which disturbs the setting of some of the area's natural
and historical resources.

Into the future, ShhAir wants to see more of the same from Hanscom
Field, Coppe said.

"What we would like to see is Hanscom (Field) being a general aviation
airport with no scheduled commercial passengers and no larger cargo
airlines, such as FedEx. And we would like to see there be an agreement
about noise levels that could be measured and enforced," she said.

"The airport has served general aviation for a long time and there is a
place for that," she added.

Coppe said ShhAir will continue to monitor the situation, including
attendance at municipal meetings, and following the issue in the media.

"We want to know what happens so we are not starting from ground zero
if (the base closure) becomes a reality," she said.

ShhAir will also seek input into a Local Redevelopment Authority, which
will be created to guide the region to successful redevelopment if Hanscom
Air Force Base is closed or realigned to a significant degree.

But for Coppe, it seems that cooperative work with Massport is not in
the cards.

"It's a shame we can't work with Massport in a more congenial way and
collegial way to determine what goes on (at Hanscom Field). That certainly
doesn't happen now."

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