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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
May 14, 2005 Concord officials laud base closure Mixed-use development in works for inland portion of naval station By Rebecca F. Johnson, STAFF WRITERCONCORD — City officials are celebrating the decision by the U.S. Department of Defense to recommend closing the inland portion of its Naval Weapons Station because they want to develop the area with homes and businesses. Concord leaders, including three members of the City Council, which had unanimously lobbied for the base closure, eagerly arrived at their offices at 5:30 a.m. to hear the news. "We're very excited and happy that Concord was listed as a facility to be closed," Mayor Laura Hoffmeister said. The department's recommendations to close the 5,170-acre inland portion of the station and transfer the tidal area to the U.S. Army only will become final if the Base Realignment and Closing Commission, Congress and President Bush approve. The city is seeking to build a mixed-use "village" with about 13,500 houses and workplaces to employ 15,000 people, said Jim Forsberg, Concord's director of planning and economic development. The area is touted as prime real estate for its nearness to the North Concord BART station and Highway 4 and as a way to provide new homes and commercial ventures in the already built-out central Contra Costa County "I think it's a very wonderful opportunity for the community and the county to basically improve upon the region's needs for housing but doing it in a way that's thoughtful and really protects a lot of open space," said Contra Costa Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier, who lives in Concord. The inland portion of the station was mothballed in 1999, but as many as 71 people still work on the base to provide security and fire protection, said Gregg Smith, spokesman for California's naval weapons stations. "We wanted to keep the base in a (condition) where it would be easy to mobilize if we wanted to," he said. Smith said some of the personnel likely will be retained by the Army to continue in their current capacities. The Navy is also in the midst of evaluating and cleaning up 22 sites spread out across the inland and tidal portions. The environmental cleanup and transferring of the land is a lengthy process, however, so it may take several years before the city can even begin developing the property. "People are asking us 'when does the shovel hit the ground?'" Forsberg said. "We're taking a leap and saying five years, but that's us being optimistic." Any development will come only after a planning process involving the public, city officials said. They also anticipate only building on the areas already developed by the Navy, sparing about half the acreage — including the hilly areas visible from the highway — which may please environmentalists. "It's really up to Concord now to use that land appropriately," said David Reid, East Bay field representative for the Greenbelt Alliance. "They have the opportunity to make sure that the natural resources and scenic vistas in that base are protected." Rebecca Johnson covers Contra Costa County. She can be reached at (925)
416-4882 or rjohnson@angnewspapers.com. ### |
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