[CPEO-IRF] Obstacles to Reuse

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Obstacles Can Stop Efforts to Reuse Bases
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York Times
May 16, 2005

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Regional planners saw a great chance to open a much 
needed commercial airport in Southern California after the sprawling El 
Toro Marine Corps Air Station closed in 1999. But six years later, the 
base 50 miles south of Los Angeles is in limbo.

Orange County voters rejected the airport plan and opted for thousands 
of new homes, office buildings and a huge park on the 4,700-acre site -- 
development that has yet to begin. The base's warehouse facilities are 
being leased to private firms and a golf course and horse stables are 
used by the public.

El Toro is a striking example of how a military base closing, painful by 
itself, can lead to years of bickering and delays while divergent 
factions fight big battles over how to develop them. It's a situation 
that could lie ahead for dozens of communities across the nation after 
the Pentagon announced plans last week to close 33 major bases in 22 
states as part of a $48.8 billion cost-cutting drive.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Redeveloping-Military-Bases.html


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

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