[CPEO-MEF] REUSE: Airport public benefit conveyances

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[In the wake of the Oceana Naval Air Station crash, I've reminded a  
few people that Air Force Bases tend to be remote enough from  
residential and other urban development for communities to choose to  
keep them as airports after closure, but that Naval Air Stations are  
generally nestled into suburban residential communities. So when they  
close, the runways are often torn up in response to pressure from the  
neighbors. There are exceptions, of course. - LS]


Public Benefit Conveyances AFRPA Moves Thousands of Acres of Surplus  
Property into Public Hands


by Susan Wolbarst
Air Force Real Property Agency Public Affairs
April 6, 2012

Sacramento, CA -- There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but  
Public Benefit Conveyances (PBCs) come pretty close. Since 1995, the  
Air Force has used PBCs to transfer more than 27,000 acres of surplus  
property, usually at little or no cost, back to the community. These  
former Air Force properties, identified by the Base Realignment and  
Closure (BRAC) Commission, are deeded to eligible public entities and  
non-profit groups. Most of these deeds are in perpetuity, although  
some cases involve leases of 25-plus years.

Such land - often including improvements such as buildings and other  
infrastructure - can be important in meeting public facility needs,  
especially during lean economic times. For many communities which  
formerly hosted Air Force bases, PBCs can be seen as one key benefit  
of BRAC.

"The intent of a PBC is to return to the public those properties that  
benefit the community as a whole," according to Robert Moore,  
Director of the Air Force Real Property Agency, which spearheads PBC  
transactions at closed Air Force bases across the country.

...

For the entire release, see
http://www.safie.hq.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123297059

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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