CCP 09-25-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1111 The historic buildings at the former Naval Training Center in San Diego are being restored and reused. Sometimes closed bases languish for years, their buirdings falling into disrepair as developers or local 90vernrnents squabble over reuse plans. The city of San Diego found one innovative idea for keeping the buildinqs in use. The Navy closed its Naval Training Center on 5nn Diego Bay incrementally over 4 years. During that time, the city leased base buildings from the Navy and then subleased them to other entities. This arrangement kept the buildings occupied and in good repair until the city officially took over the property. Other bases awaiting redevelopment, indud- ing South Weymouth Naval Air Station, have used similar leasing arraogements_ Communities will need to review currenl regulations and work with DaD to de- termine where and under what circumstances leasing arrangements are possible. Getting everyone on board As with any development project, the key to success is building broad public support for the plan. People will support a plan that represents a dear, shared vision for the future, is fair, and benefits the community as a whole. The LRA's great challenge will be to construc- tively harness the irllerest and enthusiasm of the vari- ous constituencies affected by the base redevelopment. The community's efforts will be most effective if they 8 speak with one voice_ The LRA must delicately balance the need to get input and develop consensus with the need to keep the project moving forward. . Education is fundamental to winning public sup- port. Citizens must understand the possibilities and the limitations of the base redevelopment process. The LRA and the community can learn from other closed military bases that have been successfully redevel- oped into vibrant, sought-after neighborhoods_ These transformations can show local residents how the base can become a neighborhood. Peer exchanges can provide essential information about how other lRAs successfully transformed their bases--e.<;pecially important details about financing, governance, and les- sons learned. In addition, outside experts in the rields of urban design and planning can help the community visuali7c the possibilities on the site. Cultivating community interest and support in the project is critical to success. From the earliest stages of gathering data on existing conditions, the public can playa role in providing information and comments. As the work shifts into planning for the future of the base, the LRA can work with community members to develop a vision for the site. Through a visioning exercise, the LRA can gain a sense of the community's goals and aspirations for the redevelopment_ To carry out this ex- ercise, the LRA may want to consider bringing in one of the many firms that specialize in visioning processes_ . As the plan develops, community input is critical. At the Orlando Naval Training Center, the commis- sion creating the redevelopment plan held more than 170 public meetings over 2 years_ At Lowry Air Force Base, the LRA brought the community together for thousands of hours of meetings to develop the reuse plan. In some cases, the public may vote on the reuse plan or adopt zoning to implement it, making early and ongoing public involvement even more important. The goafs of the public outreach are to motivate people to participate and to give everyone interested in the redevelopment a chance to get involved_ Outreach techniques that work in one community may not work in .