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^ Urban encroachment certainly is not new:
In 1947, Mitchell Field, New York, closed, when high- ^Se buildings at the end of the runway precluded air op-
Urban pressures forced the closure of Naval Air Station 0s Alaniitos in Southern California and its move to the atl Joaquin Valley as Naval Air Station Lemoore.
By Fred Pierson and Doug Sayers
Urban and suburban encroachment—e.g., Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California— affects bases nationwide. Good relations with People, press, and politicians—here, Congressman Bill Lowery (R-CA) speaks out for NAS Miramar—are the only ways to keep your base off the closure list.
Following closely on the heels of victory in the Persian Gulf, in one of the most extensive military drawdowns in U.S. history, a commission convened by ongress has reviewed a list of military bases suggested 0r closure or realignment. A common thread linking many ? these targeted facilities is loss of mission flexibility, . r°ught about by urban encroachment—which is degrad- lng our mission capabilities beyond Saddam Hussein’s "eldest dreams.
> Over the past 30 years, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego has lost one-third of its land to nearby Lindbergh International Airport.
Unfortunately, we have not learned from prior experience. The current closure study list has resurrected encroachment ghosts from the past, to haunt facilities now slated for closure.
According to the 1991 base closure study, “Air operations at Naval Air Station Moffett Field [see above] are severely encroached by air traffic ... and Air Accident Potential Zones are particularly severe to the south with multi-family residential development.” Denver's Lowry Air Force Base lost its flying mission in the 1960s, partly, at least, because of urban encroachment. Lowry made this year's list because "a lack of runway limited this base's overall long-term military value and its ability to accept other missions across a broad spectrum.”
The closure commission dropped from the final list some bases proposed earlier for closure. Among the reasons cited for the initial listing of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, was “encroachment at [the Coupeville] Outlying Field. Although it was spared closure this time, this base has no guarantee that it will survive the 1993 round of cuts.
The fundamental question is: What can be done to keep encroachment from forcing bases onto the closure list? By taking an active approach, the military can ensure that its facilities remain operational well into the next century.
The Law of Preservation of Military Bases consists of three axioms: >■ Military bases are subject to the influences of nearby political bodies.
These bodies will follow the course that best meets their needs. Congressional action forced Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, California, to provide space for a small boat marina, limiting mission flexibility. The Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, California, received similar pressure. The Marines lost valuable military housing land to a congressionally supported seed- potato agriculture outlease. Developers, land owners, and special-interest groups use their influence with elected officials to achieve their own land-use goals.
- Applying pressure to change the course of a political body in motion always creates friction.
The farther a political body deviates from the preferred course, the greater the energy required to redirect that body. As landlords, federal installations have the right and obligation to enter the planning process. Sadly, local elected officials have come to expect the military to acquiesce in land-use matters. When the military takes an active role, it will create friction. This will soon subside and be accepted as a normal part of the process. Postponing involvement in the planning process allows others to develop support and consensus for their positions.
- Urban encroachment will slow when a political body assumes your course is most expedient to its needs.
Urban encroachment is an ongoing process, never fully halted. The process can be slowed, however. The military installation can create an image of being a valid component of the infrastructure, to be protected as commercial airports and small boat marinas are.
Establishing a community planning liaison office is a critical first step in taking on the encroachment issue. The liaison shop could consist of military and civilian members, or all civilians. An all-military shop can work in the short term but, for long-term effectiveness, cannot provide the continuity offered by civilians. The El Toro (California) Marine Corps Air Station has a shop headed by a colonel, with a major as community-relations officer and a GS-5 secretary. For continuity, it has a GS-12 community planner. Farther south, Naval Air Station Miramar’s shop consists of a GS-12 program analyst, with a GS-11 deputy and a GS-5 office manager.
The duty of the community planning liaison office is to ensure that the military mission is not compromised by land-use decisions, on and off the base. The liaison shop serves as a single point of contact on all land-use issues and reports directly to the commanding officer.
Edwards Air Force Base, California, and Naval Air Station Miramar have committees to establish clear and coherent policy for any land-use proposals. These committees also scrutinize proposals by tenant and other base activities. The Committee for Land and Air Space Management Policy at Miramar consists of representatives from the engineering activity, and the operations, security, real estate, base planning, public affairs, and legal departments. Others participate as required. The staff meets semimonthly. Executive meetings chaired by the commanding officer occur on an as-needed basis. To implement Axiom III, you need to build consensus. Consensus comes by way of the four “P”s: planning, press, politicians, and people.
To get the support of planning organizations, an installation must start with responsible planning within the fence. A few years ago, a military facility in Texas built a hazardous-waste storage facility near the base perimeter. Unfortunately, it was adjacent to a day-care center run
by nuns—a sorry result of four different “P”s: P____ Poor
Prior Planning.
Involvement in planning starts with learning about the local planning process, obtaining agendas and staff reports from the planning organizations, and taking an active part in meetings. City planners seldom deal with explosive- safety quantity distances, accident potential zones, supersonic low-level routes, etc. It is the duty of each installation to educate local planners on these matters. In San Diego, the Navy works with the American Planning Association (APA) to sponsor an annual workshop entitled “Good Neighbors: The Military/Community Planning Interface.”
APA involvement promotes professional development and provides a good basis for networking with other planners. About five years ago, the Air Force regional civil engineer in Dallas helped establish a Federal Installation Planners Division of APA. Its members are good sources of education and information.
Encouraging participation in the planning process by outside organizations helps build consensus. This participation can range from simple briefings to joint plans. The Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment works with communities to establish joint land-use studies. These studies, prepared with local and federal funding, can provide a document that represents both military and local concerns, and it is easily implemented. Miramar’s air installation compatible-use zones report is such a study that has been adopted by both local and regional governments. The study is not a cure for urban encroachment; it is a compromise, designed to integrate the military installation into the planning process.
Ironically, federal funding often finances incompatible developments. In 1987, Hill Air Force Base (Utah) experienced rapid residential encroachment in the high-noise zones near the airfield. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had promoted these projects through Federal Housing Administration loans. The U.S. General Services Administration Federal Management Circular 75-2 states:
“All Federal agencies . . . having programs which affect or may affect the use of land near federal airfields shall ensure that their programs serve to foster compatible land use in accordance with the plans developed by the operating agencies.”
Hill officials showed HUD that air installation compatible-use zones guidelines discouraged such development. The HUD regional office reviewed its policy, and development in the high-noise areas ceased. The circular also serves as justification for placing restrictive easements on land declared to be excess during General Services Ad-
ministration audits. Hill and Miramar, among others, have used this strategy.
Environmental regulations also serve as an entry point mto the planning process. The National Environmental Policy Act and similar state laws (such as the California Environmental Quality Act) often allow military input to Proposed developments. Intergovernmental review of federal programs under Presidential Executive Order 12372 (formerly known as the A-95 process) allows for state and focal review of federal projects—often through a clear- mghouse.
In 1984, Luke Air Force Base in Arizona was faced 'vith a proposed resort in its departure corridor. Despite Jjoise concerns, HUD tentatively approved an $8.5 mil- l0n urban development action grant. Luke looked for an entry point into the planning process. Because the grant "'as a federal action, it required an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act. Even |^°ugh the assessment was inadequate, Luke could not get HUD to reexamine the project.
Luke reviewed HUD’s submittal process. Arizona law required all grant applications and environmental documents to go through the state clearinghouse. Since the asSessment had not been properly reviewed, the state issued a letter of nonaccommodation to HUD. The project spon-
Getting the local population on your side will go a long way toward improving communication when development threatens base perimeters. Here, a lance corporal from Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, shares food with a disabled child at a recent “friendship” festival.
sors then withdrew their grant application.
After planning comes the press. Because of the high profile federal installations have in the community, any event is potentially newsworthy.
A few years ago, an unfortunate incident placed a West-Coast air installation in a bad light. Two fully loaded KC-135 tankers departed the airfield at 0200, well after normal operating hours. Their departure path put them over the nearby community at only 500 feet. Dogs soiled carpets, children screamed, and seasoned aviators living in the community thought they were going to die. An inversion layer further amplified the sound of the low-flying tankers. Within minutes, every duty phone on station was ringing off the hook. More than 150 noise complaints came in. Hundreds more, no doubt, failed to get through because of busy lines.
The local press published a small article the next day, and local leaders demanded a meeting with airfield representatives. The installation commander refused the meeting and assumed a low profile, in hopes that the furor would subside. Rebuffed by the installation, local leaders went to the press. After several articles and political cartoons, the command relented. The meeting with community leaders was successful. Within days of the meeting, the issue died.
Often, the military views the press as an enemy to be avoided. More often, however, the press is not hostile- just ill-informed. Informational calls need to be made to press outlets on a regular basis. Meeting members of the press personally is important, to “put a face with a name.” One way to meet and educate the press is through base tours. Miramar has a practice of inviting military affairs writers on board to explain its mission and unique requirements as a master jet air station. Besides simple base tours, open houses and air shows present high-profile activities for press education and involvement. Through exposure to squadrons, aircraft, personnel, and the physical plant, reporters are better able to write and speak about military concerns objectively.
Politicians represent the third step in developing a consensus. Most politicians are results-oriented. The federal installation must make its concerns known to those in the decision-making process.
Politicians deal with “flag, motherhood, and apple-pie” issues. When the military (normally with a comer on “flag” issues) opposes a motherhood/apple-pie land-use issue (e.g., hospitals, day-care centers, schools), it places the politicians between opposing constituencies. Forced to choose between a stable voting public and a transient military population, the elected officials will normally side with established local voters.
This is an uncomfortable position for politicians, because it alienates one block of the constituency. Com-
Naval Air Station, Chase Field, Beeville, TX Naval Construction Battalion Center, Davisville, RI Hunter's Point Annex, Naval Air Station,
Treasure Island, CA Naval Station, Long Beach, CA Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, CA Naval Shipyard and Naval Station, Philadelphia, PA Naval Station, Puget Sound (Sand Point), WA Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin, CA
Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Vallejo, CA Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, PA Naval Mine Warfare Engineering Activity, Yorktown, VA Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, Albuquerque, NM Integrated Combat Systems Test Facility, San Diego, CA Naval Ocean Systems Center Detachment, Kaneohe, HI Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center,
San Diego, CA
Naval Space Systems Activity, Los Angeles, CA
promise is always the goal. Although this may not be best for land-use compatibility, getting something is better than getting nothing. The politician will appreciate and remember this flexibility.
The final piece in the consensus puzzle involves the people. If an installation garners grass-roots support from surrounding communities, the hearts and minds of the politicians will follow. Bases attract military retirees who use station facilities and are potential allies with a natural predisposition toward the military. Citizens in general are also usually sympathetic; they must be educated, however. The command can win grass-roots support through presentations to service organizations, planning groups, chambers of commerce, and other willing audiences. As with the press, open houses, air shows, and tours will increase support.
Another avenue of potential support lies with special- interest groups supporting or opposing particular actions. Most such groups represent a small sector of the public. The Whidbey Islanders for a Sound Environment represent those opposed to aircraft noise near the naval air station there. In contrast, a group named Revolt Over Airport Relocation formed to fight the proposed move of San Diego’s Lindbergh Field to Miramar.
Probably the classic example of grass-roots support is Save Tinker Now. During the early 1960s, residential development encroached upon runways at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. A series of accidents within nearby subdivisions prompted concern over Tinker’s future. A local congressman emphasized “if the community doesn’t clear the runway approach zone, Tinker will be closed.” A bond issue to buy the offending development failed miserably. In 1973, local residents, headed by a retired public affairs officer, formed Save Tinker Now to promote a bond issue, removing 836 homes, eight businesses, and an elementary school. Within six months, public support was so high the bond passed, seven to one.
People putting together a successful land-use compatibility program face three common pitfalls—ignorance, apathy, and arrogance.
- Ignorance is also known as the “near-sighted” syndrome, in which the installation commander is unable to see beyond the fence. Knowing what the neighbors are planning is vital. Until the issue is identified, it cannot be resolved.
- Apathy is also known as the “not on my watch” syndrome. Many land-use issues stretch out far too long to be resolved on any single tour of duty. Delaying the issue onto someone else’s watch could lead to urban encroachment and a negative impact on the mission. Early action leads to resolution.
- Arrogance is also known as the “sound-of-freedom” syndrome. Do not assume that the importance of the defense mission will automatically prevail over local interests. Political decisions driven by voter interest can override Department of Defense concerns.
Although a fence separates the installation and the community, they must work together to resolve mutual problems. The ideal of a win-win situation may never be achieved, but compromise usually leads to agreement.
Mr. Pierson is the Community Planning Liaison Officer at Naval Air Station Miramar. He has served as an Environmental Planner for the Army Corps of Engineers and a Base Comprehensive Planner for the Air Force.
Mr. Sayers is the Public Affairs Officer for Naval Air Station Miramar. He has served as a congressional aide for a member of the House Armed Services Committee and has a background in television and print journalism.
How to Secure A Building
One reason the services have trouble operating jointly is that they don't speak the same language. For example, if you told naval aviators to "Secure a Building," they would turn off the lights and lock the doors. The Army would occupy the building so no one could enter. Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it. The Air Force would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy. Black shoes, on the other hand, would just increase the funding line.
Cheri Stafford