We’ve finally got a Preferred Reuse Plan — What happens next?

The City reached a major milestone in January in the multi-year process to plan for the reuse of the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The City Council designated the Clustered Villages Alternative as the Preferred Reuse Plan for the site.

The 5,028-acre property was approved for closure by the Navy in 2005, which triggered a three-phase pubic planning process to create a blueprint for its future use.

During Phase I of the planning process in 2006, the public was invited to contribute ideas for the property’s reuse. Goals and Guiding Principles were developed from public input. During the last two years as part of Phase II of the Reuse Project, the general public and the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) assisted the City Council in transferring the ideas from comment sheets to actual land use plans. This was accomplished through a series of planning workshops and over 36 public meetings.

In 2009, the City and the Navy will begin Phase III of the project. Over the next year to 18 months, the City will refine the preferred Clustered Villages plan, finalize environmental review, commence amendment of the General Plan and complete its review of Public Benefit Conveyance (PBC) applications. This will help start the entitlement process for the site and set the stage for negotiations with the Navy in preparation for actual transfer of the base. However, development of the site is still several years away.

While Concord and the nation face historic financial challenges, the reuse of the Concord Naval Weapons Station in coming years is a bright point in Concord’s future. By the time the transfer occurs and actual development plans receive approvals from the City, the economy is expected to stabilize and recover. As Phase III comes to a close, Concord will be well-positioned to take advantage of the economic turn-around.

Next steps
While the confirmation of the Clustered Villages as the Preferred Alternative is a major milestone in the process, many more steps are necessary before the community will see any construction on the property.

The City and the Navy both have substantial activities to complete before the property can be transferred for other use. The process to date has been one of transparency, and during the next year to 18 months there will be many opportunities for the public to provide comment.

In January, the City formally submitted its Preferred Reuse Plan Alternative to the Navy and the Homeless Assistance Plan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as required by base closure law. Concord’s Homeless Assistance Plan was negotiated with a number of local homeless service providers.

The submission allows the Navy to proceed with federal environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as required prior to the sale or transfer of the property. The Navy has not set a date for issuing a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). The Navy has indicated that it may release an NOI as soon as it has a preliminary acceptance from HUD on the homeless assistance submission. Dates and locations for Public Scoping meetings for the EIS would be announced in the NOI. The Navy would have one year to complete its EIS from the date of the NOI being published in the Federal Register.

During the EIS preparation, the Navy has two other primary tasks to complete. As a Federal agency and the property owner, it must complete a consultation with both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS), under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (for prehistoric and historic resources). These consultations will lead to issuance of a Biological Opinion by the USF&WS and a Letter of Concurrence from the SHPO.

While the Navy is completing its work, the City has its own set of tasks to complete. The primary City actions are to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, adopt a final reuse plan, and amend the General Plan to include the adopted reuse plan and prepare and submit a plan for disposal of the property. With the exception of the last action, all of the tasks above will have extensive public input components. Notices for public meetings and opportunities for public comment will be posted on the City website, noticed in local newspapers and announced through the City’s electronic e-blast system. The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) with additional analysis on the Clustered Villages Alternative will be circulated for public comment in early summer.

Only after the DEIR is certified can the City Council officially adopt the Clustered Villages alternative as the Reuse Plan. The DEIR would also support the next step of amending the City’s General Plan. The General Plan is the blueprint for all development within the City.

Preparing a Disposition Plan
In 2009-2010, City Council will develop a Preferred Disposition Plan, which is a recommendation to the Navy about how the property should be prepared for sale or transferred from the Navy to private and/or public entities. This will include consultations with Public Benefit Conveyance applicants.

The Clustered Villages Alternative includes plans for homes, commercial and office buildings, retail space, educational facilities, parks, playgrounds, open space, a public safety training center, a youth sports complex, a variety of public amenities and all of the infrastructure such as roads and power sources necessary to support development. Some of the property may be transferred from the Navy to non-profit organizations, some may be sold to developers and some may even be transferred to the City.

Once the Preferred Disposition Plan is approved by the City Council, negotiations with the Navy will begin to finalize the transfer process. The Navy may then begin with the sale or transfer of the property. All projects subsequently developed on the property will go through the City’s standard review process involving the Planning Commission, Design Review Board and City Council.

Tracking the Process
Residents are encouraged to continue to provide input to the City Council as the process moves forward and as aspects of the project continue to come before the City Council. Specifically, the public will have the opportunity to provide formal comment at several points, including:

• Comment on the recirculated Draft EIR
• City Council certification of the Final EIR in late summer/early fall
• City Council adoption of the Reuse Plan in late summer/early fall
• The scoping session to be held by the Navy at the start of preparation of federal environmental review
• City Council and Planning Commission meetings regarding amendment of the City’s General Plan to incorporate the Reuse Plan, and
• As part of federal environmental review, the Navy is required to solicit public comment regarding its impact findings and proposed mitigation

See the timeline graphic for specific comment periods. For more information or to sign up to receive e-blast notifications, visit www.concordreuseproject.org or contact the Reuse Project office at (925) 671-3001.