Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of the Department of Defense Housing Facility, Novato, CA

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

the Disposal and Reuse of the Department of Defense Housing Facility,

Novato, CA

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental

Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the Department of the

Navy in coordination with the City of Novato, is preparing an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed disposal and

reuse of the Department of Defense Housing Facility (DODHF) property

and structures at Novato, California. This proposed action is in

accordance with the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public

Law 101-510) of 1990, as implemented by the 1993 Base Closure process,

which directed the Navy to close DODHF.

DODHF is within the jurisdiction of the City of Novato, Marin

County, California, approximately 20 miles north of San Francisco.

DODHF is one of several facilities on a larger area formerly known as

the Hamilton Air Force Base. DODHF consists of approximately 481 acres

of Navy-owned land in two sites. The 383 acre primary DODHF facility

includes military family housing, commissary, exchange, community

services areas, bowling alley, officer's club, and recreational fields.

An additional 98 acre Rafael Village military housing area is located 1

mile north of the main DODHF facility. Other portions of the former

Hamilton Air Force Base adjacent to DODHF and not included with the

disposal of the DODHF property or in this disposal and reuse EIS,

include the 720 acre former Hamilton Army Air Field, which was closed

under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 100-526)

of 1988, and a 415 acre site being developed under the New Hamilton

Partnership Master Plan.

The EIS will address the potential impacts to the environment that

may result from the disposal of the Navy's DODHF property and

subsequent reuse. The Hamilton Army Air Field Reuse Plan, developed by

the Hamilton Reuse Planning Authority, proposes 406 acres of housing

with up to 1,490 total units, 51 acres of mixed use community support

facilities, and 24 acres of recreational fields on the DODHF property.

The Reuse Plan will constitute the preferred alternative for the

EIS. However, the EIS will also analyze alternatives to the Reuse Plan.

The alternatives analyzed in the EIS will include a less intensive

development of the DODHF property, still based in large part on the

Reuse Plan, and a No Action Alternative. The No Action alternative

would result in federal government retention of the DODHF property in

an ``inactive'' status. Other alternatives may be evaluated if

warranted.

Federal, state and local agencies, and interested individuals are

encouraged to participate in the scoping process for the EIS to

determine the range of issues and reuse alternatives to be addressed. A

public scoping meeting to receive oral and written comments will be

held on Thursday, November 16, 1995, at the Student Center, San Marin

High School, 15 San Marin Drive, Novato, California at 7:00 p.m. In the

interest of the available time, each speaker will be asked to limit

their oral comments to five minutes.

In addition, written comments may be submitted no later than

December 1, 1995 to Mr. Gary Munekawa, Environmental Planning Branch,

Code 185GM, Engineering Field Activity West, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, 900 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, California 94066-

5006; telephone (415) 244-3022, fax (415) 244-3737. For further

information regarding the Hamilton Army Air Field Reuse Plan which

includes the reuse of the Navy's DODHF property, please contact Mr.

K.H. Bell, Program Manager, Hamilton Reuse Planning Authority at (415)

457-5661, fax (714) 472-8122.

Dated: October 26, 1995.

M.A. Waters,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 95-26926 Filed 10-30-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810-FF-M