Record of Decision for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Training Center, Orlando, Florida

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Record of Decision for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Training

Center, Orlando, Florida

Summary

The Department of the Navy (Navy), pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of

the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C.

4332(2)(C), and the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality

that implement NEPA procedures, 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508, hereby

announces its decision to

[[Page 64722]]

dispose of Naval Training Center (NTC) Orlando, Florida.

Navy intends to dispose of the property in a manner that is

consistent with the Naval Training Center Orlando Reuse Plan that was

submitted by the City of Orlando, the Local Redevelopment Authority

(LRA) for the Naval Training Center, described in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement as the preferred alternatives. The Reuse

Plan proposed a mixed use approach of business, educational,

governmental, residential, recreational, retail, warehouse, multimodal

transportation, and open space land uses.

In deciding to dispose of the Naval Training Center in a manner

consistent with the Reuse Plan, Navy has determined that mixed land use

will meet the goals of local economic redevelopment and creation of new

jobs, while also maintaining the City of Orlando's character, limiting

adverse environmental impacts, and ensuring land uses that are

compatible with surrounding properties. This Record Of Decision does

not mandate a specific mix of land uses. Rather, it leaves selection of

the particular means to achieve the mixed use redevelopment to the

acquiring entity and the local zoning authority.

Background

The 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission

recommended closure of Naval Training Center Orlando. This

recommendation was then approved by President Clinton and accepted by

the One Hundred Third Congress in 1993. With the exception of the Naval

Nuclear Power Training School, operations at the Naval Training Center

ceased on August 30, 1996, and the property has been in caretaker

status since that date. The Naval Nuclear Power Training School will

realign to the Naval Weapons Station at Charleston, South Carolina, by

September 30, 1999.

The Naval Training Center is located in Orange County, Florida,

within the corporate limits of the City of Orlando. The Naval Training

Center properties consist of the Main Base and facilities at three

other sites in Orlando, that are known as the McCoy Annex, Area C, and

the Herndon Annex. The Naval Hospital, which is situated on the Main

Base, was associated with the Naval Training Center.

The Main Base is located 3.5 miles from Orlando's central business

district and has an area of about 1,093 acres. This property includes

about 254 acres in three lakes situated on the property.

The McCoy Annex occupies about 842 acres of land located seven

miles south of the Main Base and adjacent to the Orlando International

Airport. The Annex served as a family housing and community support

area for those serving at the Naval Training Center.

Area C is located one mile southwest of the Main Base and occupies

about 46 acres, including 4.6 acres of Lake Druid. This property served

as a supply complex with warehouses and also provided space for the

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office and the Naval Training

Center's laundry and dry cleaning plant.

The Herndon Annex is located one mile south of the Main Base and

occupies about 54 acres adjacent to the Orlando Executive Airport. This

Annex provided space for facilities that supported the nearby Naval Air

Warfare Center's Training Systems Division, i.e., the technical

services laboratory and the research laboratory.

Navy has approved the requests of several Federal agencies for

interagency transfers of base closure property at NTC Orlando. Navy

will transfer the Navy Hospital and 44 acres of property at the Main

Base to the Department of Veterans Affairs for use as a medical

facility. Navy will transfer Building 325 and 4 acres of property at

the Main Base to the Department of the Treasury for use by the United

States Customs Service as the National Law Enforcement Communications

Center. Navy will transfer 1.89 acres at the Main Base and 18.1 acres

at the McCoy Annex to the Department of the Army for use by Army

Reserve; and Navy will transfer 16 acres of property and two buildings

at the McCoy Annex to the Departments of the Army and Air Force for use

by the Florida National Guard. The remaining property is surplus to the

needs of the Federal Government and can be conveyed.

Navy published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on August

5, 1994, announcing that Navy would prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) that would analyze the impacts of disposal and reuse of

the land, buildings, and infrastructure at the Navy Training Center. A

30-day public scoping period was established, and Navy held a scoping

meeting on August 25, 1994, in the City of Orlando.

On May 12, 1995, Navy distributed a Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (DEIS) to Federal, State, and local agencies, elected

officials, special interest groups, and interested persons. Navy held a

public hearing on June 15, 1995, in the City of Orlando. The forty-five

day public comment period on the DEIS concluded on June 26, 1995.

Federal agencies, Florida State agencies, local governments, and the

general public commented on the DEIS. These comments and Navy's

responses were incorporated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement

(FEIS), which was distributed to the public on August 30, 1996, for a

review period that concluded on September 30, 1996. Navy received two

letters commenting on the FEIS.

Alternatives

NEPA requires Navy to evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives

for disposal and reuse of this Federal property. In the NEPA process,

Navy analyzed the environmental impacts of various proposed land uses

that could result from disposal of the Naval Training Center

properties. Navy also evaluated a ``No Action'' alternative that would

leave the property in caretaker status with Navy maintaining the

physical condition of the property, providing a security force, and

making repairs essential to safety.

As the basis for its analysis, Navy relied upon the reuse and

redevelopment alternatives identified by the Naval Training Center

Reuse Commission which was established by the City of Orlando to plan

future uses of the closing facilities. The Commission analyzed various

redevelopment scenarios and land uses, prepared the Reuse Plan, and

presented it to the Department of the Navy on January 5, 1995.

The Preferred Alternative identified in the FEIS is the City's

proposed Naval Training Center Orlando Reuse Plan. On the Main Base,

this plan would provide pedestrain-oriented and residential uses

surrounded by offices and educational institutions, a business park,

governmental activities, and recreational areas. Additionally, there

would be an extensive lakefront park and open space system that would

connect other parts of the Orlando community with the Naval Training

Center property. The existing nine-hole gold course at Lake Baldwin

would be redeveloped as single family housing.

The McCoy Annex property would be used for housing and, in the area

adjacent to Orlando International Airport, as a multimodal

transportation port with related services. The area along the Bee Line

Expressway at the northern edge of the McCoy Annex would provide space

for retail stores and offices. The Reuse Plan would preserve the

existing nine-hole golf course in the southern section of the property

as well as recreational areas located throughout the Annex.

The property known as Area C would continue to be used for

warehouse facilities and open space. The Herndon Annex property would

be used for

[[Page 64723]]

warehouse facilities serving the adjacent Orlando Executive Airport.

In the NEPA process, Navy considered a second alternative,

designated Alternative 2, which was characterized by high intensity

redevelopment of the Naval Training Center properties. This alternative

would concentrate residential, retail, and office uses near the center

of the Main Base and establish higher density residential use in the

northwestern and eastern sections of the Main Base. In contrast with

the Reuse Plan, the nine-hole golf course adjacent to Lake Baldwin

would be preserved.

Under this second alternative, the northern part of the McCoy Annex

property would be used for retail stores, hotels and offices. The

central and southern parts of the property would be converted for use

as warehouses and industrial facilities. The existing recreational

facilities would be removed, but the nine-hole golf course would be

preserved. The property at Area C would be converted for use as family

residences, and the Herndon Annex property would be used for

warehouses.

Navy also considered a third alternative in the NEPA process,

designated Alternative 3, which proposed low intensity redevelopment of

the Naval Training Center properties. This alternative would provide

low density single family residences in the northwestern and eastern

sections of the Main Base and retail stores, governmental activities,

educational facilities, and a business park in the central and southern

areas. Alternative 3 would preserve the nine-hole golf course adjacent

to Lake Baldwin.

Under this third proposal, the McCoy Annex property would continue

to be used primarily as a residential area. The northern part of the

property would be converted for use as hotels, offices, and retail

stores. Some sections in the center of the Annex would be redeveloped

for use as warehouses and industrial facilities. The existing

recreational areas would be used as open space, and the golf course in

the southern section would also be preserved.

The Area C property would be redeveloped in Alternative 3 for use

as single family residences. At Herndon Annex, the warehouse located in

the southern section of the property would be used as a commercial

warehouse, but the other buildings would be demolished to permit

construction of recreational facilities including athletic fields and

courts.

Environmental Impacts

Navy analyzed the potential impacts of the three redevelopment

alternatives for their effects on earth resources, air resources,

noise, water resources, hazardous materials and wastes, biological

systems (including terrestrial systems), aquatic systems, threatened

and endangered species, socioeconomic resources (including economic

activity), transportation, community facilities and services, and

historical and archaeological resources. This Record Of Decision

focuses on the impacts that would likely result from implementing the

Naval Training Center Orlando Reuse Plan proposed by the City of

Orlando.

No significant impacts to earth resources would result from

implementation of the Reuse Plan. Most of the topography and soils at

the Naval Training Center properties have been altered as a result of

previous construction activities.

The potential impacts on air quality were analyzed by applying

Federal Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 CFR Part 50) and Florida

Ambient Air Quality Standards (Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-272.100). The

Reuse Plan would not adversely affect regional air quality, because the

kinds of activities that would be conducted after implementation of the

Reuse Plan would be similar to those that had occurred on the military

properties.

Construction activities associated with the Reuse Plan, however,

would generate intermittent localized air quality impacts on all of the

Navy properties, and the Reuse Plan's proposed redevelopment would also

cause impacts from both stationary and mobile sources. The long term

impact on air quality that would arise out of stationary sources

depends upon the nature and extent of activities conducted on the

property. Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (Florida

DEP) has jurisdiction over these emission sources, and it will be

necessary for each source to comply with Florida DEP's regulations

government stationary source emissions. See Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 17-292

and 62-213.

The impact on air quality arising out of mobile source emissions

would result from activities associated with people commuting to and

from facilities and traffic associated with the warehouse facilities.

The redevelopment proposed in the City's Reuse Plan would increase

traffic in the vicinity of the Main Base, with a resultant slight

increase in carbon monoxide levels at some congested intersections and

roadway links. It is not likely, however, that these small increases in

concentrations of carbon monoxide would result in any violation of

applicable standards.

In a recent ambient air quality study of heavily traveled

intersections in Orlando, including that of Colonial Drive and

Interstate Highway 4 near the Main Base, the University of Central

Florida found that ambient air concentrations of carbon monoxide were

well below applicable standards. Similarly, data collected from air

quality monitoring stations in downtown Orlando revealed that the

concentrations of carbon monoxide do not even approach these standards.

Additionally, the geometry of intersections and turning movements as

well as the timing of traffic lights could be applied in a way that

would mitigate emissions that may exceed Federal or State Ambient Air

Quality Standards at particular locations.

Section 176(c) of the Clear Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7506(C), as amended,

requires that before major Federal actions may be undertaken in

nonattainment or maintenance areas, the Federal agency must demonstrate

conformity with air pollutant emissions policies and controls in the

relevant State Implementation Plan. The General Conformity Rule (40 CFR

Part 93), however, has been interpreted by the United States

Environmental Protection Agency. (EPA) to exclude maintenance areas

that were so designated before enactment of the Clean Air Act

Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-549. See 85 FR 63238, November 30,

1993. Since Orange County was designated as a maintenance area in 1987,

the requirements of the General Conformity Rule do not apply to Federal

actions within the county.

It is not likely that the land uses proposed for the Main Base,

Area C, and the Herndon Annex would result in significant new sources

of noise. Construction noise during redevelopment, however, would

affect communities adjacent to all of the Naval Training Center

properties. This potential impact would be limited to areas near the

active construction projects during working hours.

At the McCoy Annex property, however, implementation of the Reuse

Plan would result in an increase in environmental noise. As the point

of convergence for air, rail and truck traffic, redevelopment there

would generate localize noise. It is likely, however, that noise from

aircraft at the adjacent Orlando International Airport would diminish

the perception of noise from rail and truck activity at the multimodal

facility.

[[Page 64724]]

Implementation of the Reuse Plan would not result in any

significant impacts on surface waters. All new construction and any

alteration of land must conform to the treatment and runoff control

requirements of the local stormwater management districts and the

Orlando Urban Storm Water Management Manual (OUSWMM). Additionally,

under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. 1251,

et seq., any source of new discharges of wastewater would be required

to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System's

(NPDES) program as well as state and local wastewater discharge

regulations. See Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 62-4, 62-320, 62-312, and 62-600.

As a result, the acquiring entity would be required to introduce

stormwater controls during the construction phase of any redevelopment.

The type and amount of hazardous waste that would result from

implementation of the Reuse Plan depends upon the nature and extent of

future activities at the Naval Training Center properties. Industrial

or commercial facilities that may produce regular quantities of

hazardous waste must, of course, register with Florida's Department of

Environmental Protection in accordance with the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6901, et. seq., and Florida DEP

regulations governing identification of hazardous waste. Fla. Admin.

Code Ch. 62-730. Additionally, these industries and commercial

activities would be responsible for obtaining the necessary permits and

establishing the required hazardous waste management facilities and

procedures.

The terrestrial systems found on the Navy properties include both

undeveloped areas and urban lands. The undeveloped areas contain native

vegetation in the form of trees and groundcover. The urban lands are

areas dominated by buildings and ornamental landscaping. Under the

Reuse Plan, an isolated 3.6 acre pine forest located in an undeveloped

area at the Main Base would be eliminated. This action would not,

however, have a significant impact on regional natural habitats,

because the area is so small.

The City's proposed redevelopment of the McCoy Annex property may

disturb up to 76.9 acres of undeveloped land but the plan would

preserve 13.6 acres of land that has not been developed. While the

City's Reuse Plan would not have a significant impact on the

terrestrial systems of the Area C property, it may disturb 10.5 acres

of undeveloped land at Herndon Annex.

The aquatic systems on the Navy properties include both wetlands

and open water systems. Wetlands are areas that are saturated

frequently enough to support certain types of vegetation that thrive in

saturated soil, e.g., swamps and wet prairies. Open water systems are

lakes and reservoirs. Under the Reuse Plan for the Main Base, up to 3.0

acres of wetlands and open water may be eliminated or disturbed by the

redevelopment of office, educational, and residential structures,

leaving 17.1 acres of wetlands undisturbed. These wetlands and 254

acres of open water in the three lakes on the Main Base would be

designated as a lakefront park and preserved.

At the McCoy Annex property, the City's proposed redevelopment may

alter up to 48.7 acres of the total 80.2 acres of wetlands located

there, but 31.5 acres of cypress wetlands would be preserved. At area

C, the wetlands and open water systems would be preserved. At Herndon

Annex, the construction of warehouse facilities could eliminate up to

4.4 acres of wetlands.

The City will have an opportunity to reduce the impact of

redevelopment on wetlands when it engages in final site planning, which

will include conformance with the conservation element of the City of

Orlando's Growth Management Plan (GMP). Furthermore, the acquiring

entity will be required to obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers under Section 404 of FWPCA, 33 U.S.C. 1344, and must comply

with Florida DEP's wetlands regulations, Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 17-301,

17-302 and 17-312, as well as regulations of the St. Johns River Water

Management District and the South Florida Water Management District.

The stringent requirements of these laws should provide adequate

mitigation for the loss of wetlands.

There are no threatened or endangered species listed under the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq., that have been

observed on or are likely to occur on the Naval Training Center

properties. One State-designated threatened plant species, the

threadroot orchid, and one State-designated endangered plant species,

the yellow fringeless orchid, may be found in wetland areas on the Main

Base, McCoy Annex, and Herndon Annex. Thus, the dredging or filling of

wetlands could have impacts on these species.

Southeastern American kestrels, a State-designated threatened

species, were observed during a visit to Area C. Accordingly, before

clearing potential nesting trees on the Area C property, the acquiring

entity would be required to conduct a survey for the kestrels and

implement mitigation mandated by the Orlando Growth Management Plan,

Title XI, Fla. Stat. Chapter 163, Part II, and the Florida Game and

Freshwater Fish Commission's regulations. Because it forages in urban

land and open space areas, it is likely that the southeastern American

kestrel will benefit from the proposed redevelopment. Other State-

listed species of special concern such as the gopher tortoise may also

be affected by redevelopment.

The City's Reuse Plan would have a long term positive impact on

economic activity, income, and employment in the Orlando region. The

number of persons residing at the Main Base would decrease, but the

number residing at the McCoy Annex property would remain essentially

unchanged compared with the number of residents there before the Base

was closed. The City's Reuse Plan would not cause any significant

adverse impacts on utilities or community facilities and services.

If the employment goals set forth in the Reuse Plan were realized,

both the Main Base and the McCoy Annex property would become employment

centers for the Orlando region. By the year 2015, direct employment

there would amount to more than 15,500, and total employment, including

direct and indirect, would reach 30,040 persons.

The traffic associated with redevelopment of the Main Base under

the Reuse Plan would increase from 49,800 trips per day to 85,400 trips

per day by the year 2010. These trips would be distributed to the local

roadway network and would increase daily traffic volumes from the

northern and southern approaches by about 7 percent and from the

eastern approach by 16 percent, resulting in an average traffic

increase of 9 percent.

At the McCoy Annex property, traffic would decrease from 55,000

trips per day to 26,200 trips per day under the Reuse Plan. The City's

plan would not significantly change traffic levels at the Area C and

Herndon Annex properties, because the proposed reuses are similar to

the historical Navy uses of those properties. It is not likely that the

Reuse Plan would have an adverse impact on other modes of

transportation in the Orlando region.

Through its Trip Allocation Program, the City of Orlando could

mitigate the impacts of increased traffic by limiting the allowable

number of average daily trip ends for particular traffic performance

districts. Such limitations could achieve and maintain acceptable

levels of service on local roadways by linking future development to

road capacity. For example, if the allocation

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of trip ends for a traffic performance district became encumbered,

development in that district could be deferred until adequate road

capacity was available.

To address the potential for increased traffic on neighborhood

streets, the City's Reuse Plan also provides a Neighborhood Traffic

Mitigation Policy. This policy requires the imposition of traffic

mitigation measures that would reduce speeds and volumes on

neighborhood streets if the average daily traffic on Merritt Park

Drive, Ibis Drive, Falcon Drive, Chelsea Street, or Plaza Terrace were

to exceed by 10 percent the volume of traffic projected for the year

2010.

The residential housing proposed for the Main Base would introduce

about 1,301 new students to the Orange County public school system by

the year 2015. This increase would create the need for an additional 47

teachers in the Orange County public schools. The Reuse Plan also sets

aside 4 acres to permit an expansion of Winter Park High School, which

is located adjacent to the Main Base Property, and 8 acres for

construction of an elementary school at the Main Base.

At the McCoy Annex property, Navy families contributed 759 students

to the Orange County public school system. Reuse of this housing by

private sector families would contribute about 630 children to local

public schools, or 129 less than when the Naval Training Center was

active. The Area C and Herndon Annex properties would not contain

residential units under the Reuse Plan and, therefore, would not have

an impact on Orange County's educational resources.

The redevelopment associated with the Reuse Plan would not have a

significant impact on the provision of police and fire protection,

emergency medical services, or health care in the Orlando region.

It is likely that the Reuse Plan would have a beneficial impact on

parks and recreational open space resources in the vicinity of the

Naval Training Center properties. The total recreational space provided

under the Reuse Plan for active recreation and open space is about 500

acres of approximately 19 times the amount of recreational area

recommended by the City's Growth Management Plan. The Orlando Community

and Youth Services Department would manage these properties for both

active and passive recreational activities.

Building 2078 is the only building or site on the Naval Training

Center properties that is eligible for listing on the National Register

of Historic Places. Under the City's Reuse Plan, this building would be

demolished to permit residential development on the property. On July

9, 1996, Navy, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the

Florida State Historic Preservation Officer entered into a Memorandum

Of Agreement (MOA) that provided mitigation for the disposal and

demolition of Building 2078. This mitigation, which has been completed,

consisted of recordation that included preparation of sketches, a brief

history, and photographs of the building.

Navy also analyzed the impacts on low-income and minority

populations pursuant to Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to

Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income

Populations, reprinted in 42 U.S.C. 4321 note. There would be no

disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental

effects on minority and low-income populations. All groups would

experience equally any impact related to reuse of the Naval Training

Center properties within the regional population.

Mitigation

Implementation of Navy's decision to dispose of the Naval Training

Center properties does not require Navy to perform any mitigation

measures. Absent statutory authority, Navy cannot impose restrictions

on the future use of this surplus Federal property. Navy will, however,

include appropriate notifications in the deeds for any parcels that are

inhabited by endangered or threatened species protected under State

law, any parcels that contain wetlands, or any parcels that lie within

floodplains protected under Federal and State laws.

Navy's FEIS identified and discussed the actions that would be

necessary to mitigate the impacts associated with reuse and

redevelopment of the Naval Training Center properties. The acquiring

entity, under the direction of Federal, State, and local agencies with

regulatory authority over protected resources, will be responsible for

implementing necessary mitigation measures.

The fact that the Reuse Plan conforms with the City of Orlando's

Growth Management Plan provides additional assurance that sensitive

areas will be protected from development. The GMP amendment process and

the City of Orlando's land development regulations require extensive

review of any proposed development of the Naval Training Center

properties. These procedures ensure that protection will be afforded

during all phases of the land development process, including post-

development monitoring.

Local governments in Florida are also required to adopt

comprehensive plans pursuant to the State Growth Management Act, Title

XI, Fla. Stat. Chapter 163, Part II. After adopting such plans, each

local government must also adopt land development regulations that

implement the comprehensive plan. In addition, all decisions that have

the effect of permitting development must be consistent with the

comprehensive plan. Title XI, Fla. Stat. Sec. 163.316, et seq.

The comprehensive plan must contain eleven elements, each of which

has goals, objectives, and policies that the acquiring entity would be

required to follow when redeveloping the Naval Training Center

properties. The required elements of the comprehensive plan include

future land use, conservation (wetlands and wildlife habitat), traffic

circulation, housing, sanitary sewer, solid waste, potable water,

natural groundwater aquifer recharge, and capital improvements. The

implementing land development regulations would govern subdivisions,

land use, wellfield protection, flooding and drainage, environmentally

sensitive land, signs, traffic flow, public facilities, and other

infrastructure.

Additionally, the County and Municipal Planning and Land

Development Standards, Title XI, Fla. Stat. Sec. 163.316, et seq.,

introduce the land use concept of concurrency. This requirement ensures

that public facilities are adequate and available concurrent with the

impacts of development by requiring local governments to control the

timing of development. Similarly, Rule 9J-5 of the Florida

Administrative Code requires local governments to adopt Level Of

Service (LOS) standards for roads, potable water, sanitary sewers,

solid waste disposal, drainage, parks and recreation, and mass transit.

These public facilities and services must meet concurrency requirements

before development orders may be issued. Finally, the capital

improvements element of the comprehensive plan must set forth a

financially feasible plan (on a five-year schedule) that demonstrates

the local government's ability to achieve and maintain adopted LOS

standards.

Comments Received on the FEIS

Navy received comments from the United States Environmental

Protection Agency and one State agency. These comments did not raise

new issues

[[Page 64726]]

concerning potential problems with implementation of the Reuse Plan or

purpose mitigation measures other than those addressed in the FEIS.

Although acknowledging that the potential for undetected

radiological materials on the Navy properties is unlikely, EPA

suggested the Navy coordinate the closure process with Florida's Office

of Radiation Control. Navy is coordinating the closure of NTC Orlando

with this State agency.

Florida's Department of Transportation (DOT) expressed interest in

participating in the formulation and adoption of transportation

components of the City's Reuse Plan. The existing concurrency

requirements of the State Growth Management Act, Title XI, Fla. Stat.

Chapter 163, Part II, and the City of Orlando's Concurrency Management

Ordinance (Chapter 59, Part 3, Section 59.308) will ensure the Florida

DOT is involved in future phases of redevelopment of the Naval Training

Center properties.

Regulations Governing the Disposal Decision

Since the proposed action contemplates a disposal action under the

Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (DBCRA), Public Law

101-510, 10 U.S.C. 2687 note, selection of the City of Orlando's Reuse

Plan as the preferred alternative was based upon the environmental

analysis in the FEIS and application of the standards set forth in

DBCRA, the Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR), 41 CFR Part

101-47, and the Department of Defense Rule on Revitalizing Base Closure

Communities and Community Assistance (DoD Rule), 32 CFR Parts 90 and

91.

Section 101-47.303-1 of the FPMR requires that the disposal of

Federal property benefit the Federal government and constitute the

highest and best use of the property. Section 101-47.4909 of the FPMR

defines the ``highest and best use'' as that use to which a property

can be put that produces the highest monetary return from the property,

promotes its maximum value, or serves a public or institutional

purpose. The ``highest and best use'' determination must be based upon

the property's economic potential, qualitative values inherent in the

property, and utilization factors affecting land use such as zoning,

physical characteristics, other private and public uses in the

vicinity, neighboring improvements, utility services, access, roads,

location, and environmental and historical considerations.

After Federal property has been conveyed to non-Federal entities,

the property is subject to local land use regulations, including zoning

and subdivision regulations and building codes. Unless expressly

authorized by statute, the disposing Federal agency cannot restrict the

future use of surplus Government property. As a result, the local

community exercises substantial control over future use of the

property. For this reason, local land use plans and zoning affect

determination of the highest and best use of surplus Government

property.

The DBCRA directed the Administrator of the General Services

Administration (GSA) to delegate to the Secretary of Defense authority

to transfer and dispose of base closure property. section 2905(b) of

DBCRA directs the Secretary of Defense to exercise this authority in

accordance with GSA's property disposal regulations, set forth at

Sections 101-47.1 through 101-47.8 of the FPMR. By letter dated

December 20, 1991, the Secretary of Defense delegated the authority to

transfer and dispose of base closure property closed under DBCRA to the

Secretaries of the Military Departments. Under this delegation of

authority, the Secretary of the Navy must follow FPMR procedures for

screening and disposing of real property when implementing base

closures. Only where Congress has expressly provided additional

authority for disposing of base closure property, e.g., the economic

development conveyance authority established in 1993 by Section

2905(b)(4) of DBCRA, may Navy apply disposal procedures other than the

FPMR's prescriptions.

In Section 2901 of the National Defense Authorization Act for

Fiscal Year 1994, Public Law 103-160, Congress recognized the economic

hardship occasioned by base closures, the Federal interest in

facilitating economic recovery of base closure communities, and the

need to identify and implement reuse and redevelopment of property at

closing installations. In Section 2903(c) of Public Law 103-160,

Congress directed the Military Departments to consider each base

closure community's economic needs and priorities in the property

disposal process. Under Section 2905(b)(2)(E) of DBCRA, Navy must

consult with local communities before it disposes of base closure

property and must consider local plans developed for reuse and

redevelopment of the surplus Federal property.

The Department of Defense's goal, as set forth in Sec. 90.4 of the

DoD Rule, is to help base closure communities achieve rapid economic

recovery through expeditious reuse and redevelopment of the assets at

closing bases, taking into consideration local market conditions and

locally developed reuse plans. Thus, the Department has adopted a

consultative approach with each community to ensure that property

disposal decisions consider the Local Redevelopment Authority's reuse

plan and encourage job creation. As a part of this cooperative

approach, the base closure community's interests, e.g., reflected in

its zoning for the area, play a significant role in determining the

range of alternatives considered in the environmental analysis for

property disposal. Furthermore, Sec. 91.7(d)(3) of the DoD Rule

provides that the Local Redevelopment Authority's plan generally will

be used as the basis for the proposed disposal action. The Federal

Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 40 U.S.C. 484, as

implemented by the FPMR, identifies several mechanisms for disposing of

surplus base closure property: by public benefit conveyance (FPMR Sec.

101-47.303-2); by negotiated sale (FPMR Sec. 101-47.304-8); and by

competitive sale (FPMR Sec. 101-47.304-7). Additionally, in Section

2905(b)(4), the DBCRA established economic development conveyances as a

means of disposing of surplus base closure property. The selection of

any particular method of conveyance merely implements the Federal

agency's decision to dispose of the property. Decisions concerning

whether to undertake a public benefit conveyance or an economic

development conveyance, or to sell property by negotiation or by

competitive bid are committed by law to agency discretion. Selecting a

method of disposal implicates a broad range of factors and rests solely

within the Secretary of the Navy's discretion.

Conclusion

The Reuse Plan proposed by the City of Orlando presents the highest

and best use of the Naval Training Center properties. The City of

Orlando, as the LRA, has determined in its Reuse Plan that the

properties should be used for several purposes, including commercial,

educational, governmental, residential, recreational, retail,

warehousing, multimodal transportation, and open space land uses. The

properties' physical characteristics and past use and the current uses

of adjacent lands make them appropriate for this mixed use

redevelopment.

The Reuse Plan responds to local economic conditions, promotes

rapid economic recovery from the impact of

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the Naval Training Center's closure, and is consistent with President

Clinton's Five-Part Plan for revitalizing base closure communities,

which emphasizes local economic redevelopment of the closing military

facility and creation of new jobs as the means to revitalize these

communities. 32 CFR Parts 90 and 91, 59 FR 16,123 (1994). Under the

direction of Federal, State and local regulatory authorities, the

acquiring entity can mitigate the resultant environmental impacts.

The City's proposed Reuse Plan strikes a reasonable balance between

the redevelopment proposals advanced in Alternatives 2 and 3, in its

impact on the environment, its compatibility with the current uses of

adjacent property, and its use of the existing physical characteristics

of the Naval Training Center properties. Although the ``No Action''

alternative has less potential for causing adverse environmental

impacts, this alternative would not constitute the highest and best use

of the Naval Training Center properties. It would not take advantage of

the properties' physical characteristics and the current uses of

adjacent properties. It is not compatible with the LRA's Reuse Plan. It

would not foster local economic redevelopment of the Naval Training

Center properties and would not create new jobs.

Accordingly, Navy will dispose of Naval Training Center Orlando in

a manner that is consistent with the City of Orlando's Reuse Plan for

the properties.

Dated: November 15, 1996.

William J. Cassidy, Jr.,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Conversion and Redevelopment).

[FR Doc. 96-31030 Filed 12-5-96; 8:45 am]

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