Acquiring property at a former military base: The process and the law

Real Estate Issues, Apr 1994 by Gsottschneider, Richard K, Hicks, Jimmy E, Donohoe, Jeffrey S

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS

Before attempting to acquire property at a former military base, it is necessary to understand the process and legal requirements involved in transferring property from the federal government to a new owner. While the existing process is lengthy and complex, changes are being proposed to make the process more realistic.

Most bases designated for closure or realignment will undergo an extensive reuse planning and evaluation effort. However, often more than one organization is involved in planning for the facilities reuse. For example, Public Law 101-510 requires that the provisions of the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) apply to all property disposed at closed or realigned military bases. As a result of this provision, the military department that oversees the operation of a closed base must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS, which can take from 12 to 24 months to complete, must identify existing conditions at the base and address possible environmental impacts associated with reusing the facility over a 20-year period. The findings of the EIS also provide the basis for a Record of Decision (ROD) which outlines the property's preferred disposal and reuse.

In addition to the reuse planning undertaken to prepare the EIS, the local reuse organization also is involved in completing a plan to redevelop the closed military facility. This effort usually takes six to nine months and is financed, in part, by OEA. The planning effort enables the community or region impacted by the base closure to assess the types of economic activity and land uses appropriate for the former military facility. Also, a strategy for implementing the reuse plan usually is identified. In many instances the reuse plan provides a basis for enacting zoning and other land use regulations necessary to manage the site's redevelopment.

It is very important that the local reuse plan be prepared concurrently with the EIS, or even before the EIS. This will ensure that local reuse plans for the property are evaluated in the EIS. In one of the first bases closed under BRAC in 1988, an environmental group contended that the final EIS did not adequately address possible air quality impacts associated with the reuse plan adopted by the redevelopment organization. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed challenging the adequacy of the EIS. Although the lawsuit, which is still under litigation, has not halted redevelopment efforts, some observers say the lawsuit has created a sense of uncertainty which has delayed potential tenants from acquiring property at the former base.

As noted earlier, any property determined to be surplus to the needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) will undergo a screening process prior to its actual disposal. It is first screened by other DoD agencies and federal departments to determine whether there is a demonstrated need to keep the property under federal control. At the same time, under the terms of the McKinney Act, the property is made available to organizations which provide housing for the homeless. At those bases where a substantial number of housing or dormitory type rooms exist, efforts should be made early on to work with local and regional organizations that provide shelter for the homeless. This will likely avoid confrontations later in the redevelopment process that could delay the reuse of the facility.