Preparing for TomorrowBack to News

On November 8, 2005, Congress accepted the 2005 Military Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC) report, initiating the closure of 22 bases across the nation by 2011. For these 22 affected communities, this action creates the opportunity to develop a new vision for some of our nation’s most valuable property. Developing and implementing that vision, however, can be a perplexing and daunting task.

For the 22 newly identified communities faced with entering into this process, there is a ripe opportunity to draw on the experience and understanding gained from more than 10 years of successful base reuse projects. These previously closed bases are now taking on a shape of their own, breathing new life into the communities that surround them. These models of success in military base reuse have become a dynamic part of the nation’s redevelopment story and can be a roadmap for guiding and streamlining future efforts.

The East Garrison Project:

Among the most successful base reuse models is the recent approval of the East Garrison Project, a portion of the former Fort Ord Army Base. Situated less than 10 miles from world-famous Pebble Beach in California, Fort Ord once ranged across 28,000 acres of coastal property in Monterey County. The site had served the U.S. Army since 1917, although its use as a military training area and barracks dated back to the mid-1800s. As a result, the base is an important historical site and a key part of the local economy.

Following its decommissioning in 1991, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) adopted the Ford Ord Reuse Plan, which provides a framework for the planning disposition, reuse, and redevelopment of the former military base. As early as 1993, Secretary of Defense William Perry praised the reuse efforts at Fort Ord as a “national model” for base conversion.

Within the reuse plan, the 244-acre East Garrison area was identified as one of the major development areas. Developing a successful, unified vision for property was the result of an intensive community-based process that brought together local interest groups, public agencies, area residents, and members of the project planning and design team.

A public/private partnership:

The experience at East Garrison clearly shows that time invested in meetings and workshops with stakeholders, the community, and the design team is directly linked to project success. Through early consultation and face-to-face interaction, a common understanding of stakeholder goals can be established to form the basis for the project vision.

For East Garrison, a public/private partnership was established early in the process through a continuously facilitated collaboration between all of the key stakeholders, including the U.S. Army; the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA), consisting of representatives from all of the local communities; the County of Monterey as the local jurisdiction; East Garrison Partners, LLC (William Lyon Homes; Woodman Development Company, LLC; and Urban Community Partners, LLC), as the key private development entity; and numerous community groups and institutions. These included Arts Habitat, Monterey Equestrian Park, Monterey County Youth Camp, Essalen Indian Nation, the Akitcita Luta Intertribal Society, Monterey Peninsula College, and California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), to name only a few.

“One of the key aspects that made the East Garrison project go smoothly through the process was the outreach done by the project developer,” said Mike Novo, planning and building services manager for the County of Monterey. “The developer coordinated design workshops and held extensive meetings with local, state, and federal agencies prior to submitting the plan to the county. That step was vital in ensuring the stakeholder concerns were addressed and designed into the community.”

The outcome was a vision to create a mixed-use urban village with pedestrian-friendly, compact, planned development. The vision also embraces the historic character of the site and strictly adheres to the Fort Ord Habitat Management Plan.

This process proved to be an effective method to oversee intra- and inter-agency coordination and negotiation; manage conflict resolution; and address multiple layers of collaboration and consensus-building with community stakeholders and non-profit housing providers. In addition, the process also served as a means to raise the community awareness and participation of stakeholders that would otherwise be involved in only isolated phases of the process. And it is this ongoing commitment to community and stakeholder outreach that has helped to forge and reinforce the value of a collaborative partnership.

Policy planning through design:

The process of developing a vision of smart growth, sustainable development, and traditional neighborhood design at Ford Ord’s East Garrison are easily applied to other reuse projects. For this process, the unique elements of each base and its surrounding community serve as the foundation for the vision, with policy planning as the directional compass.

The Fort Ord Reuse Plan designated 15 percent of the land to private development with the rest reserved for public use, including 20,000 acres for open space and recreation. The Reuse Plan describes several villages created throughout the base, linked together by transit routes and open space corridors. The villages were to be designed as compact, walkable communities, each developed with its own identity and character. Key attributes include mixed-use, small-scale streets, and a vibrant mix of architectural styles.

Out of a highly successful public planning process, four cornerstones emerged: historical preservation; homes affordable by design; incorporation of arts and historical district; and a diverse and socially equitable community. These cornerstones were incorporated into the land plan and building design, and are closely regulated by the Specific Plan, which further defines the land uses identified in the General Plan.

For the development of the Specific Plan, the process brought together a diverse and multifaceted group of stakeholders to work collaboratively on a land-use program and implementation strategy that would amicably resolve overlapping stakeholder claims. In addition, the Specific Plan was drafted to ensure consistency with not only the Fort Ord Reuse Plan, but also other previously adopted plans such as the Monterey County General Plan, Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan, Fort Ord Redevelopment Plan, and Habitat Management Plan.

In addition to the Specific Plan, a Pattern Book was established to guide development by presenting the vision for East Garrison and the design palettes with which to create it, based on local architectural traditions and existing community patterns. Guidelines were also presented for the rehabilitation of the “contributing structures” in the historic district. The County of Monterey is ultimately responsible to ensure conformity with the Pattern Book and implementing the Design Approval process.

“The success of the East Garrison Project is directly related to this open, public, and inclusive participatory process that was designed to gain consensus between all parties involved,” said Barry Long, principal with Urban Design Associates, who served as the lead architect of the Specific Plan/Pattern Book. “This uniquely collaborative effort created a Specific Plan and resulting Pattern Book that were well received by stakeholders, developers, and community alike. Ultimately, this public participation led to the creation of an affordable and traditional community that is personal yet functional.”

Infrastructure and funding:

One of the most significant aspects of the East Garrison model is the infrastructure and funding program. Base reuse projects can achieve success in this critical area with redevelopment agency funding agreements that involve tax increment financing. Disposition and Development Agreements (DDAs) are one way to facilitate use of tax increment financing. DDAs provide for the terms and conditions for both the disposition and subsequent development of the site, including defining and setting terms for the funding of the development of the site from private sources, public financing mechanisms, formation of special financing districts, and Agency tax increment financing and defining commitments that pertain to financing and/or construction of improvements or facilities by entities other than the Agency. Redevelopment of the site, utilizing the powers and authorities of the State Law under which the Redevelopment Plan for the area was adopted, is an important strategy in the county’s ability to produce tax revenues to the county and to the Redevelopment Agency.

“Every project on the former Fort Ord relies on access to adequate roadway and utility infrastructure, including the East Garrison project,” said FORA Executive Officer Michael A. Houlemard, Jr. “However, the funding structure set up under state law provides capital needs post project approval, which creates gaps for some of the larger infrastructure projects. In East Garrison and other areas, we will meet this timing shortfall through agreements with the developer teams to undertake portions of the infrastructure and provide advance funding from known future revenues. This will likely be our most difficult funding issue in completing our capital improvement program (CIP), but no project will be left behind.”

The role of the developer in funding the project improvements was laid out in an “Option Agreement” for property acquisition, subject to a number of specified conditions. At that stage of the process there were substantial risks to the developer given the uncertainty of successfully satisfying those conditions, which ranged from historic preservation approvals to securing water allocations. Following execution of the Option Agreement, the developer and the County Redevelopment Agency worked together to meet the conditions, allowing the developer to implement a variety of public amenities.

Key to infrastructure funding was also a DDA with the developers to determine financial and transactional terms for buildout of the project. The redevelopment agency, having adopted the DDA, will participate in funding portions of the community, such as affordable housing, renovation of historic structures, and construction of civic buildings. As part of the DDA, the developer and the involved agencies agree to financial contributions and timing that ensures facilities are constructed as the project builds out.

In addition to the obligations of the developer and the Redevelopment Agency, FORA adopted a CIP that outlines their obligations for a series of onsite, offsite, and regional transportation improvements. Along with the CIP, FORA adopted an impact fee applicable to all residential development within the former Fort Ord that will provide more than $50 million in potential funding, approximately half of which will be dedicated for backbone transportation improvements.

Guiding this new infrastructure toward buildout is a Development and Resource Management Plan (DRMP). The DRMP matches growth to the development of available resources and services by establishing level of service standards for transportation, water, public services, and capital planning. One of the components of the DRMP is that development will be allowed on a first-come, first-served basis up to the project limitations.

Challenges and lessons learned:

The challenges in any base reuse project may seem insurmountable to communities facing the prospect of imminent base closure. The issues of a multi-jurisdictional, multifaceted project of the magnitude of a base reuse project outnumber any other type of planning, redevelopment, or development project. The environmental factors, public controversy, land-use and development challenges, infrastructure and funding issues, overall policy planning, and collaboration/partnership challenges all reach beyond the boundaries and comfort zones of traditional developers, planners, engineers, and public agencies.

As with East Garrison, these challenges can be successfully met through a commitment to forming a diverse public/private partnership that recognizes and celebrates each site’s unique resources. The success of military base reuse projects hinges on the ability of public agencies, private developers, planning teams, and community leaders to identify and connect the redevelopment efforts with the needs of the community and the advantages of the proposed land uses.

From the East Garrison Project, four key considerations for future base reuse projects can be identified:

1) Developing an effective public/private partnership is an essential component to success, along with a coordinated approach to planning, development, and financing.

2) For bases within multiple jurisdictions, it is important for agencies to think progressively and to allow segments of the property in one jurisdiction to proceed ahead of segments in other jurisdictions.

3) Incorporating policy planning through design is critical, with stakeholders laying the groundwork for future communities founded on the principles of smart growth, sustainable development, and traditional neighborhood design.

4) Communities can utilize the reuse process to develop a strong sense of neighborhood character, while maintaining an important link to the historical, cultural, or other regionally significant values of the base.

East Garrison is now moving forward with the development of new homes, businesses, and local amenities as part of a process that is embraced and supported by a community that made a decision to come together to make it all possible. As President Clinton noted in a 1995 visit to Fort Ord, “It’s a decision you made for the 21st Century. It’s a decision you made by working together to prepare for tomorrow.”