[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 236 (Friday, December 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64721-64727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31030]


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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

[[Page 64725]]

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

[[Page 64727]]

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]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-M