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July 26, 2005: Air base plans get the final approval votes Sept. 28, 2004: Tri-Town won’t hire consultant to review plan Sept. 24, 2004 The Patriot Ledger Home Page
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Initial approval for base proposalEPA official finds Lennar reuse plan to be ‘better for air and water quality’ Initial analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicates that the proposed reuse plan for the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station is friendlier to the environment than the plan currently in place. Tri-Town is considering a proposal by the base’s master developer, Lennar Partners. The plan calls for construction of 2,855 housing units and creation of 2,533 jobs by 2017. Almost 75 percent of the base property would remain open space. In her letter, Monahan says the plan would “be better for air and water quality, be more protective of natural habitats and provide the surrounding communities with a strong, new neighborhood.” The current reuse plan, approved in 1998, had a megamall as its centerpiece. The mall idea was scrapped because of concerns that it would generate mostly low-paying jobs and cause major traffic problems. Monahan’s letter stresses that the EPA will not “formally comment” until “the public has had an opportunity to consider a new reuse plan,” Lennar and Tri-Town officials took the EPA communication as an indicator that they are moving in the right direction. “We were very pleased by the support of the EPA,” said David Hall, Lennar’s project manager for the air base. “They’re an important part of the development team and guiding smart-growth concepts.” Hall said he was not surprised by the EPA’s findings but was pleased to see backup data from an EPA computer program. By entering details into the program, the EPA can determine whether a plan encourages “smart growth.” The basic concept of a smart-growth development is that people will be able to live, work and play in the same area and use different modes of transportation - public and private - to get around. According to the EPA analysis, the Lennar proposal improves upon the current reuse plan in several areas, such as the amount of open space, how well the streets are connected and the proximity of housing to parks. “We were very pleased and uplifted by that letter,” said John Rogers, a Tri-Town board member and the agency’s interim director. Rogers cautioned that Lennar’s plan is still in the early stages and likely to be modified. The developer unveiled its proposal to the public last month. Tri-Town hopes to have a plan it can endorse by Jan. 1. The reuse plan then will go to the towns, which have the final say. It will need to be approved by two-thirds of the Weymouth Town Council and two-thirds of the voters at town meetings in Rockland and Abington. Voting in all three towns is expected to take place in the spring. Mark Fontecchio may be reached by clicking here.
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MAPS: A before and after look
Rosemary K. Monahan, an EPA smart-growth coordinator, has sent the analysis results to the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., the agency overseeing redevelopment of the 1,405-acre base, which occupies land in Rockland and Abington as well as Weymouth.