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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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May 6 , 2005Air base plan gets panel's nod90-day clock running for Weymouth, Rockland, AbingtonThe Patriot Ledger A billion-dollar plan to redevelop the former Weymouth air base is finally ready to go. Now it’s a matter of town officials signing off on it. Last night, the agency overseeing the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station approved a massive mixed-use plan that would see 2,855 houses and condos, and 2 million square feet of commercial space by 2017. It would also include almost two dozen recreation fields, a golf course, and even a camp for Boy Scouts. With the good, of course, comes the questions: How the towns will handle tens of thousands of cars entering and leaving the property every day and a population increase of about 7,000 and how the Weymouth schools will handle the hundreds of children entering the system. The goal now for the overseer, South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., and the master developer, LNR Property Corp., is to convince the three towns that the pluses outweigh the minuses. “Really, it’s just the beginning of the process,” Tri-Town Chairman John Ward said. “I’m excited because it signals the point where we can stand with Tri-Town and say this is our plan,” LNR senior vice president David Hall said. Town meetings in Abington and Rockland, and the Weymouth Town Council will have the ultimate say in whether the plans pass. Tri-Town approved master, reuse and zoning plans last night. Each town must vote on the reuse and zoning plans. The reuse plan requires a simple majority; zoning needs two-thirds approval. The towns will have 90 days from the time Tri-Town actually submits the revised reuse and zoning plans to vote on them. Ward said the plans would be submitted today. Ninety days from today is Aug. 4. Whether that presents a problem for the Navy remains to be seen. In recent E-mails and letters, the Navy has written that if “a redevelopment plan cannot be ratified by this summer, (the) Navy will have to consider disposal by other means.” Tri-Town officials will ask the three towns to get a vote done by June, but Tri-Town and LNR officials hope the Navy will stretch its deadline knowing that a plan will be voted on. Town officials will be cognizant of the deadlines, but they’re not going to get pushed around by them. “We’re certainly going to use all the time allotted if we need it,” Weymouth Town Council Vice President Michael Smart said. The plan is by no means a shoo-in for approval. “For the town of Rockland, it stinks,” Rockland Selectman Mary Parsons said, citing the number of housing units and how she thinks a lot of the traffic will get dumped on that town. “I’m going with common sense and that tells me this isn’t a good plan for Rockland.” Skeptics such as Parsons aren’t that unusual, and, with open town meetings in Abington and Rockland, anything can happen. To change the critics’ minds and get a new reuse plan passed, LNR and Tri-Town will go full steam with their sales pitch. Ninety days from now, they’ll know if it worked. Mark Fontecchio may be reached by clicking here.
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MAPS: A before and after look
Whatever gets developed will change the landscape of Weymouth, Rockland and Abington, the three towns in which the land is located, and the South Shore for decades.