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MAPS: A before and after look

July 26, 2005: Air base plans get the final approval votes
June 28, 2005: Rockland approves air base plan
June 21, 2005: Abington approves air base plan
May 6 , 2005: Air base plan gets nod: 90-day clock running for Weymouth, Rockland and Abington
March 5, 2005: New plan calls for 54% more commercial space, boost in jobs
Feb. 2, 2005: Regional panels praise plan for reuse of air base
Jan. 26, 2005: Navy tells towns to come up with air base redevelopment plan by summer
Jan. 11, 2005: The air base plan may be less of a moneymaker than towns anticipated.
Oct. 15, 2004: EPA official finds Lennar reuse plan to be 'better for air and water quality
Oct. 1, 2004: Chairman of Tri-town Board quits, then changes his mind
Sept. 29, 2004: Executive director of Board agrees contract buyout.

TIMELINE: A look at the Tri-Town Board.

Sept. 28, 2004: Tri-Town won’t hire consultant to review plan
Sept. 25, 2004: Editorial.

Sept. 24, 2004
Air base plan: Lots of housing
MAPS: A before and after look
Graphic shows division of space
Villages to be created
Growth projected by 2017
Projected tax revenues

Biotechnology: Plan emphasizes jobs
Projected benefits for Weymouth, Abington, Rockland
Impact on roads, traffic, water, sewer, open space
New homes building schedule

Some fear plan will overburden schools
Plan puts end to rumors

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2nd town OKs air base plan; 3rd vote in July

Huge Rockland turnout gives a big thumbs up

By COURTNEY HOLLANDS
The Patriot Ledger

ROCKLAND - Voters here overwhelmingly supported plans for developing the former naval air station, leaving only Weymouth as the final approval needed for the long-awaited makeover of the shuttered base.

At a special town meeting last night, an overflow crowd voted 551 to 139 in favor of master developer LNR Property Corp.’s reuse plans for the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station that will include 2,855 housing units, office and retail buildings, open space and a golf course.

Abington town meeting okayed the project June 20. Weymouth Town Council has set a vote for July 25.

Nearly 700 Rockland residents cast their votes on the plan last night. The voters filled the seats and ringed the walls of the overflowing high school auditorium - some people were even sent to the cafeteria, where TVs and speakers broadcast the ongoing discussions.

Prior to the meeting, the Rockland planning board, finance committee and selectmen voted to recommend the plan.

“This will be a revenue stream that the town so desperately needs,” said John DeWald, chairman of the finance committee.

Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy, also spoke in favor of the plan.

“What is the alternative if you don’t support a plan like this?” he asked. “It’s up to each and every one of you, as a voter, to decide what’s best for the town.”

Representatives from the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., the quasi-public agency overseeing the redevelopment of the air base, and LNR gave a short presentation on the plans, before Moderator Paul Cusick turned the floor over to questions and comments from the voters.

Resident Barbara O’Hara wanted to know whether the Union Street entrance to the air base could ever be re-opened.

Once a busy route between Rockland Center and Weymouth’s Columbian Square, Union Street was blocked off across the base in the 1950s so that the Navy could build another runway at the air station. There was talk of re-opening the dead end, which pleased some residents and outraged others.

LNR representative William Ryan, a former Weymouth selectman, insisted that neither LNR nor Tri-Town has the power to re-open the road - a statement that was met with much clapping from the auditorium.

“It’s in writing,” Ryan said. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to use a fear tactic.”

Resident Barry Ashton said the project is “not the worst plan or the best plan” but that voting in favor of LNR’s reuse plan would ensure local control.

“I’m afraid of what might go in there if we say no,” he said.

After town meeting voted in favor of the plan, debate resumed on the subsequent zoning changes that need to be in place before the base can be built.

“We need to tighten up the zoning on this thing before we pass it down for generations,” planning board member and open space committee chair Donald Cann said. “This is the first offer - if we reject it, there might be a better offer on the table.”

Cann was the dissenting vote when the planning board voted, 3-1, to recommend the plan two weeks ago.

Resident Edward Kimball said that he’s a “townie who wants the best for Rockland.”

“Is the plan perfect?” he asked. “No ... but we need to support our town and our children’s futures.”

A two-thirds vote was needed for the zoning changes to pass, and just over two hours into the town meeting, 530 voters okayed the zoning changes, with 113 voting no.

If all three towns approve the project, LNR has promised Rockland a $6.3 million mitigation package, which is earmarked for emergency vehicles, the park department and sports fields and for various other town purchases and capital projects.

LNR has also pledged Abington $1.975 million in mitigation payments. Weymouth’s mitigation package is still being negotiated, LNR officials said last week.

Courtney Hollands may be reached via e-mail by .