AIPC

Providence Journal

Navy soon will identify surplus properties on Aquidneck Island

Providence Journal

Navy soon will identify surplus properties on Aquidneck Island

By Gina Macris/Journal Staff Writer
03/4/08

As early as next month, the Navy is expected to release a tentative list of surplus property on the West Side of Aquidneck Island, from the stunning waterfront site of the former Newport Naval Hospital to the 250 acres of retired fuel oil tank farms in Portsmouth.

And now is the time for all the entities that would be involved in the land transfer -- federal, state, and local -- to form cooperative working relationships, says Tina Dolen, executive director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission.

Dolen said eight representatives of the Navy and state and local governments are taking the initial steps toward building those connections this week in Cambridge, Mass., at a four-day workshop sponsored by MIT and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

By working together, the Navy and the state and local governments can ensure that the ultimate disposal of the land converges with an existing local land use plan -- the West Side Master Plan -- in a way that benefits the economy, environment, and overall quality of life throughout Aquidneck Island, Dolen said.

Dolen has served as the catalyst for bringing the Navy land-use question to the attention of Harvard and MIT planners, who invited the Aquidneck Island officials to come together for a conference that teaches teams of community leaders skills for making fundamental, long-lasting change.

Participants include the base commander of the Naval Station in Newport, Capt. Michael T. Poirier.

"I am so pleased to be asked to participate in this forum," he said in a statement.

"This is a dynamic time for the Navy in Newport and this workshop will assist us in focusing our efforts and in deepening our working relationships with the local communities."

Dolen said the list of surplus properties is "predictable," although any sites identified at the outset must still go through a formal approval process before they are actually sold off.

The reuse of surplus properties is already anticipated by the West Side Mas! ter Plan , which has won endorsements from federal, state, and local officials when it was released in late 2005.

On the list of possible surplus sites is the eight acres of the former Naval Hospital, which abuts the Point section of Newport.

It is suitable for a combined residential and commercial development, with a waterfront park and promenade, Dolen says. A small pier on the site, refurbished, could accommodate a stop on the route of the proposed water taxi that the city of Newport is planning for Newport Harbor, she said.

The Midway Pier at the end of Greene Lane in Middletown is another property likely to be named surplus, she said.

Because of the good water quality in the surrounding waters in Narragansett Bay, the pier is the top choice of the state Department of Environmental Management for developing a public fishing pier, Dolen says. And there are plans for a Greene Lane Park adjacent to the pier.

Together, the park and the pier would grant the only public access to the Bay from the west side of Aquidneck Island.

The West Side Master Plan anticipates a new Shoreline Drive along the Navy's "Burma Road," formally known as Defense Highway, which runs north and south along the coast.

Shoreline Drive would provide a scenic route along the Bay and relieve congestion that plagues Aquidneck Island's two major thoroughfares, East Main and West Main roads.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission has done engineering studies for the north and south access points to a reconfigured Shoreline Drive, one addressing a hairpin turn at Stringham Road in Portsmouth, and the other extending the existing roadway to Coddington Highway in Middletown.

The waterside route would feature a bike path, and a train would provide commuter service between Newport and Portsmouth on the line now used by the Newport Dinner Train.

Dolen said the Navy will also want to divest itself of the utilities that run alongside the Burma Road, including water and sewer service.

Currently, the commission ! is worki ng with the Newport County Chamber of Commerce to analyze "what a regional sewer system might look like" if it used the outfall pipe at Raytheon, the defense contractor in Portsmouth, Dolen said.

"That study is just getting off the ground," she said.

A debate over the role of sewers -- if any -- in Portsmouth kicked up the latter part of last year and is expected to resume in the coming months.

The Portsmouth Town Council is also expected to formally adopt a redevelopment plan for the Navy tank farms that would position the town to play a key role in shaping future use of that property -- about 250 acres. A variety of uses, including a wind energy farm, has been mentioned.

Dolen said participants at this week's conference "will walk through how it [the land] will come onto the market and approaches to be used to design the best use" of the property.

One thing is clear, she said. The Navy is not giving any land away. It expects to get fair market value for its property, Dolen said.

Besides Poirier, the base commander, the participants include the Navy's Northeast Area counsel, David R. Gale; the chief of Rhode Island Statewide Planning, Jared Rhodes; Middletown's Interim Town Administrator Shawn Brown; Portsmouth Finance Director David Faucher; and Newport's Director of Planning, Zoning, Development and Inspections, Paige Bronk. Also attending the workshop are Dolen and the chairman of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, Arthur Weber, who is an adjunct professor at the Naval War College.

Dolen said, "One of the best things about going up there is that we will come back with a much closer relationship among the leaders.

"It will be much easier to pick up the phone," she said.

The workshop, titled "Community Problem-Solving: Skills for Civic Leadership," will use the disposal of the Navy land as a case study to teach participants practical skills and theoretical frameworks intended to strengthen their ability to exercise effective civic leadership in a cooperative m! anner. T he conference began yesterday and runs through Thursday.

By Gina Macris/Journal Staff Writer
03/4/08

As early as next month, the Navy is expected to release a tentative list of surplus property on the West Side of Aquidneck Island, from the stunning waterfront site of the former Newport Naval Hospital to the 250 acres of retired fuel oil tank farms in Portsmouth.

And now is the time for all the entities that would be involved in the land transfer -- federal, state, and local -- to form cooperative working relationships, says Tina Dolen, executive director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission.

Dolen said eight representatives of the Navy and state and local governments are taking the initial steps toward building those connections this week in Cambridge, Mass., at a four-day workshop sponsored by MIT and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

By working together, the Navy and the state and local governments can ensure that the ultimate disposal of the land converges with an existing local land use plan -- the West Side Master Plan -- in a way that benefits the economy, environment, and overall quality of life throughout Aquidneck Island, Dolen said.

Dolen has served as the catalyst for bringing the Navy land-use question to the attention of Harvard and MIT planners, who invited the Aquidneck Island officials to come together for a conference that teaches teams of community leaders skills for making fundamental, long-lasting change.

Participants include the base commander of the Naval Station in Newport, Capt. Michael T. Poirier.

"I am so pleased to be asked to participate in this forum," he said in a statement.

"This is a dynamic time for the Navy in Newport and this workshop will assist us in focusing our efforts and in deepening our working relationships with the local communities."

Dolen said the list of surplus properties is "predictable," although any sites identified at the outset must still go through a formal approval process before they are actually sold off.

The reuse of surplus properties is already anticipated by the West Side Mas! ter Plan , which has won endorsements from federal, state, and local officials when it was released in late 2005.

On the list of possible surplus sites is the eight acres of the former Naval Hospital, which abuts the Point section of Newport.

It is suitable for a combined residential and commercial development, with a waterfront park and promenade, Dolen says. A small pier on the site, refurbished, could accommodate a stop on the route of the proposed water taxi that the city of Newport is planning for Newport Harbor, she said.

The Midway Pier at the end of Greene Lane in Middletown is another property likely to be named surplus, she said.

Because of the good water quality in the surrounding waters in Narragansett Bay, the pier is the top choice of the state Department of Environmental Management for developing a public fishing pier, Dolen says. And there are plans for a Greene Lane Park adjacent to the pier.

Together, the park and the pier would grant the only public access to the Bay from the west side of Aquidneck Island.

The West Side Master Plan anticipates a new Shoreline Drive along the Navy's "Burma Road," formally known as Defense Highway, which runs north and south along the coast.

Shoreline Drive would provide a scenic route along the Bay and relieve congestion that plagues Aquidneck Island's two major thoroughfares, East Main and West Main roads.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission has done engineering studies for the north and south access points to a reconfigured Shoreline Drive, one addressing a hairpin turn at Stringham Road in Portsmouth, and the other extending the existing roadway to Coddington Highway in Middletown.

The waterside route would feature a bike path, and a train would provide commuter service between Newport and Portsmouth on the line now used by the Newport Dinner Train.

Dolen said the Navy will also want to divest itself of the utilities that run alongside the Burma Road, including water and sewer service.

Currently, the commission ! is worki ng with the Newport County Chamber of Commerce to analyze "what a regional sewer system might look like" if it used the outfall pipe at Raytheon, the defense contractor in Portsmouth, Dolen said.

"That study is just getting off the ground," she said.

A debate over the role of sewers -- if any -- in Portsmouth kicked up the latter part of last year and is expected to resume in the coming months.

The Portsmouth Town Council is also expected to formally adopt a redevelopment plan for the Navy tank farms that would position the town to play a key role in shaping future use of that property -- about 250 acres. A variety of uses, including a wind energy farm, has been mentioned.

Dolen said participants at this week's conference "will walk through how it [the land] will come onto the market and approaches to be used to design the best use" of the property.

One thing is clear, she said. The Navy is not giving any land away. It expects to get fair market value for its property, Dolen said.

Besides Poirier, the base commander, the participants include the Navy's Northeast Area counsel, David R. Gale; the chief of Rhode Island Statewide Planning, Jared Rhodes; Middletown's Interim Town Administrator Shawn Brown; Portsmouth Finance Director David Faucher; and Newport's Director of Planning, Zoning, Development and Inspections, Paige Bronk. Also attending the workshop are Dolen and the chairman of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, Arthur Weber, who is an adjunct professor at the Naval War College.

Dolen said, "One of the best things about going up there is that we will come back with a much closer relationship among the leaders.

"It will be much easier to pick up the phone," she said.

The workshop, titled "Community Problem-Solving: Skills for Civic Leadership," will use the disposal of the Navy land as a case study to teach participants practical skills and theoretical frameworks intended to strengthen their ability to exercise effective civic leadership in a cooperative m! anner. T he conference began yesterday and runs through Thursday.