AIPC

Navy Rejects Tribe’s Land Bid

April 7, 2010

Navy Rejects Tribe’s Land Bid

April 7, 2010

By: Tom Shevlin
newport now

NEWPORT, R.I. – The wait it over.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC), point of contact for the island
communities and the federal agencies, received word on Tuesday that the Department of
the Navy formally has denied the February 2, 2010 request of the U.S. Department of the
Interior (on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs – BIA) to reopen consideration by the
BIA concerning acquisition of surplus properties at Naval Station Newport.

This action paves the way for the communities of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth
to resume work with their designated representatives on the Aquidneck Island Reuse
Planning Authority (AIRPA) to prepare the properties for ultimate transfer to public or
private interests.

“The nearly ten years of tireless effort and collaboration, including creation of the West
Side Master Plan, has today proven well worth the effort as we collectively strive to
improve the economy, transportation, utility infrastructure, coastal and land-side
environment, access to the sea, and recreation on Aquidneck Island,” AIPC Executive
Director Tina Dolen said in a release.

The letter explaining the Navy’s decision is attached here.

The news is significant for planners who have long been working toward the goal of
transforming the large swath of land on the west side of Aquidneck Island into
recreational, marine, and mixed use development.
But the Navy’s decision does not preclude the Narragansetts from acquiring the property.
“With the property now determined surplus to the needs of the Federal Government, it is
important to note that the Narragansett Indian Tribe could seek to acquire surplus
NAVSTA Newport property through a public benefit conveyance or any other
appropriate federal real property conveyance authority available,” the letter states. “If the
Tribe is interested in obtaining property, we recommend the Tribe consult with the Local
Redevelopment Authority as well as the appropriate Federal sponsoring agency for any
public benefit conveyance being considered.”

During a brief phone interview on Tuesday, Dolen said she had real concerns over the
latest tribal request.
For the last 10 years, the AIPC has worked with each of the island’s three communities
on plans to develop the excess property, and prior to the tribes’ entry had been the
presumed front-runner to acquire the land. But in April, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), representing Rhode Island’s Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Wampanoag Indian
Tribe of Gayhead, Mass., stepped in to express their interest in the property. As a federal
agency, the BIA would have the first right to any excess property.
Their late-coming to the process caused local plans to effectively be put “on hold”
according to Dolen.

In August, the Bureau asked Navy officials for an extension in preparing their application
in order to review an Environmental Condition of Property report, which at that time had
yet to be completed. The Navy complied. It was the third such request made by the
bureau in four months; a 60 day extension was also granted earlier in May and another 30
day extension was granted in July. But in December, the BIA withdrew its request,
despite the Narragansetts still maintaining an interest in the property.

Citing a recently signed Executive Order, the tribe renewed their quest for the land, and
Dolen was told to put her agency’s relevant work on the back burner. “We were really
worried,” she said, adding that in recent months she had serious doubts about whether the
AIRPA would have the opportunity to

Among the properties being handed over include the former naval hospital in Newport,
which occupies a prime waterfront parcel just north of the Pell Bridge, all of Burma
Road, the former Navy Lodge property on West Main Road, and several acres in
Portsmouth which abut the Melville Ponds Campgrounds.

With the land now listed on the Federal Register and the road seemingly clear to move
forward, the AIPC, serving as the point of contact, is required to begin its work with
already established partners at the Department of Defense, Office of Economic
Adjustment to ensure that the Aquidneck Island Reuse Authority (AIRPA) (representing
Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth, as well as ex-officio members, including the RI
Economic Development Corporation, among others) is officially recognized, acquires
grant funding, and is authorized to begin acting as the regional representative authority.
The AIRPA will then be required to complete a series of planning steps for the ensuing
BRAC process, which is expected to take approximately 18 months at which point the
land could change hands.

By: Tom Shevlin
newport now

NEWPORT, R.I. – The wait it over.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC), point of contact for the island
communities and the federal agencies, received word on Tuesday that the Department of
the Navy formally has denied the February 2, 2010 request of the U.S. Department of the
Interior (on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs – BIA) to reopen consideration by the
BIA concerning acquisition of surplus properties at Naval Station Newport.

This action paves the way for the communities of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth
to resume work with their designated representatives on the Aquidneck Island Reuse
Planning Authority (AIRPA) to prepare the properties for ultimate transfer to public or
private interests.

“The nearly ten years of tireless effort and collaboration, including creation of the West
Side Master Plan, has today proven well worth the effort as we collectively strive to
improve the economy, transportation, utility infrastructure, coastal and land-side
environment, access to the sea, and recreation on Aquidneck Island,” AIPC Executive
Director Tina Dolen said in a release.

The letter explaining the Navy’s decision is attached here.

The news is significant for planners who have long been working toward the goal of
transforming the large swath of land on the west side of Aquidneck Island into
recreational, marine, and mixed use development.
But the Navy’s decision does not preclude the Narragansetts from acquiring the property.
“With the property now determined surplus to the needs of the Federal Government, it is
important to note that the Narragansett Indian Tribe could seek to acquire surplus
NAVSTA Newport property through a public benefit conveyance or any other
appropriate federal real property conveyance authority available,” the letter states. “If the
Tribe is interested in obtaining property, we recommend the Tribe consult with the Local
Redevelopment Authority as well as the appropriate Federal sponsoring agency for any
public benefit conveyance being considered.”

During a brief phone interview on Tuesday, Dolen said she had real concerns over the
latest tribal request.
For the last 10 years, the AIPC has worked with each of the island’s three communities
on plans to develop the excess property, and prior to the tribes’ entry had been the
presumed front-runner to acquire the land. But in April, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), representing Rhode Island’s Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Wampanoag Indian
Tribe of Gayhead, Mass., stepped in to express their interest in the property. As a federal
agency, the BIA would have the first right to any excess property.
Their late-coming to the process caused local plans to effectively be put “on hold”
according to Dolen.

In August, the Bureau asked Navy officials for an extension in preparing their application
in order to review an Environmental Condition of Property report, which at that time had
yet to be completed. The Navy complied. It was the third such request made by the
bureau in four months; a 60 day extension was also granted earlier in May and another 30
day extension was granted in July. But in December, the BIA withdrew its request,
despite the Narragansetts still maintaining an interest in the property.

Citing a recently signed Executive Order, the tribe renewed their quest for the land, and
Dolen was told to put her agency’s relevant work on the back burner. “We were really
worried,” she said, adding that in recent months she had serious doubts about whether the
AIRPA would have the opportunity to

Among the properties being handed over include the former naval hospital in Newport,
which occupies a prime waterfront parcel just north of the Pell Bridge, all of Burma
Road, the former Navy Lodge property on West Main Road, and several acres in
Portsmouth which abut the Melville Ponds Campgrounds.

With the land now listed on the Federal Register and the road seemingly clear to move
forward, the AIPC, serving as the point of contact, is required to begin its work with
already established partners at the Department of Defense, Office of Economic
Adjustment to ensure that the Aquidneck Island Reuse Authority (AIRPA) (representing
Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth, as well as ex-officio members, including the RI
Economic Development Corporation, among others) is officially recognized, acquires
grant funding, and is authorized to begin acting as the regional representative authority.
The AIRPA will then be required to complete a series of planning steps for the ensuing
BRAC process, which is expected to take approximately 18 months at which point the
land could change hands.