Community Guide to Base Reuse: Military Base Closure Economic Readjustment, Local Redevelopment Authorities, Planning, and Implementation, Comprehensive List of Assistance Sources and Agencies

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been closing military bases and assisting Defense-impacted communities through its Defense Economic Adjustment Program for more than 35 years. Over this period of time, experience has shown that the primary responses to a closure must be community-based. This describes the roles of community leaders, State leaders, Federal officials, and other resources. The role of community leaders—where economic adjustment efforts begin and end—is described in terms of the three components of economic adjustment: the community, local businesses, and workers. The roles of State and Federal officials are briefly summarized. A detailed listing of the various resources available to your community can be found in the Appendix. The economic and social fabric of a community is tested when a closure action is announced. What does this decision mean? How will jobs be impacted? Is there any way to avoid the closure? The closure and reuse process is disruptive, but the experience of most communities is that the net result is economically beneficial in the long run.

The base reuse process consists of a series of activities involving both the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) and the Military Department. These activities are required by both laws and regulations. An LRA must be aware of this general process to effectively respond to the closure and to move the community toward economic recovery. The overall reuse and disposal process ("reuse process") consists of three phases: base-wide reuse planning; disposal and reuse decision making; and decision implementation. This Section provides a brief overview of the reuse process, including information on transitional impacts to the community as the base is converted from military to civilian use. The process is explained in further detail in the DoD Base Reuse Implementation Manual, available from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Economic Security.