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Moffett Federal Airfield isn’t officially up for grabs until the General Services Administration receives a “Report of Excess” from NASA, according to the GSA.

That’s when the GSA begins looking for another owner for Moffett. It must first be offered to federal agencies, 17 of which are designated as landholding agencies, such as the Army, FEMA or Department of Veterans Affairs, said a GSA spokesperson in an email. But first GSA needs to gather input from Moffett’s stakeholders and look at the historic preservation and environmental laws that pertain to Moffett.

If there are no takers on the federal level, it is then declared surplus federal property and the Department of Housing and Urban Development decides whether the property is useable for a homeless shelter, a use which must be considered before all others.

If it is not, the GSA would post notices with public agencies and institutions that Moffett is available as a “public benefit conveyance” for qualified uses: “public health or educational uses, public parks and public recreational areas, historic monuments, homeless assistance, correctional institutions, port facilities, public airports, wildlife conservation, self-help housing, law enforcement and emergency management response.” Depending on the use, the price can be “substantially discounted” below market value, or even given away.

If that fails to dispose of the property, it becomes available to state and local governments in a “negotiated sale” before it is offered to the general public in a bidding process. Sunnyvale or Mountain View for example, could purchase Moffett for “economic development” and property taxes would then go to local government agencies and schools.

Mountain View and Sunnyvale could split Moffett along a predetermined boundary which runs up the center of the airfield, between the two runways. The boundary outlines “spheres of influence” currently used by both cities when advocating for toxins cleanup, as Moffett has a significant underground plume of trichloroethylene, or TCE.

“The sphere of influence is LAFCO’s way of predetermining where something would go,” said Kevin Woodhouse, assistant to Mountain View’s city manager. The Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, is the county agency that approves annexations.

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4 Comments

  1. We need more housing close to jobs to cut down on traffic and smog, I want Mountain View to be given the land and then zone for housing and businesses that will produce tax for the city.

  2. Rodger wants to build more houses to more people can move in and be taxed to death. Awesome.

    I’d like to see a dirt bike track built. Plus a shooting range. It’s a pain to find someplace to go shooting these days. Given all the other polution that is out there already a little more lead isn’t going to be hurt anything.

    Don’t knock it. Trap and skeet shooting is addictive.

  3. Good strategic influence moves Anna Eschoo, Pete Worden and Obama, since your closest advisor’s (Google) are being questioned about use of Moffett Field Airfield, CA via Senate regarding earlier work of you, Anna Eschoo and NASA ARC with the NASA Research Park side of Moffett Field, to benefit Google, etc.. All this, as retaliation to just to off set Grassley’s inquiries? Impacting your own Air Force and National Guard, and now getting them to use media to go against NASA Administrator Bolden? Yes, many of us can speculate that all is not what it really seems? Grassley asks about Google, and you retaliate using Col. Butow to suggest that poor Bolden handed it all over the the General Services Agency? Very interesting you say now poor Anna and Simon worked so hard for all this. Very interesting. http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_20683524?source=rss

    But what are the real facts? Well I did some googling (pun intended):

    Anna Eschoo actually was the one that recommended to the Moffett Field RAV group to work on plan for GSA, it wasn’t Bolden as stated in article below by Col. Stephen Butow (who is using strategic influence works)

    Listen to this directly from Moffett Field, RAV
    http://www.nuqu.org/#nasagsa

    http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=5630
    “Moffett Federal Airfield isn’t officially up for grabs until the General Services Administration receives a “Report of Excess” from NASA, according to the GSA.

    That’s when the GSA begins looking for another owner for Moffett. It must first be offered to federal agencies, 17 of which are designated as landholding agencies, such as the Army, FEMA or Department of Veterans Affairs, said a GSA spokesperson in an email. But first GSA needs to gather input from Moffett’s stakeholders and look at the historic preservation and environmental laws that pertain to Moffett.

    If there are no takers on the federal level, it is then declared surplus federal property and the Department of Housing and Urban Development decides whether the property is useable for a homeless shelter, a use which must be considered before all others.

    If it is not, the GSA would post notices with public agencies and institutions that Moffett is available as a “public benefit conveyance” for qualified uses: “public health or educational uses, public parks and public recreational areas, historic monuments, homeless assistance, correctional institutions, port facilities, public airports, wildlife conservation, self-help housing, law enforcement and emergency management response.” Depending on the use, the price can be “substantially discounted” below market value, or even given away.”

    Given away? Gosh, this is where they can give it away to Google, etc. No wonder the Airforce and National Guard are upset, Google can then charge them for use of the field! Do to costs to them to maintain it.

    Col. Stephen Butow – concerns (a real spin) covering up the Google inquiry and a totally inaccurate spin article
    http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20683521/col-stephen-butow-moffett-airfields-value-stretches-beyond

    What a real crazy spin job over all.

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