The former military land around March Air Reserve Base was slated to be developed for homes, but the March Joint Powers Authority has announced it’s now negotiating with the U.S. Veterans Administration to use the course to expand a neighboring cemetery. One local lawmaker called the new plan “the perfect use for that land.”
The General Old Golf Course in Riverside, Calif. may still close, but it could now become part of Riverside National Cemetery instead of rows of homes, The Press-Enterprise of Riverside reported.
The March Joint Powers Authority (JPA)—which oversees former military land around March Air Reserve Base—is reversing course after signing an exclusive negotiating deal with the Lewis Group of Companies of Upland, Calif. last year to develop 300 acres of its land, including the golf course, The Press-Enterprise reported.
The plans originally called for reconfiguring the golf course while building about 670 homes on 136 acres around it, The Press-Enterprise reported. But as the developer and agency officials further discussed the proposal, they determined that redeveloping the golf course would be expensive and revised the proposal to eliminate the golf course and build about 1660 homes.
On April 20, the authority announced that it was negotiating to sell the land to the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) to expand the neighboring cemetery, The Press-Enterprise reported. The agency is also negotiating to end its deal with the Lewis Group, said Daryl Busch, Mayor of Perris, Calif. and Chairman of the authority’s board.
Busch told The Press-Enterprise that the decision resulted from “some people objecting to the houses that were going to be built.”
Andy Melendrez, a Riverside City Councilman, said the subject came up when he and some other JPA officials met with VA representatives during a lobbying trip in the last month to Washington, D.C., The Press-Enterprise reported.
“They had indicated there was need for additional cemetery space,” Melendrez said. “We said we have a piece of land that’s under development. It was really just a passing comment. They said, ‘We’d really like to think about it.’”
Shortly after that meeting, Melendrez said, VA officials said they were interested in obtaining the property, The Press-Enterprise reported.
Deals still need to be reached with the Veterans Administration and Lewis, Busch said.
Jim Ruester, a Riverside National Cemetery spokesman, confirmed that the Veterans Administration is negotiating for the property, but did not have additional details, The Press-Enterprise reported.
Randall Lewis, a principal and one of the owners of the Lewis Group, could not be reached for comment, The Press-Enterprise reported.
The housing project would have been the closest residential community to the base, raising concerns among some about what that might mean for the March Base, which remains a large employers and economic engine for the region, The Press-Enterprise reported.
Jamil Dada, a Riverside business leader and president of the March Field Air Museum’s executive committee, said encroachment and noise complaints is the top issue that leads to military bases being shut down. He called a cemetery expansion “the perfect use for that land.”
Moreno Valley (Calif.) City Councilman Jeffrey Giba, Vice Chairman of the authority, said the sale “protects the base from any encroachment.”
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