New housing on Joint Base Cape Cod — for military and civilians alike — could become part of an upcoming master plan for the base.
The quasi-public state agency MassDevelopment is commissioning the plan for the southern part of the base, an area of about 7,000 acres.
Erikk Hokenson, the agency’s vice president of real estate development, said the master plan will view the base holistically and support its efforts to make the best use of the land, “and, in the event that that identifies any surplus property, potentially redevelop that for housing or other economic development purposes.”
In addition to housing, Cape Cod officials are interested in other uses of the land, such as to expand the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center and develop new environmental technologies.
The state owns most of the base and leases the land to the federal government.
The master plan will cover what is known as the cantonment area — land previously developed for military use — which is located primarily in Bourne, Mashpee, and Sandwich, with a very small part in Falmouth.
The area includes the current base housing, former school, visitor’s center, commissary, golf course, and training support facilities, Hokenson said.
Barnstable County’s Board of Regional Commissioners has been advocating for a new master plan for the base. The commissioners have written to Gov. Maura Healey and other state officials.
“We've made it a priority, and we've facilitated talks with officials at Joint Base Cape Cod and MassDevelopment to see if we can make some progress,” Commissioner Mark Forest said.
He said the county hopes to expand the environmental technology development it is already doing with the military, including technologies for groundwater cleanup and other pollution remediation.
“We're doing some exciting work out there, and we would like to expand those initiatives and do so in a way that helps not just the communities on the Cape as a whole, but also the military as well,” he said. “We think this could be a real win-win situation for everybody.”
The county has also been working with surrounding towns to find ways to deal with solid waste and food waste.
“Some of that involves using technology like anaerobic digesters,” he said. “Some of it involves using other approaches involving composting. So we're looking at a variety of approaches that we can take.”
Forest also said future work on Joint Base Cape Cod could explore connections between marine technology and national defense.
Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, said rethinking land use on the base gives the community a chance to launch new initiatives without disturbing undeveloped land.
“If you've got a large tract of land that is not needed for ongoing military training activities, you have a unique opportunity … to take a previously disturbed area and re-imagine that as a vibrant housing and commercial district,” he said.
He said housing built on the base could be carbon neutral, or nearly so.
At the same time, he said, the 15,000 acres that comprises the northern part of the base need better protection. Designated as the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve, it is Cape Cod’s largest water supply area, he said.
MassDevelopment has issued a request for proposals for a consultant to lead development of the master plan. Proposals are due Feb. 7.
The agency anticipates selecting a consultant in March. After that, the plan is expected to take about two years to write.
A 2014 state law requires approval by the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard for any re-use of the land for economic development, according to Hokenson of MassDevelopment.
The Guard declined to comment.
