"Redevelopment Officials to Consider New Plan for Former Norton Air Force Base"

Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Redevelopment Officials to Consider New Plan for Former California Air
Base
The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.


SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.--Redevelopment officials are expected to approve
efforts to create the first master plan in more than a decade for the
former Norton Air Force Base.

The San Bernardino International Airport Authority are scheduled to vote
Wednesday on whether to develop the plan, which would guide airport
officials as they turn the former base into a cargo airport with some
passenger service.

"Although we will look at passenger service, we want to focus our
attention on cargo traffic,"said Robert Christman, president of the San
Bernardino Airport Authority.

The airport authority has been using a 10-year-old master plan that does
not take into account the new passenger terminals at Ontario
International Airport, the demise of a proposed passenger airport in El
Toro and the AllianceCalifornia cargo center proposed by Texas-based
developer Hillwood.

"A new master plan is a logical next step in attracting businesses to
the airport,"said John Magness, Hillwood senior vice president."In order
to plan for cargo, maintenance and general aviation, the airport's needs
must be planned out in advance."

The existing plan does not incorporate Hillwood's plans for an
intermodal center that moves cargo between trucks, trains and airplanes.
The Hillwood project could generate 6,000 to 8,000 jobs in the next 10
years.

The master plan will examine runway and hangar improvements, changes to
airport access and parking, air traffic control, population growth,
passenger and cargo demand, airport layout and land use.

The master plan will be used for financial planning, forecasting and
managing environmental issues, according to the San Bernardino
International Airport Authority Commission.

The master plan is funded by a Federal Aviation Administration grant.
The federal government provides $243,000 if the airport authority
provides a $24,300 local match. The authority will pay $12,150 out of
its reserves and get the remaining funds from the California Department
of Transportation.

The search for a consultant to create the master plan will take 60 to 90
days, according to the airport authority. Completion of the plan could
take more than a year, Christman said.


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