Lakewood has completed a feasibility study and is still looking to annex neighboring military bases, in the hope of preserving them as economic engines for Pierce County.

The city says it would collect up to $4 million a year in new tax revenues. Officials say they would commit the money for the next two decades to help protect McChord Air Force Base from nearby private development that could compromise its mission. Lakewood officials want to ensure the base is safe from possible closure.

But Lakewood won’t do it alone. City Manager Andrew Neiditz said if the city doesn’t get financial help from federal and state governments, Pierce County and Tacoma, it will drop the annexation idea.

“If there’s not the support of regional players,” he said, “I cannot recommend moving forward. It’s too much for Lakewood.”

The $72,500 feasibility study by Seattle-based Berk & Associates shows the scheme is financially risky.

It would cost more than $55 million to buy private property in and around the McChord runway’s north crash zone, as well as demolish all development that poses a hazard and crowds the air base.

Another hurdle is that annexation can’t occur unless the Department of Defense approves.

“DOD compliance isn’t easy – and it’s required,” said George Behan, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair.

There’s also the question of whether the bases need Lakewood’s help to stay open.

McChord and Fort Lewis have survived scrutiny by a federal base closure commission five times going back to 1988. In the last round of closures in 2005, state and local officials, including Dicks, expressed confidence that neither base was in danger, because both are playing leading roles in the war on terrorism. And as the bases merge some of their administrative functions, they might become even safer from cuts.

This is the second time Lakewood has proposed to annex the military bases. The Army nixed it nine years ago because it saw no benefit to Fort Lewis.

J.C. Mathews, spokesman for the Army post, said Fort Lewis is aware of the latest annexation study and provided information but must remain neutral. He said he wasn’t aware of any encroachment issues at Fort Lewis.

Air Force Lt. Erika Yepsen said McChord commanders also know about the study but are maintaining a “neutral stance.” If the city approves annexation, the base will evaluate the proposal and forward a report to the secretary of the Air Force, she said.

The proposed clear zone is where the Air Force says its airplanes are most likely to crash locally. The Air Force owns much of the 206-acre area.

Some Lakewood officials fear that if the city’s 50-acre portion isn’t cleared of warehouses and other industrial developments, a federal commission might decide one day that McChord’s mission is hindered – and close it.

If that happens, the city fears Fort Lewis next door also might be vulnerable to closure.

“We want the bases to stay open,” said City Councilman Doug Richardson, who’s also a brigadier general in the Army Reserve. “The clear zone (encroachment) must be resolved.”

Neiditz said city concern heightened this year after he and Richardson attended a national conference in Atlanta where officials warned that military bases can close if development crowds them.

Others aren’t convinced that any local base closure is looming, and they’re concerned about the amount of money Lakewood could spend.

“If it’s a linchpin in national security,” said City Councilman John Arbeeny, “I suspect it’s not going anywhere.”

Annexation might bring in up to $4 million annually in new tax revenue to Lakewood. Part would come from a $2 million tax revenue shift from Pierce County; part would come from extending city utility taxes and fees to the bases; and part would come from more state-shared revenues because Lakewood would grow by more than 20,000 people, the study says. The county’s second-largest city has about 59,000 people.

Lakewood could then buy the clear zone property with cash raised through a bond issue and pay off the bonds over 20 years.

“It’s taking money from the military and investing it in solving a military issue,” said Brian Murphy of Berk & Associates.

Fort Lewis and McChord not only are important to national security, they also help anchor the local economy. The feasibility study cites a 2004 state estimate that the military bases with their large payrolls make up at least 30 percent of the economic activity in Pierce County – about a $2.2 billion net impact annually. The bases employ more than 34,000 military personnel and civilians, the study says.

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg said the Lakewood study will restart the regional debate on what to do to protect the bases.

Ladenburg said the county is willing to help, but has limited resources. It has budgeted $250,000 to help with land buyouts, he said.

McChord was denied funds to help buy developed lands in the crash zone last year, the study said.

Meanwhile, the cost of buying out clear zone owners continues to increase as local industrial land becomes scarce. A 2006 estimate pegged the cost at $28 million. The current estimate, which includes some additional property, is 96 percent higher.

Mike Tucci, whose Tucci & Sons Inc. owns an asphalt plant on 9 acres partly in the clear zone, said he doesn’t want to sell. He wants to maintain his centrally located plant near Interstate 5 and Highway 512.

“Land for industrial uses are hard to find and permit,” Tucci said.

59,000: Lakewood population

22,700: Total populations of Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base that would be added to Lakewood

8,340: Number of Fort Lewis acres the city could annex

3,750: Number of McChord Air Force Base acres the city could annex

220: Camp Murray acres the city could annex. (Washington National Guard is based at Camp Murray.) Lakewood’s history With military bases

1996: Lakewood becomes a city. Before, Pierce County had allowed small industrial developments in the area north of McChord’s runway.

1998: Air Force reports that “clear zone” north of McChord runway is most likely place for a plane crash.

1998: Lakewood tries to annex military bases, saying it would gain $2 million a year in tax revenues and use it to improve Tillicum and other rundown areas near the bases. Army vetoes the plan.

2003: Lakewood changes zoning to allow additional development in the city’s 50-acre portion of the clear zone. Property owners had complained that regulations were too restrictive, and the city feared lawsuits. The Air Force objects.

2004: State requires governments to notify U.S. military before changing zoning to allow uses that could interfere with its operations.

January 2007: Lakewood feasibility study explores annexing the military bases and buying out 24 property owners in the clear zone.

Rob Tucker: 253-597-8374

rob.tucker@thenewstribune.com