Irvine Firm Chosen to Plan Conversion of Marine Base : Military: The company will present three alternative proposals for civilian use of the Tustin helicopter facility, which is scheduled to close in 1997.

The Irvine-based firm of Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff has been chosen to prepare plans for civilian use of the Marine Corps helicopter base, scheduled to close in 1997.

City officials sent out 85 requests for proposals, and 17 firms responded, said Rita Westfield, assistant director of community development.

Westfield said the Howard, Needles firm was “the most qualified . . . and seemed to understand the project and had a good working knowledge of what needs to be done.”

In July, the U.S. Department of Defense gave a $750,000 planning grant to hire a consulting firm to develop plans for closing the base and relocating employees and military equipment to Twentynine Palms.

HNTB is a national architectural engineering planning firm with 34 offices across the country. The company is working with the state Department of Transportation on freeway construction projects and on the renovation of the Los Angeles Coliseum, firm partner Ron Hartje said.

Representatives of HNTB signed a contract with the city on Sept. 29 to begin work on a reuse plan to be completed within 18 months, Westfield said. HNTB will work in association with a team of specially hired technical experts.

The background work will consist of environmental impact reports, traffic and financial analyses, Westfield said.

A 15-member base reuse task force composed of representatives from the Marine Corps, adjacent cities, the Tustin City Council and nearby homeowners associations will advise the firm.

“We want to balance commercial with residential building,” said Todd Ferguson, a committee member who represents one of the three homeowner associations near the base. “We want to keep the quaintness of Tustin. If we throw in all housing tracts or all commercial businesses, there goes the concept.”

HNTB will present three alternative proposals for use of the base to the City Council. After the council selects a plan, the federal government, which owns the land, will then sell the property to developers committed to the base reuse plan, Senior Planner Dana Ogden said.