Army Will Be Main User at Presidio’s Debut as Park : Land use: Lack of funds stalls plan for environmental, social center. Military will still control much of site Oct. 1.

For the past two years, national park planners have proclaimed that the historic Presidio will be a “national park unlike any other.”

Their prediction is coming true, but not the way they envisioned.

When the National Park Service officially takes over the scenic Army post Oct. 1, the Presidio will be the only national park occupied primarily by the U.S. Army.

With a force of 380 uniformed personnel, the Army will control nearly 300 buildings in the park as well as the Presidio’s moneymaking golf course, the commissary, the post exchange, the gymnasium, the swimming pool and other recreational facilities.

Park officials, still awaiting congressional authorization to renovate Presidio buildings for lease to nonprofit groups, said they had little choice but to sign up the Army as the park’s main tenant. And, unless Congress acts soon, they say, they will be forced to board up many of the new park’s facilities.

“What else are we going to do with the buildings?” asked one frustrated Department of the Interior official, who helps oversee the park service.

The National Park Service is caught in the middle of a clash over how best to use the Presidio--1,480 acres of historic buildings, rare vegetation and breathtaking vistas of San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge.

At a time of tight federal budgets, many members of Congress are in no mood to spend money on what would be the nation’s most expensive national park. Some Republican congressmen have pushed to sell off part of the valuable property to private developers.

And the Defense Department, which originally planned to vacate the site entirely, has reversed course. In addition to maintaining the 6th Army headquarters and military housing in the park, the Army has insisted on keeping control of the Presidio golf course--and the $700,000 a year that it pumps into the Army’s recreation and welfare fund.

“One has to question why the Army needs $700,000 of revenue a year to support 380 uniformed personnel,” said Michael Alexander of the Sierra Club. “We’re talking about the place where lieutenant colonels and three-star generals come to do their last tour of duty before they retire. How much welfare do they need?”

The National Park Service’s master plan calls for the transformation of the military post into a global center to address environmental, social and cultural issues. About 6.3 million square feet of space would be converted into conference centers, tourist facilities and offices for nonprofit organizations, including the Gorbachev Foundation. Visitors would not be charged an entrance fee.

But the plan has always hinged on congressional approval of a bill by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) allowing the park service to set up a management company--the Presidio Trust--to handle the leasing operation and reinvest revenues in the Presidio.

A key provision of the bill would have allowed the park to borrow up to $350 million without regard to a federal spending cap to restore buildings in the park and convert them to civilian use. But Republican foes recently won approval of an amendment limiting the funds for renovation.

Pelosi said she will seek to remove the funding restrictions once the bill reaches the Senate. But with less than eight weeks to go before the post officially becomes a park, the measure is still awaiting passage in the House.

“If we have no bill, we will still have a beautiful park,” Pelosi said. “The option is not to sell it off. The option is to move much more slowly, to board up buildings. That’s the worst-case scenario.”

The Army, meanwhile, has been negotiating with the park service for months over what park property it would retain.

Earlier this week, the two agencies announced an agreement giving the Army control over many of the park’s prime assets--including 1.8 million square feet of building space for the next five to seven years. This includes 600 of the post’s 1,200 housing units, as well as office and recreational facilities.

The park, in turn, will get a guaranteed tenant that will pay $13 million a year--a third of the park’s operating costs.

Bob Chandler, general manager of the Presidio park, said the agreement will not slow conversion because the Army will occupy buildings that are not essential to the park in its first few years.

Even without the Army’s presence, he said, the park service would not have been able to convert most of these buildings to park use in the next five to seven years.

“We are not giving up anything,” Chandler said. “We think overall it’s a good deal for the Army, a good deal for us and a good deal for the taxpayer.”

For the Army, maintaining control of the golf course for at least the next five years was a crucial part of the agreement.

The $700,000 in income from the course will pay for all of the recreational facilities available to soldiers and officers on the post. Under the deal, civilians will be allowed to tee off, with a goal of 50% public play in five years.

Soldiers deserve the recreational opportunities the money will provide because they sacrifice their freedom to join the Army, Maj. Wanda Arceneaux, a 6th Army spokeswoman, said. “When we join the military, we expect certain facilities to be available. That’s part of the military benefits. We give up a lot of other things so we can have those benefits.”

The agreement gives park service employees some special benefits too: While the general public will be barred from the gymnasium and swimming pool on the park grounds, park service employees will be able to join the soldiers in working out or going for a dip.

Chandler defended the arrangement, saying all park tenants and federal employees will be able to use the gym and pool. “It’s part of the sense of community that has existed on the Presidio for a long time,” he said.

Plans for Presidio

When the historic Presidio becomes part of the national park system Oct. 1, the Army will become the park’s largest tenant. The Army had originally planned to abandon the site. But under a new agreement the Army will lease 277 buildings--including the 6th Army headquarters, family housing and the commissary--and the Presidio’s scenic golf course.