an insert in The Royal Gazette , says Finance Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons.

But exactly how development proposals for the former US Naval Air Station at St. David's, the US Naval Annex and US Naval Facility (Tudor Hill) in Southampton, and the Canadian Forces Station at Daniel's Head in Sandys will be dealt with is still not determined.

Discussions are ongoing about to what extent Base land development proposals could be "fast tracked'' and to what extent they would be treated the same as development proposals for other Bermuda lands, which are sent to the Development Applications Board.

The land use plan, on which Government will seek further public input, will serve as a guide in determining how the lands are used, Dr. Gibbons said.

"It's basically what we feel is a reflection of a lot of the consultation, analysis, and advice that we've had,'' Dr. Gibbons said. "It's not a formal document in a statutory or regulatory kind of way.'' It will likely be unveiled at a news conference early next week and distributed in the daily newspaper the next day.

In December, EDAW of London and Bermuda's Barker & Linberg were awarded a $296,000 contract to help develop a land use plan and criteria for assessing development proposals.

They were helped by a Base lands utilisation committee which had broad community representation. A series of public meetings was also held to help determine views of the public.

Once more input is received, the plan can be formalised and used as a guide like the Bermuda Plan is used, Dr. Gibbons said.

"Right now, as far as the Base is concerned, all of the planning rules apply,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

"Given the fact that perhaps this is a different kind of challenge than one normally faces with standard building proposals ... we'll probably be looking for a way to streamline the development proposal process.

"That still needs to be worked out,'' he said.

Environment Minister the Hon. Tim Smith, who met yesterday with Planning Director Mr. Brian Rowlinson to discuss the issue, said several options were being studied.

As of today, the Base lands belonged to Bermuda and would be subject to "`all the necessary planning applications.'' "The difficulty is that there is no land use plan,'' he said. In that situation, the DAB would be essentially stymied and it would be referred to the Minister.'' The land use plan to be revealed next week would provide "a framework that the DAB could handle,'' Mr. Smith said.

However, the DAB was already meeting twice a week, and "we're just not sure our current process is equipped to deal with the sudden infusion of another 1,000 acres,'' Mr. Smith said.

It was possible the Base lands should be dealt with separately.

Dr. Gibbons has said Government must tread a fine line in developing the Base lands. While extreme haste is unwarranted, there is a certain urgency to finding uses for the lands that will help restore the estimated $50 million a year the Bases pumped into the local economy. That was especially true since Bermuda was facing extra Airport costs of about $20 million a year as a result of the US Navy pull-out.

"We're not trying to sacrifice the planning controls,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

"It's an effort really to look at how we can meet this very large challenge and very large opportunity.''