That's considered good news by Eatontown officials who, whiledismayed by the military cutbacks, see a silver lining in the factthat the site could soon be returned to the local tax rolls. Thatfact came one step closer to reality recently when the FederalDepartment of Housing and Urban Development decided that theproperty couldn't be used for homeless housing.

Under the Federal McKinney Act, non-profit groups that providehousing for low-income families or the homeless get first crack atany surplus military property, as long as the property is suitablefor such use. In this case, HUD turned thumbs down because thereare above-ground fuel tanks on adjacent sites. According to Federalregulations, such housing can't be developed on federally ownedland within 2,000 feet of permanent above-ground tanks that containflammable liquids.

"Development of the site is very important to this community,"according to Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo. He adds that he hasbeen given assurances by the appropriate Federal agencies that thecity will have a say in what becomes of Howard Commons. At the sametime, city officials have indicated that they will make thenecessary zoning changes to accommodate a variety of uses.