Although closures in other parts of the country are greeted with panic, officials in Sunnyvale are proceeding cautiously. In the long run, some are optimistic that a move could open up prime research and development land.

The Base Realignment and Closure list--which will be finalized on Sept. 8 and submitted to President Bush for approval on Sept. 23--calls for Onizuka to close within six years, and its operations to move to Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc.

According to station spokeswoman Valerie Joseph, the move would allow the U.S. Department of Defense to consolidate operations on the larger base.

"The mission would continue, but it would move to the different location to better use funds and taxpayer money," Joseph said.

Here in Sunnyvale, it would mean potential loss of 278 employees, more than half of them civilians. But the move may not be a bad thing for Sunnyvale.

Onizuka sits on prime development land, close to Yahoo, Juniper Networks and NASA Ames campuses.

"It's a well-placed piece of land, and we as a city are trying to bring biotechnology and nanotechnology--that we've identified as the next big breakthrough like computers were--and I think that this site is in a good position to be a part of that," Sunnyvale spokesman John Pilger said.

The BRAC list also calls for adding a reserve unit of 253 people to neighboring Moffett Field. The former naval base at Moffett is just a vestige of its former self but still houses the Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing.

Onizuka--known for its "blue cube" monitoring center, so named for its building's large size and light blue color, and giant communications dishes--has been in Sunnyvale since 1960.

Although many of Onizuka's operations are classified by the military, it publicly monitors Air Force satellites and assists with NASA shuttle missions.

"There certainly will be some economic impact, but not as much as would happen if the Air Force were to pull out of Travis Air Force base near Fairfield, where the base is a huge part of the local economy," Pilger said.

Pilger said the recommended closure is not a surprise. If approved, the base has two years to start moving, and the transition must be complete six years after the closure was approved. Joseph said the more would probably take until 2009.

"Given the fact that Onizuka has been downsizing for 10 years, we're not overly optimistic," Pilger said.

Before the mid-'90s, Onizuka boasted a workforce of more than 3,000 people, but a 1995 BRAC list led to cuts that dropped the staff below 300 people.

If the Onizuka closure is approved, the remaining employees will either move along with the operation, retire or find new jobs.

"It would be a big impact on some people," Joseph said. "There are a lot of civilians here that have been in Sunnyvale for a long time, so it would definitely affect them and their families."

Because final approval isn't until September, the city council is organizing a series of community meetings to discuss the overall impact of closure. It also wants to look into what lobbying can be done to get the base removed from the BRAC list--in case it decides it is too valuable an asset to lose.

Pilger said historically only 10 to 15 percent of bases that end up on a BRAC list are removed from the list, and the Bay Area has not fared well.

"The Bay Area as a whole has been pretty well devastated by military closures in the past," Pilger said. "The Presidio, Concord, the Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, Moffett Field; it's all been very costly for the region."