Save Rock Creek Hills Park? Well, we sure tried!: Would Park Loss Violate Federal Law?

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Would Park Loss Violate Federal Law?

On April 27th, Ms. Francoise Carrier, Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board & Vice Chair of the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission, wrote to Mr. Christopher S. Barclay, President of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

According to Ms. Carrier's letter, "Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF) money appears to have been used for [Rock Creek Hills] park."

Section 6(f)(3) of the Act authorizing LWCF states that "No property acquired or developed with assistance under this section shall, without the approval of the Secretary (Department of the Interior), be converted to other than public outdoor recreation uses."

So, we ask:

Would the loss of Rock Creek Hills Park, without written approval of federal Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, violate federal law?

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Who Said That?

"When the [Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission] developed [Rock Creek Hills Park] in the early 1990s they accepted funds from the Program Open Space. This is a program managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to distribute funds from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to preserve open space. The use of Program Open Space funds was inconsistent with the reclamation terms of the transfer agreement under which the M-NCPPC took title to the property. This was the case since use of these funds places restrictions on future public use of parks, in contradiction with the terms of the original transfer agreement..."
– Dr. Joshua Starr, Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools.

From the MCPS Site Selection Advisory Committee Minority Reports:

The B-CC High School NAACP Parents' Council wrote that they "... cannot support the recommendation to build the new middle school in a potentially racially divisive and socially isolating location. ... We, therefore, ask the Superintendent and the Board of Education to decline to adopt Rock Creek Hills Local Park as the site for the new middle school."

The Lyttonsville Civic Association wrote that "...MCPS staff set inappropriate boundaries for discussion... ...MCPS staff cut off discussion to insist that a vote be taken before the committee had finished considering all their options. Staff ... made procedural rulings that affected the ability of some representatives to speak freely. Some representatives voiced concerns that they were being led to a predetermined conclusion."

Ms. Brooke Farquhar (Parks Department) wrote: "Costs were not thoroughly evaluated in the process and misinformation may have prejudiced the votes of committee members.... The process lacked a robust analysis. The potential sites should have been analyzed more thoroughly, based on detailed information that would allow consistent comparison across the sites."

Mr. Frederick V. Boyd (Planning Board) wrote: "[T]he rating process used for selecting sites did not provide a real opportunity to consider the community character and quality of life consequences of choosing a candidate site. ... [D]escriptions appear to have been written to enable easier consideration of some public sites..."