CORRECTION: This story incorrectly stated that a weekend action alert was sent by members of the East Bethesda Citizens Association. The alert was sent by a resident of East Bethesda, not by the Citizens Association, which has not yet taken a position on the issue.
Some East Bethesda residents aren’t happy with plans to build a “beautification” fence around a park building being rented out by a daycare company.
Over the weekend, East Bethesda resident Cathy Garland sent out an action alert about Bethesda Reggio daycare’s attempt to build the fence in front of the activity building at Lynbrook Park (8008 Newdale Rd.)
The daycare has gotten preliminary approval for the fence from Montgomery Parks’ Development Division, but neighborhood residents say Reggio’s lease doesn’t allow it and fencing off part of the park would be an affront to the people who rely on the public land.
“…this is public land that belongs to the citizens of Montgomery County and East Bethesda. It does not belong to Reggio and they should not be asking for permission to take it,” read Garland’s email. “The claim for “beautification” is disingenuous at best. We suspect that Reggio is looking for their own outdoor area for the children to play in, even though there is a perfectly good playground 20 yards away.”
David Tobin, who is overseeing the process for Montgomery Parks, said the fence wouldn’t restrict anybody’s access to Lynbrook Park, most of which is located away from the activity building. He also said the lease doesn’t necessarily restrict the fence project or any other beautification efforts on Park space outside the activity building.
He will meet with the East Bethesda Citizens Association on Wednesday at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.
“The park activity building is on the edge of the park. The area immediately in front of the park activity building, between the building and the street, is not an area that is used by anyone and it’s not a large area,” Tobin said. “The fence wouldn’t intrude on the public use area of the park.”
Reggio proposed building a three-foot-tall picket fence for 33 feet along the front of the building and 51 feet along one of the building’s sides. The area consists mainly of a walkway between the building and Newdale Road.
East Bethesda Citizens Association President Rebecca Fayed said the group is waiting to hear from Tobin on Wednesday before coming to any conclusions. She also said she agrees with Tobin’s interpretation that the lease doesn’t restrict the building of the fence.
The beautification project, as Reggio and Parks have labeled it, would include the removal of bushes blocking gutters on the building and mean newly planted flower beds inside the fenced-off area. Reggio would be responsible for mowing the grassy area inside the fence.
Reggio also wants to install two small signs with the name of the daycare, a phone number and website on the fence, something the action alert said was “essentially an advertisement.”
Neighborhood objections to the daycare date back to when Reggio initially leased out the space in 2012. Upon a directive from the County Council, Montgomery Parks began to look for tenants for its seldom-used, gradually deteriorating parks activity buildings — brick structures that were built on the edge or inside many county parks and destined for demolition.
Tobin said he’s mindful that not all residents were happy with the original decision to lease out the building, but the consequences of a vacant building might have been worse.
“Some of them were attracting criminal activity. Some of them were subject to graffiti. Some were just eyesores,” Tobin said. “We sought to find organizations or businesses who could improve and make use of those buildings. Our buildings don’t fare well when they’re left vacant.”
Fayed said the history of the Parks leasing process isn’t at issue in the case of the fence beautification process. It’s clear at least part of Garland’s objection to the new fence project is rooted in issues with the daycare’s lease.
“Reggio’s presence on Newdale Road has been nothing short of an intrusion since they moved in. There is no driveway and no parking at this recreation center, making pick-up and drop-off a traffic nightmare and a safety hazard for children and families using the park,” read the action alert. “The employees of Reggio regularly violate the parking restrictions on Newdale Road and in once case even parked in front of the fire hydrant. Because the facility has no driveway, clients of Reggio routinely use the driveways on Newdale Road to turn around. Now over our vociferous objections, Parks seems intent on continuing their courting of Reggio by allowing them to enclose public property and put up signage. The increased visibility and commercialism of this for-profit business would be a blot on the community.”
Reggio Bethesda officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
The daycare’s lease is up in 2017 and the action alert says East Bethesda residents are worried the new fence will mean likely renewal.
Garland’s email also accuses Parks of signing the 2012 lease with Reggio “in secret.” Tobin said Parks held a competitive process that followed all regulations. In May, Montgomery Parks announced a formal proposal process for some of its still vacant activity buildings around the county.
“As is always the case, there’s a strong sense of ownership on the part of the people who use the park and certainly who live near it and look at it,” Tobin said. “We had to balance what we believe was in the broader public interest with these buildings and their deterioration and the direction we were given by the County Council.
“It’s hard to imagine that someone living across form the park would rather see a deteriorated, graffiti-ridden vacant building than a building that’s being used and where the appearance has been improved,” Tobin said.
Photo via Google Maps