Rockville’s mayor and City Council are waiting on more information from the state before deciding what to do with a former golf course.
City officials reiterated they want most of the land at the 131-acre RedGate course to stay a park, as it is being used now.
At a meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said more than 70 people in the community submitted written comments asking the city to keep RedGate as a park. Some asked the council to not allow any development on the property.
But up to 10 acres of the park could be reserved for housing for veterans, a possibility proposed by the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.
Other potential uses for the land included an amphitheater and an arboretum. The municipal course closed in December 2018.
At a meeting Tuesday night, council members said they would like answers to questions they sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before making a decision on the property’s use.
Some of those questions include what access the city would have to the donated land, what infrastructure was needed and who would be required to complete it.
In addition, the council was interested in a reverter clause that would return the property to the city if the veterans home closed.
City Manager Rob DiSpirito said he was trying to get answers, but had not heard back yet.
The VA previously told the council that it needed an answer on whether the city would donate the land by the end of August.
“At this point, the state just needs to ultimately know in August whether the city would conceptually agree to up to 10 acres with a specific location [for the housing] identified,” DiSpirito said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Council Member Mark Pierzchala said he felt the council needed to decide that night if it wanted the veterans home on the property.
“I think we should, in one way or another, settle the question of the VA home,” he said.
Newton disagreed.
“I do believe that if the VA needs an answer by August, then they can give us answers to our questions by August,” she said.
Council Member David Myles abstained from the discussion of a potential veterans home since he is a veteran and could potentially benefit from an assisted living facility there in the future.
Council Member Beryl Feinberg said she would like to see housing for people with disabilities on the property, specifically five group-type homes.
Newton said she understood the “compassion” and the need to address disability housing, but it would need more services to support it, such as transportation.
“It’s too far from the city’s center of activities and services,” she said. “I think we need to be intentional about where we put needs that we have and are able to support them.”
But Feinberg said an assisted living facility for veterans would need the same type of services.
“There is no difference,” she said.
Council Member Monique Ashton said she would like feedback from Montgomery County officials on the project and get the answers from the VA before committing to housing.
“It appears to me that it’s helpful to not make a commitment at this time, but leave it as an option,” she said. “We can negotiate and finalize some of those details. The master planning process might reveal some things we may need to negotiate for.”
DiSpirito said the city staff would regroup and discuss questions and ideas that the council had for the project.
A website, organized by local community members, calls for RedGate to remain a park and notes various wildlife that live on the land.
Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at briana.adhikusuma@moco360.media.
