Salona Park 'Turf War' Continues
McLean residents can't agree how to use an undeveloped parcel off Dolley Madison Boulevard.
Some people want athletic fields. Others want a dog park. Dan DuVal, the owner of a large parcel of undeveloped land in McLean called Salona, says he'd like to keep the property untouched for "education and historical purposes."
This, of course, somewhat oversimplifies what NBC Washington has dubbed the Salona Park "Turf War."
In 2005, Fairfax County purchased a $16 million conservation easement from DuVal for the property - the most the county had ever spent on an easement, NBC reports.
In early October, the Salona Park Task Force solicited public comment during a meeting held at the McLean Community Center. Hundreds of ideas were submitted.
As yet, no consensus has been reached. Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust told Patch he anticipates the task force will make a recommendation to the park authority by the end of the year.
In the meantime, interested parties continue to disagree on how best to use the land.
In the NBC Washington article, "Joel Stillman with McLean Youth Athletics says there’s a desperate need for fields at Salona. 'We have been asking the county for space to build fields for decades.'"
DuVal says he's opposed to fields at Salona, but "says if the community really wants fields there, he will accept it," NBC reports.
Read the full NBC Washington article here.
Would you like all the local McLean news delivered to your inbox every morning in one convenient email? (Think of it as the digital version of a daily newspaper). Sign up for the McLean Patch newsletter here. It's free and easy.
Juan Aguilar
7:30 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
There's plenty of consensus on how to use the land, just not among the members of the Task Force that oppose the Draft Master Plan presented by the County in July 2010. There has been plenty of voice supporting fields at Salona, as envisioned by the Master Plan and by the easement that the DuVal family entered into with the County. Thousands of signatures from both a traditional and online petition support the multi-use recreation and conservation approach proposed by the County. Hundreds of families appeared at the October public meeting to express their support despite the Task Force's Byzantine procedures designed to suppress the families' voices.
It takes quite a bit of nerve for the DuVal family to now oppose the very uses to which they had agreed. If they are going to oppose the agreement they entered into, maybe they should be willing to return the $16,000,000 they received from taxpayers. Then the County would have the money to transform Langley Fork into a premier recreational destination.
Brian Schantz
9:54 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
This parcel of land is large enough to feature several uses. This does not need to be
a political turf war - it could be a "both - and" solution rather than one that is "either - or". I liked many of the proposals presented at the public meeting. Brian Schantz, MYA Board Member
Joel Stillman
10:54 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The characterization of the situation as “turf wars” is unfortunate. McLean Youth Athletics supports the intent of the Salona Park easement purchase for a multi-use function. That intent is specified in the words of the easement itself, supported by public official comments at the time of the creation of the easement as well as in more recent comments, and then reiterated in the Salona Park Draft Master Plan. The MYA proposal is to create two unlit natural turf rectangular athletic fields together with other educational and recreational uses. The MYA proposal is summarized in the NBC Universal report and shows that the athletic fields will use less than 10% of the property and that more than 90% of the property could and should be used for educational and historical purposes, including such things as nature trails (with exercise stations for seniors), a learning center, and agricultural uses. To summarize, there is no reason for this to be a zero sum game. It could be a win win situation if we follow through with the original intent of the $16,000,000 easement purchase which is to use the property for active and passive recreation while maintaining the historical and cultural aspects of the property.
Joel Stillman,
President, McLean Youth Athletics, Inc.
Salona Park Task Force Member
Dave Webster
3:47 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012
What exactly are the restrictions on the DuVal easement? During the recent election, I saw a large political sign in Salona Park. I was ultimately informed by a local political party official that the sign was put there by permission of the "owner." Maybe this oversized political sign was part of the educational purposes Dan DuVal says he wants the property used for.