Appendix D: Park Facilities Evaluation: January 2013
Appendix D: Park Facilities Evaluation: January 2013
Appendix D: Park Facilities Evaluation: January 2013
Appendix D:
Policy Guidance
2012 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan
The 2012 PROS Plan (PROS) approved by the Planning Board in July 2012 established new guidelines for
urban parks. Recognizing that the pattern of open space systems in areas of increasing density should
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support vibrant mixed-use centers, PROS recommends open spaces that will be comfortable, attractive,
easily accessible, and provide a range of experiences, up to and including festival and outdoor event
spaces.
The system of parks and open spaces for each master plan or sector plan area should be provided
through a combination of public and private efforts. Those open spaces that rise to the level of serving
as a focal point of community life for the plan area are typically recommended to be publicly owned and
managed parks, while those open spaces serving smaller districts, neighborhoods, or nodes are often
recommended as public use spaces owned or managed by the private sector. Recommended attributes
of the parks and open system include active recreation, social interaction, access to green space,
relaxation and stress relief, public accessibility, educational value, walkability, connectivity, flexibility,
and activating uses (PROS Chapter 2).
PROS established six new categories of urban parks in a revised Park Classification System, including:
Civic Green Urban Park, Countywide Urban Recreational Park, Urban Greenway, Neighborhood Green,
Urban Buffer Park, and Community Use Recreational Park (PROS Chapter 2). A few of these park types
are recommended in this Plan.
In order to achieve a system of parks, trails, and open spaces, PROS recommends the following hierarchy
for all new master plans and sector plans:
recreation destinations located within or near the plan area, including courts,
playgrounds, and lawn areas large enough for pick up soccer, relaxing on the lawn,
festivals or events, etc.
a central Civic Green Urban Park, ranging in size from 1/2 to 2 acres, depending on
projected densities, located in close proximity to a public transit hub, next to
activating uses, with a mixture of hard and soft surfaces including a central lawn
area for events
an interconnected system of sidewalks and trails to connect parks and open spaces
The Glenmont planning area does not have an existing urban park within its boundaries. Since the
plan anticipates higher density mixed use development in the existing commercial core, a centrally
located urban open space will be needed to serve as a gathering space and green relief from the
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built environment. Whether owned and managed by the private sector or by M-NCPPC Department
of Parks, this central space should fit the following description in of a Civic Green Urban Park (PROS,
Chapter 2):
Formally planned, flexible, programmable open spaces that serve as places for informal gathering,
quiet contemplation, or large special event gatherings. Depending on size, they may support
activities including open air markets, concerts, festivals, and special events but are not often used for
programmed recreational purposes.
Research shows that parks in urban areas contribute to physical, mental, social, spiritual, and
environmental health.
Components of Human Health and Contributions of Parks from Healthy Parks, Healthy People, a review of relevant literature by the School of
Health and Social Development Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
PROS estimates needs for several types of park and recreation facilities. Park and recreation facility
needs are projected based on residential population, in each of three service areas: 1) Planning Area; 2)
Athletic Field Area; and, 3) Countywide. See Service Area Map below. Athletic Field Area needs are
carried forward from the 2005 PROS Plan (also called the Land Preservation, Park and Recreation Plan LPPRP) until the completion of a future Athletic Field Study. For the Georgia Avenue Athletic Field Area,
which includes this Sector Plan area, an unmet need for two youth-size diamond fields, eight full size
multi-purpose rectangular fields and two youth-size multi-purpose rectangular fields was estimated in
2005.
Vision 2030
The Vision 2030 Strategic Plan for Parks and Recreation in Montgomery County, MD (Vision 2030)
completed in June 2011 finds that overall there is a moderate level of service per population for parks
and recreation in the eastern area of the County where Glenmont is located, when compared with other
areas of the County. Plan recommendations that may apply to Glenmont includes strategically adding
where feasible: dog parks, skate parks, community gardens, playgrounds, lighted volleyball courts, trails,
natural areas, athletic fields and space for community events and festivals.
Glenfield Local Park is adjacent to the Metro storage yard and has a field, playground and tennis
courts. The 1997 Sector Plan suggested that the adjacent landlocked wooded 6.38 acres owned
by the County be added to the park for forest preservation in an urban area. This
recommendation has not been implemented and still remains valid. Improved access to this
park is needed as suggested by the 1997 plan.
Saddlebrook Local Park is located behind Park Police Headquarters, and thus not visible from
Layhill Road. It includes a soccer field, playground, and basketball court. The 1997 Plan
recommended renovation of the building and increased community use of the multi-purpose
room. The Plan also suggested renovation of the outdoor recreation facilities and improved
access from the surrounding community. These recommendations have not been implemented
and are still valid.
Glenmont Greenway Urban Park was implemented since the 1997 plan and should be
considered for enhancements. The land is owned by WMATA, but operated as parkland by MNCPPC, Montgomery County Department of Parks. It features a curvilinear hiker-biker trail
along its length and also has a few benches.
Glenmont Local Park is within a mile of the Sector Plan Area and includes a park activity building,
playground, softball field, and the MCRD pool. This park will likely help serve the increasing
population of the Plan Area.
Figure 1: Map of Existing Parks and Trails in the Glenmont Sector Area
Acres
Facilities
Comments
Glenfield Local
Park
11.3
Expand if possible.
Saddlebrook Local
Park
14.9
Park Police
headquarters, meeting
room. May be recalled
by MCPS for future
elementary school
Glenmont
Greenway Urban
Park
3.0
Sitting areas
Land is owned by
WMATA, but operated
as a park by M-NCPPC.
Expand if possible
536.1
Colt Terrace
Neighborhood
Park
Playground
Middlevale
Neighborhood
Park
15.8
Wooded, no facilities
Next to Mid-County
Georgian Forest
Local Park
8.2
Glenmont Local
Park
21.2
14.5
Adjacent Recreation
Center
Strathmore Local
Park
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Possible expansion
Wheaton Claridge
Local Park
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Northwest Branch
SVP- Unit 5
408
90
Less Access
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The recommendations for parks, open spaces and trails aim to provide space for unmet needs per the
guidance from PROS and Vision 2030 while organizing spaces into an interconnected system of parks
and open spaces within and between each of the plans development nodes. This master plan proposes
densities that exceed the demographic projections of the most recent Census; therefore, numbers and
sizes of recommended facilities may need to be adjusted after the approval of the Staff Draft by the
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Planning Board. Area-wide recommendations are listed, followed by recommendations for specific
districts, areas, or parks.
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Athletic Fields
According to PROS, two youth-size diamond fields, eight full size multi-purpose rectangular fields and
two youth-size multi-purpose rectangular fields are needed in this area. This plan recommends an
additional field at the Fire Station site (see below) as well as looking for available unconstrained land
(land without forest, stream and buffers, etc.) near the plan area to acquire for athletic field
development. This is particularly important should MCPS recall Saddlebrook Local Park, which currently
has an adult rectangular field, for an elementary school.
AREA-SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Glenmont Shopping Center
A centrally located public open space is envisioned for this site. The space will be the focal point for
programmed activities, ranging from farmers markets to seasonal festivals. The space should have at
least two retail frontages and easily accessible from the commercial development on the site. It should
preferably be located along the internal new street recommended for this property and have outdoor
seating, trees and landscaping to provide shade and complement the hardscape.
Although it is highly desirable that there should be one centrally located public open space that will act
as the town square, it is possible that if the property is developed in phases there could be more than
one public open space. Every effort should be made to create one large public space on this property
even if there are additional open spaces due to phased development of the property.
This central open space can be public (owned by the M-NCPPC Department of Parks as a Civic Green
Urban Park) or private, and the responsibility for owning, managing, and operating and programming
the space should be determined during the development review process.
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When the shopping center redevelops, whether public or private in ownership and management,
require the developer(s) to create a central open space that meets the description of a Civic Green
Urban Park (per 2012 PROS Plan) to serve as open space and public gathering space for the new
residents and workers, as well as a place for open air markets, concerts, special events and festivals.
This new urban park should be at least acre in size and logically located to maximize visibility from
major streets.
Glenmont Forest
Potential exists for mixed-use redevelopment of the Glenmont Forest, as identified in the land use
chapter. Despite this property adjoining Wheaton Regional Park, residents do not have direct access to
the park and its myriad of facilities and amenities.
Recommendation: When Glenmont Forest redevelops, require the developer(s) to construct a pathway
or sidewalk directly linking the community with the regional parks hard surface trail system.
Provide additional well-marked, signed sidewalks and/or pathways and improved views if
possible into the park.
Enhance existing access points that clearly identify the facility as a public park.
WMATA acreage is already preserved as forest through a Category I Forest Conservation Easement, but
no public access is currently provided to this forest. This forested area is the largest, contiguous tract of
land with forest and natural resources within the Glenmont Sector Plan area that should be preserved to
provide opportunities for natural resource-based recreation, such as natural surface trails and nature
interpretation. On May 21, 2012, the Legacy Open Space (LOS) Advisory Committee unanimously
endorsed this forest for designation as a LOS Natural Resources Candidate Site in support of the need to
provide natural recreation spaces for the Countys urban residents.
Within the Glenmont Sector Plan area, there is no other forested area of similar size and quality
potentially available for parkland acquisition. The Legacy Open Space nomination area represents the
existing forest within the Glenmont Sector Plan boundary. The 568 acre Sector Plan area maintains 10.5
percent forest cover at 60 acres. In addition to the large percentage of forest the Glenmont Forest LOS
nomination area represents within the sector plan boundary, this forest is directly adjacent to a
Glenfield Local Park and stands to provide for logical park expansion, and increased natural resource
based recreation opportunities, and resource protection.
Designate these six properties as a Legacy Open Space (LOS) Natural Resource Candidate Site to
preserve and provide public access to as much of this important urban forest as possible. To
achieve these conservation and resource-based recreation goals, this plan further recommends
the forest be acquired and added to Glenfield Local Park.
Glenmont Center
A. Rationale
The major elements of the proposed Glenmont Center are its spine, Georgia Avenue; the new Metro
station; and the Transit Oriented Development recommended for key parcels along the spine. Georgia
Avenue Will be enhanced as a green boulevard, including a wide, landscaped median; tree-lined
sidewalks; and a linear park along the west side which will provide a transition to the residential uses
west of Georgia Avenue.
In the long run, this Plan envisions that the 15 parcels that comprise the existing shopping center,
including the outlots, will ultimately be assembled for redevelopment as a mixed use project under the
optional method of the RMX-2C Zone.
Redevelopment of the Glenmont Shopping Center site could include retail uses, professional offices, and
a significant public open space.
1. Glenmont Metrocentre (30.4 acres) Plan shows Central Open Space
2. Layhill Triangle (approximately 3 acres)
This area currently contains several neighborhood-oriented commercial uses and an elevated
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) water storage facility.
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At some future point, WSSC will need to provide a new water storage facility with three times
the capacity of the existing Glenmont water tower.
The Recreation Departments Draft Long Range Plan for Recreation Centers calls for a future center in
the Aspen Hill/Layhill area, but this may be too far north to serve Glenmont adequately. Recreation
Department accommodate a community center building. Glenmont Local Park, the existing park to the
west of the Sector Plan area, which already contains a small community building, might be an
appropriate site.
If this site proves infeasible, this Plan recommends that the former Glenmont Elementary School site be
considered for construction of a community center building. An attractively designed community
center at this prominent and highly visible location would provide a focal point for community activities
and promote a sense of place.
Any redevelopment of the former Glenmont Elementary School should include sufficient landscaping to
ensure compatibility with the adjoining residential neighborhood. Extensive landscaping should also be
provided along Georgia Avenue consistent with the guidelines for the enhanced boulevard; this will
buffer the facilities from the highway and provide a logical continuation of the boulevard treatment
which is planned for the Georgia Avenue frontage north of Randolph Road.
Status pf Recommendation- A new Mid-County Recreation Center has been opened approximated a
mile north of the Sector Planning area which will serve residents. Additionally, the Recreation
Department Capital Improvements Program has a facility Planning project for a combined Recreation
Center and Wheaton Library.
Glenmont Neighborhoods
A. Community Facilities
Objective 1: Conserve sensitive environmental features as open space amenities to be incorporated into
neighborhoods.
(Layhill South) Consideration should be given to providing a path along the stream between the
Saddlebrook Park Police Headquarters and the Glenfield North townhouses (i.e., the stream
valley park separating Layhill South and Winexburg/Glenfield). Ideally, the trail would run from
the end of Saddlebrook Drive along the stream valley and through the Windexburg Apartments
property to Glenallan Avenue.
STATUS: Unchanged, recommendation still valid?
Objective 2: Provide public open spaces and gathering places to foster a sense of community.
(Wilton Oaks) The former Layhill Junior High School site originally included 17.68 acres on the
west side of Layhill Road. In 1975, the Board of Education determined that the proposed school
was no longer needed due to declining enrollments and the site was deeded to Montgomery
County. The County then deeded 11.3 acres of this property to the Montgomery County Parks
for use as Glenfield Park; the remaining 6.38 acres which became landlocked as a result of the
transfer to the Montgomery County Parks was retained for future inclusion in the Metro
Storage Yards. (Ultimately, only a small portion of the remaining 6.38 acres in the former school
site was needed for the Metro Storage Yards project.)
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Absent the assumption that the 6.38 acres retained by the County would be needed for the
Metro Storage Yards and would therefore be unavailable for other development, WMATA would
have been required to provide access to the parcel through its site, or an access would have
been retained through the portion of the school site deeded to the Montgomery County Parks.
Since the remaining portion of the school site is now landlocked, however, the only viable land
use is for this property to be added to Glenfield Park. The addition of this wooded area to
Glenfield Park provides a rare opportunity to preserve forest in what is otherwise an urban area.
The existing R-90 zoning for this property should be retained so that it can be developed as
single-family dwellings if access can be provided that is, if the landlocked status created when
the property was reserved for WMATA can be solved. Unless access can be provided, however,
the site should be added to Glenfield Park.
STATUS- Unchanged- recommendation still valid
(Layhill South and Winexburg/Glenfield) The Park Police are headquartered in an aging former
elementary school (Saddlebrook Elementary School) which is County-owned and leased to MNCPPC. This building also houses the Commissions archives and exhibit shop. These uses should
continue; however, the former school building needs substantial modernization and possibly
expansion to continue accommodating these uses effectively.
Several facilities at Saddlebrook should also be made more useful to the Glenmont community.
These include the all-purpose room, which is used for adult programs and community meetings,
and the outdoor recreational facilities (i.2., the basketball courts and ballfield). Locoational
signage identifying these public facilities should be provided and access to the adjoining
residential communities should be improved. Both the indoor and outdoor public facilities and
the public parking areas should be upgraded. Improvements to these facilities can be
accomplished without adversely impacting the Commissions use of the former school building.
Public use of the outdoor recreational facilities at Saddlebrook must be better coordinated to
maximize community utilization of the facilities.
STATUS- Check
(Denley) The Glenmont Recreation Center, located immediately west of the Sector Plan area,
and the transit station in the Village Center will continue to serve as important focal points for
the Denley neighborhood, even though located outside the neighborhood itself. Consideration
should be given to adding a community center building to this facility as an alternative to
locating a new community center at the site of the former Glenmont Elementary School. (See
Chapter III, Section C.)
(Randolph South) Although considered a part of the Glenmont Center, the proposed community
center/child care on the former Glenmont Elementary School site will serve as an important
focal point for the neighborhood south of Randolph Road.
Objective 3: Plan and construct interconnected bike and pedestrian systems which link the
neighborhoods to major destinations in Glenmont and provide connections to regional bike trails.
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Hiker/biker trails should be provided between the disconnected segments of Jingle Lane and
between Acorn Hollow Lane and Glenfield Park, as called for in the Planning Boards mandatory
referral of the plans for the Glenmont Metro Storage Yards.
Georgia Avenue outside the village center should function as a green corridor that
accommodates the proposed Busway, promotes pedestrian circulation, and provides visual
relief from the extensive pavement associated with the roadway.
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