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Residents ask Vienna council to protect Beulah Road, memorialize Robinson property and address Southside Park problems
Summary
At the Jan. 5 town council meeting, speakers urged rezoning the Beulah Road site for a park, proposed a Robinson Community Service Memorial Park and raised maintenance problems at Southside Park; one resident suggested changing local rules on archery to address deer damage.
Patty Mertz, chair of the town of Vienna’s Conservation and Sustainability Commission, urged the council on Jan. 5 to rezone the Beulah Road property from "unclassified" to a parks-and-recreation natural area and to take steps to establish Beulah Road Park after nearly a century of town ownership. The CSC’s proposal notes the property was deeded to the town for public use in 1934 and has been repeatedly identified in the town comprehensive plan as park or open space land.
"After 91 years of town ownership, given the unfulfilled promise of Beulah Road Park and the forthcoming update of the town’s comprehensive plan, the CSC thinks it's time to prioritize the creation of Beulah Road Park," Mertz said.
Miguel Ordoñez, also speaking for the Conservation and Sustainability Commission, recommended that the Maud Robinson property at 124 Courthouse Road SW be rezoned for parks and conservation and named the Robinson Community Service Memorial Park. Ordoñez suggested the town consider placing the site in perpetual trust, emphasize drought- and flood-resistant native landscaping, and work with private and nonprofit partners on planning and maintenance.
"We recommend the proposed Robinson Community Service Memorial Park be left in or returned to as natural a condition as possible," Ordoñez said.
Resident Avril Garland told the council the town should do more to maintain Southside Park, describing many planted trees that have died and damage from deer. Garland said volunteers lack the labor and water to sustain new plantings and urged the council to consider practical changes to protect plantings and the park’s usability.
Garland also suggested reconsidering the town’s local restriction on archery on private property so residents could legally use archery to control deer populations on private lots. She told the council she had been told by an archer that, under state law as she understands it, private archery can be legal and suggested the town evaluate that possibility.
Council members did not take immediate action on the park requests during the meeting. Mertz said the CSC provided written materials to the council and asked the council to support rezoning the Beulah Road site when the comprehensive-plan update moves forward.
What’s next: The CSC’s proposals and the materials presented at the Jan. 5 meeting will be available to the council and staff as they consider updates to the comprehensive plan and any rezoning requests that follow.
