Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Greening topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cheverly organizers seek resident input on greening plan for 5701 Landover Road
Summary
Organizers from the Community Native Planting Project and Anacostia Watershed Society described a Chesapeake Bay Trust community‑greening grant, volunteer cleanup work and a design process that will turn 5701 Landover Road into a community green space; next steps include an on‑site workshop Oct. 5, Cheverly Day outreach and a council review.
Organizers leading a community greening project for 5701 Landover Road in Cheverly held a special input session to collect resident ideas and explain the project timeline and funding. Diane Beadle, co‑founder and president of the Community Native Planting Project, and Matthew, the project’s landscape designer, represented a partnership with the Anacostia Watershed Society and said the group won a Chesapeake Bay Trust community greening grant earlier this summer to design and implement a first phase of the site.
Why it matters: The project aims to convert an overgrown lot used in the past for landscape and construction dumping into a neighborhood green space. Organizers said the scope of the current grant focuses on green infrastructure — invasive removal, plantings and erosion/safety work — and that larger amenities would require future funding and separate approvals.
Diane Beadle outlined volunteer progress on the site and the team’s outreach: “We have had a total of 24 work sessions with 91 volunteers, putting 506 hours in on the site,” she said, noting that at Maryland’s volunteer valuation of $35 per hour that work is equivalent to about $17,710 in labor. Beadle credited town public works and a contractor partner, Sherpa Republic Works, with helping remove large dumped trees and other material.
Matthew described the community engagement process that will shape the design. Organizers will give attendees paper maps to draw ideas during the breakout session and will upload a PDF of the map to Zoom for remote participants to download, annotate and return by email. The team plans to compile responses, identify majority preferences and produce a design for the site to be constructed in a later phase.
On funding and scope, organizers said the Chesapeake Bay Trust grant does not fund utilities or large play equipment. In response to a resident question about on‑site water or electricity, an organizer said, “Not from this grant,” and emphasized that the grant budget is finite and intended for green infrastructure and safety work; larger features can be noted for a phase 2 plan.
Residents also raised accessibility and stormwater concerns. One participant asked that the design preserve future options to daylight a channelized tributary beneath the site and that the plan include access for people with mobility limitations. Organizers said they would try to incorporate an accessible entryway or path to focal points such as a gazebo but cautioned the site’s steep slopes and drainage channel make full‑site accessibility unlikely.
Next steps: Organizers will host an on‑site workshop on Oct. 5 and have a table at Cheverly Day to gather more input, then compile the maps and present a proposed design to the town council for review and a possible vote. The PDF map was posted to the Zoom chat at the meeting’s close and staff were asked to make the materials available online and by mail for those who request them.
The town’s mayor opened and closed the session and said the council would reconvene in the same facility at 7:30 p.m. for a separate work session. The project team urged residents to submit annotated maps and contact the organizers with questions so community preferences can guide the final design.
