The Anne Arundel Department of Parks & Recreation and the Chesapeake Conservancy have proposed construction of a two-story private office building in Quiet Waters Park. Parking lots and roadways to service this building would be constructed, including a new road cutting through the concert stage hill, with all traffic entering or exiting the building driving through the park. The Friends of Quiet Waters Park has questioned the efficacy of constructing a new private office building in the park and the damage done to the existing park uses Read More Here
QUIET WATERS PARK OFFICE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PLANS
The Friends of Quiet Waters Park sent a letter to the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works with detailed comments and questions regarding the proposed Quiet Waters Retreat Design, a two-story office building on a leased portion of the Retreat Property. The Retreat Property is the newest land addition to Quiet Waters Park in years.
The County public meeting was held on Halloween evening where nearly all of the attendee’s expressed concerns about the plans. With no additional public meetings scheduled by the County, the Friends of Quiet Waters Park and the Annapolis Neck Peninsula Federation co-hosted a public information meeting on January 20th. The County and the Chesapeake Conservancy were invited to present but declined 11 days prior to the scheduled meeting.
More than 250 people packed a standing-room only meeting to learn about and comment on the plans. The intent of the meeting was to present the facts of the proposed development, the FQWP position, and an in-depth analysis of the documents leading up to this point. During the Q&A session, several points and concerns were presented. Very few people had heard about the project prior to the Halloween meeting.
You can watch the entire meeting here
Read the COMMENTS FROM THE FRIENDS OF QUIET WATERS PARK issued prior to this meeting.
Subsequently, on January 22nd, the Chesapeake Conservancy announced that they would not be moving forward at this time with the construction of the building. Although the current plans for the building have been withdrawn, several issues remain:
- The lease is still active, allowing the construction of a building at some point.
- Citizens are organizing to develop public input to form the basis for an addendum to the Master Plan to incorporate the new property into the Quiet Waters Park.
For updates and follow up, email SaveQuietWaters@gmail.com Or check the Facebook Page
Recent Articles:
Anastasia Hopkinson: Is Quiet Waters Park a public park or an office park? | COMMENTARY – January 11, 2023
Paul Foer: Let’s put the brakes on Quiet Waters Park plan | COMMENTARY – December 17, 2022
