SLIGO CREEK GOLF COURSE PROPOSAL

Residents of Rock Creek Hills need to be aware of a proposal that would radically and permanently alter Sligo Creek Golf Course and seriously impact its surrounding parkland and residential communities.

Background

In 2006, the Montgomery County Revenue Authority (MCRA) gained control of four public golf courses previously operated by Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission including Sligo Creek Golf Course. MCRA now controls all nine of the County's publicly-owned golf courses.

MCRA's Golf Master Plan for FY 2009 would make the following changes to Sligo Creek Golf Course:

Construct a heated, lighted, two-tiered 72-bay driving range encircled by 70 foot to 100 foot tall light towers, pylons, and nets abutting a residential street;

Construct two lighted miniature (putt-putt)courses;

Construct a short "executive" (pitch and putt) course;

Expand the club house and snack bar;

Extend operating hours to 10:00 p.m. daily with driving range and miniature courses lighted until 10:30 p.m., seven days per week;

Sell alcoholic beverages until the 10:00 p.m. closing time.

The changes proposed would:

Permanently destroy the classic 9-hole parkland course that has served the county for more than 50 years;

Sharply reduce the habitat for the wildlife -- deer, fox, smaller mammals, birds, waterfowl --that now populate the course, driving it into Sligo Park and surrounding residential areas;

Greatly increase traffic in the area of the facility;

Cause increased water run-off and pollution in the Sligo Creek water shed;

Cut down dozens of mature trees; level naturally sloping fairways; and cover a small creek

Introduce lighting and noise pollution into the community, impacting residents' quality of life, disturbing nocturnal wildlife , and depressing home values in adjoining neighborhoods.

In short, MCRA's proposal to convert the Sligo Creek Golf Course into an amusement park facility would have disastrous environmental effects on one of the county's few green areas remaining inside the beltway and on the quality of life for residents nearby.

The MCRA's proposal would also obligate the taxpayers of Montgomery County with more than $5 million in bond debt at a time when the county is facing a $400 million budget shortfall and vital services are being cut or eliminated.

Citizens' Associations in neighborhoods adjoining the course are strongly against MCRA's proposed changes to Sligo. More than 200 residents attended a January 16 meeting in which MCRA and its consultants claimed the driving range and putt-putt courses would not cause light, noise or pollution of the Sligo Creek watershed and would cause only a moderate increase in traffic on Sligo Creek Parkway -- the only entrance to the course. The traffic consultant's conclusions are contradicted by the marketing consultant's conclusions that within five years the number of people using the driving range, putt-putt, and pitch-and-putt course could be four to eight times the number (24,000) who used the existing course in FY2007. It was noteworthy that not a single resident spoke in favor of MCRA's proposal at the January 16 meeting.

Three homeowners' associations -- North Hills of Sligo Creek Civic Association, Forest Estates Civic Association, and Friends of Sligo Creek -- have sent the following petition to the Montgomery County Council's Capital Improvement Committee that is scheduled to meet February 5-7 to consider MCRA's proposal. These associations are appealing to other citizens and their associations in the seven-mile radius of Sligo Creek (its "marketing area") to support this petition. Support can be rendered by e-mail to County Council members (see list below)

.

We, the undersigned, oppose the Montgomery County Revenue Authority plans that would:

- install lighted mini-golf courses and a 60-70 stall driving range,

- reconfigure the golf course from a nine hole golf course to a pitch-and-putt

"Executive" course,

- substantially increase traffic congestion and decrease pedestrian safety, and

- add noise, trash, and impermeable surfaces that will further degrade Sligo Creek,

Sligo Creek Park, and the Chesapeake Bay.

We support improvements to Sligo Creek Golf Course that:

- are both environmentally sustainable and fiscally responsible,

- exclude the addition of mini-golf or driving range facilities,

- are compatible with adjoining Sligo Creek Park and neighborhoods, and

- promote improving the environmental health of Sligo Creek and the

Chesapeake Bay.

See http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Green_SligoGolf.

Sligo Creek GC and it surrounding parkland lie within 2½ miles of Rock Creek Hills and therefore are part of our community. We urge RCHCA members, in the interest of preserving as much remaining inner-suburban greenery as possible,, to support the above petition or otherwise record with the County Council their opposition to the MCRA's Golf Master Plan proposal to change Sligo Creek Golf Course.

Ken and Nina Howland

9808 E. Bexhill Drive

Kensington, MD 20895

ninakenhowland@gmail.com

County Council MembersU

Mike Knapp, President

councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov

Valerie Ervin

councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov

George Leventhal

councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov

Duchy Trachtenberg

councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov

Marc Elrich

councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov

Roger Berliner

councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov

Nancy Floreen

councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov

Phil Andrews

councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov

Marilyn Praisner

councilmember.praisner@montgomerycountymd.gov

Montgomery County Executive

Ike Leggett

ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov