A proposal between a private, non-profit organization in McLean and a private college in Arlington County that involves the use of public land in Fairfax County has raised questions about how the use of publicly-owned fields is administered.
The Fairfax County Park Authority owns 37.7-acre Lewinsville Park in McLean, which was set aside as park land in 1978 after a citizens’ initiative challenged a developer’s proposal to build townhouses there.
Marymount University wants to play college soccer and lacrosse games on one of two rectangular fields at Lewinsville Park, and is willing to spend $500,000 for synthetic turf at the park to extend its playing hours.
Under the Park Authority’s Adopt-A-Park and Adopt-A-Field programs, McLean Youth, Inc., and McLean Youth Soccer, maintain every public field in McLean, say its officers.
At a hearing in McLean last week, FCPA Director of Development Lynn Tadlock said field use is assigned not by the Park Authority, but by Fairfax County’s Department of Community and Recreational Services.
Kerry Stackpole, a resident who lives adjacent to the park, pointed out a FCPA policy that prohibits exclusive use of park property by any organization.
Policy 402.1 states in part that:
“All Park Authority parks and athletic fields shall be available for public use, and participation in the Adopt-A-Park and the Adopt-A-Field program shall not provide the participant exclusive use of the park or field,” the policy states.
“We don’t make any exclusive deals,” said FCPA Public Information Officer Judy Pedersen. “We expect everyone to be treated with the same fairness.
“This is just like any other Adopt-A-Field. The Department of Community and Recreation Services schedules field use, not the Park Authority,” she said. “McLean Youth, Inc., would also use the field, and it would be available for use by any citizens when it is not scheduled.
Another new soccer field, located at the intersection of Spring Hill and Lewinsville Roads, was created after local citizens negotiated a “proffer” from the Holladay Corporation, which wanted to build homes there.
That field, which is owned by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors rather than the Park Authority, is also dedicated to MYS use and protected by a fence.