Eleanor Park has been the subject of much debate for many years. While all the details are not always clear, this topic can be boiled down into very simple terms.
See my blog to learn more.
The land in question
Eleanor Park (EP) is a 1.9 acre piece of water view land located near the south end of Irving Avenue. In 1882 this land along with two other properties, Castlewood Park which includes the marina property and Robin Grove Park, was donated to the surrounding landowners for their benefit via a trust. When Colonial Beach was incorporated EP became the property of the Town because the Town took over the responsibilities of the trustees. The Court upheld this opinion when the neighbors sued the Town to get the Trust ownership rights. A trailer park sat on the land for around 50 years before being removed 10 years ago.
After the Trailer Park
Now that there’s no longer a trailer park, there are approximately six houses that have a clear view of the Potomac River. One of those homeowners has been extremely adamant that the land remain free of obstructions. In fact, he has started two nonprofits explicitly for the purpose of maintaining the park as is. The original nonprofit, Friends of Eleanor Park, is active and the other nonprofit is Colonial Beach Green Spaces. Unfortunately, both organizations seem to only be concerned with EP, as they were both advocating to close down another green space in Colonial Beach, Castlewood Park. In fact, if it wasn’t for a group of Colonial Beach residents banning together Castlewood would no longer be there. Friends of Eleanor Park and CB Greenspace work together to influence the Town Council, and in fact, one person who is heavily involved in these nonprofits is a Council member.
Current State of EP
It is because of this internal lobbying that the Mayor and Town Council are on the third attempt to give up ownership to the Virginia Land Conservation foundation via an easement grant. This means the Town of Colonial Beach would no longer own the land but could have limited use depending on the grant terms. In exchange for this grant the town would receive approximately $450K. If Colonial Beach accepts this grant the land is in effect being sold. There are two other instances that I know of where the Town Council has voted to sell this property. If the grant is awarded, the Town Council will need a super majority vote, which means that six out of seven Council members will have to vote for the sale. However, per the grant application the approximate appraised value is $1.1 million which may be a low estimate given today’s real estate market.
The Political Situation
As of January 1st 2021 there were at least two people elected to Town Council who ran to sell EP at market price (the 2 votes needed to stop the easement grant). Patrick Ey was one of those Council members and he left due to personal reasons. Currently, there are two Council members that were appointed, not elected to the Town Council, and will be the deciding votes (I do not know if these two people have publicly spoken on the grant vote but many people believe they were selected to ensure the vote). Mayor Schick has previously stated that all Council members were in favor of the grant. Mr. Moncure corrected her and explained that it was a misrepresentation, at the least he does not support it. The main issue here is not whether or not the sale moves forward but one of representation. Right now, I do not believe the interests of the people of Colonial Beach are being considered in this vote.
Let the People Decide
Instead of allowing special interests to determine the fate of EP, this decision should be made by people that were elected. We need a survey to determine if the people of Colonial Beach want to sell the land and put houses on it or keep the land and make it into something to generate revenue for the town because we desperately need infrastructure improvements. It’s time to vote common sense back on town Council November 2nd 2021.
You got my