SILVER SPRING, MD — Today the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s (M-NCPPC) Montgomery County Planning Board approved a conceptual mitigation package with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). For the 82 acres of Montgomery County parkland necessary for construction of the Intercounty Connector, the Planning Board agreed that 698 acres in the six properties adjacent to existing parkland would well compensate the county park system for that loss.
This mitigation package will increase parkland in Montgomery County by 616 acres, or 8.5 acres of land for every acre of parkland taken for the ICC.
To compensate for parkland and some active recreational facilities from Mill Creek Stream Valley, Rock Creek Regional, North Branch Stream Valley, Layhill Local, Northwest Branch and Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley parks along the selected ICC Corridor 1 route, MDOT will purchase and deed to M-NCPPC six high quality properties in the general area. Properties named for M-NCPPC parkland include the:
- 459-acre Casey property in the Darnestown area,
- 23-acre Llewellyn property in the Cloverly area,
- 118-acre Peach Orchard Allnut property in the Cloverly area,
- 23-acre Southern Asia Adventist property in the Cloverly area,
- 36-acre McNeill property in the Cloverly area,
- 45-acre Dungan property in Upper Rock Creek (may be obtained by dedication through the subdivision).
In total, these properties include 206 acres of valuable interior forest habitat and 163 acres of environmental buffers.
“This almost unprecedented mitigation package is a tremendous achievement for our park system and the environment. Although all Montgomery County parkland is unique, we will receive 8.5 times the land taken for the ICC,” said Nancy Lineman, M-NCPPC spokeswoman. “We appreciate MDOT’s cooperation in avoiding and minimizing impacts to our parks and in agreeing to provide the county with 698 acres of excellent land next to existing parks.”
Final approval of the ICC rests with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Department of the Environment. This land agreement depends on the final approval of all federal and state authorities.