Alert:
Langley Fork Park Master Plan
The National Park Service (NPS) hosted an open house on April 24, 2018 at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean. This meeting was part of the National Park Service’s decision-making process to gain community input regarding a possible land exchange with Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA). After careful deliberation of the public commentary collected from this meeting and existing site conditions, NPS decided to move forward with a land exchange, with the caveat that FCPA will amend the Langley Fork Master Plan Revision to NPS’s specifications. Currently, FCPA is working through the specified changes to the Master Plan Revision with NPS.
The next steps will be to present the NPS specified Master Plan Revision to the Park Authority Board. This will be followed by preparation of the deeds to exchange Langley Fork Park currently owned by NPS, (maintained by FCPA), for Langley Oaks Park, owned by FCPA. If the exchange is approved, FCPA will make improvements to the facilities at Langley Fork Park while NPS will maintain Langley Oaks Park as a natural area to benefit the Potomac Gorge.
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Since the fall of 2011, the Fairfax County Park Authority has been working with the community to revise the master plan for Langley Fork Park, located at 6250 Georgetown Pike in McLean, VA. The Park Authority posted the draft master plan on the project web page in September 2013 and presented the plan to the community at a public meeting on October 17, 2013. Throughout the process, the Park Authority has welcomed comments by mail, e-mail and phone. As of November 17, 2013, however, the public comment period has closed. Revisions will be made to the draft master plan based on public input and further agency review. It is anticipated that the final master plan will be presented to the Park Authority Board for approval early next year.
Prior to presentation to the Park Authority Board Planning and Development Committee for review and comment, the final master plan and report will be available for review by the public as part of the board package. The Park Authority Board Agenda is always available on-line for public review. Continue to check this site to review the updated master plan for Langley Fork Park when it is posted.
Langley Fork Park is situated on federally-owned land but managed and maintained by Fairfax County Park Authority through an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS). Located at the northwest corner of Georgetown Pike and Colonial Farm Road, the park is currently developed with two diamond fields, two rectangle fields, basketball courts, fitness trails and parking while much of the park remains wooded.
A park master plan is developed with the intent of providing a long-range vision for the park’s development. The original master plan for Langley Fork was approved in 1980 and has guided the park’s development over the past 33 years. The McLean area has grown and changed significantly since 1980 with an increasing demand for quality athletic fields. It is appropriate to review the park master plan in light of these changes and determine how it can better serve the community.
In addition, a land exchange is being evaluated concurrently with NPS that could potentially transfer Langley Fork Park from federal to Park Authority ownership in exchange for an equally valued portion of Langley Oaks Park. The draft park master plan, with any refinements resulting from the public comment process, will be evaluated as part of the land exchange process. Should the land exchange be accepted and finalized, the draft plan will then be presented to the Park Authority Board for approval
Completion of the proposed land exchange would constitute a change to federally owned property. Any possible change in use of federally owned property requires evaluation and documentation that satisfies the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), including an assessment of impacts from potential development. The Park Authority park master plan revision process, therefore, is being conducted in coordination with the preparation of an Environmental Assessment, in cooperation with NPS. The Environmental Assessment will evaluate the potential land exchange and site development alternatives identified through the park master planning process.
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