Beverly Triton Victory

[Memory Maker]

https://www.capitalgazette.com/envir...frm-story.html

[Yakmac]

Very Interesting read, especially the history of the area. 30 Years of having private bayfront access that was paid for by state residents and only a select allowed to use it at the price of $1 a year. Sounds like a pretty good run, glad to hear it's come to an end.

[Big Mike]

I find it interesting that the community is now very concerned about the sensitivity of the unique land mass they’re sitting on and how human interaction affects the erosion of land and quality of water. Yet for 30 years they mowed their leased land right down to the sand edge. Of course hard to enjoy your waterfront if native vegetation that might help with those concerns blocks your view.

[J.A. Veil]

From the sense of fairness, opening up the extra portion of beach to the public is good news and is long overdue. The public paid for the land and should be able to use it.

On the other hand, I am not so sure that this makes the full Beverly Triton park any more user friendly for kayak anglers. Over the past year or two, multiple public hearings were conducted about upgrading public access to the park area and augmenting facilities and infrastructure. County Executive Stuart Pittman seems to lean more toward the local landowners than did previous Executive Steve Schuh, who wanted to provide more access to the general public. As a result, the park remains somewhat challenging to use, and has limited parking.

Let us celebrate one small victory and continue to work toward improved public access to our state waters.

[mchottie]

Nice to see a victory, since our tax dollars have paid for years...

[Memory Maker]

The BIGGEST Thanks goes to Lisa and all of her efforts. Maybe we should see if there are more sweetheart deals with other communities that should be terminated.

[Yakmac]

The BIGGEST Thanks goes to Lisa and all of her efforts. Maybe we should see if there are more sweetheart deals with other communities that should be terminated.

Agreed, Lisa deserves a lot of thanks in bringing this issue to our attention. I would guess there are deals like this all over the state.

[Mark]

In my opinion the designation of Beverly Triton as a "nature park" by County Exec Pittman and his highly supportive Mayo Peninsula constituents is a deliberate attempt to reduce recreational use of the land. It's galling, shocking and a considerable waste of resources to see county plans for roughly 340 acres so barren of parking, sufficient walking paths and other amenities that would grant full public utility to the beautiful views of the Bay and surrounding forest. That includes a large, enticing tidal pond which would take a herculean effort to get even the lightest kayak to its waters. It's also an affront to those with movement disabilities, the elderly and those with young children who cannot or will not negotiate the long trek from the main parking area that is far too distant from the park's attractions. Present development plans ensure minimal use of the land. They do not unlock its potential.

That said, access to the beach in question is indeed a small overdue victory for county residents. But again, we will not have access to close proximity parking that community residents enjoyed for the paltry sum of $1.00 annually for 30 years. Also, and I say this only because it has proven true elsewhere in the county where water access within established communities has been given to kayakers -- we may be legally allowed, but that doesn't mean that we will be welcomed by the local residents. The current ruling is overturning 30 years of exclusive access. Expect to be questioned and scrutinized on your visits.

I don't mean to throw water on this accomplishment. It's good. It's thanks to legal action by the MD DNR that the fence has come down. I just wish that smart growth efforts would continue for the remaining acreage at Beverly Triton. Frankly, I see no hope for that with the present county government administration.

[moc]

Well said John and I too agree that Lisa deserves a lot of credit for champion this and bringing it the counties attention. A small victory for us indeed.

[Memory Maker]

Please remember that this was done by the state over the county wishes.
Maybe it would be better to get the state to do the improvements etc over the county.

[Mark]

Please remember that this was done by the state over the county wishes.
Maybe it would be better to get the state to do the improvements etc over the county.

That won't happen. Anne Arundel County owns the land, not the state. The state intervened because the county applied for money to improve the park under Program Open Space which provides funds for land acquisition and development for recreational purposes to local jurisdictions. The money comes from MD real estate transactions (transfer taxes, for example) and there is also some federal sourcing. A requirement to obtain the money is that the land in question must be made available to the public. Current plans for Beverly Triton Beach do in fact provide access to the public, just not as robust or as convenient as many would like. However, during the application process last summer, the county omitted the fact that it was leasing a portion of the Beverly Triton (about 7 acres) for private use. That violates the intent of Program Open Space dollars. The state got involved only to free those acres that were omitted from original county development plans.

Again, the move to improve Beverly Triton after 30 years of dormancy is a very good thing. But the current county administration led by Mr. Pittman has insisted that original plans by the county's Recreation and Parks Department be scaled back. The result is longer walks to the water for kayakers, limited parking and a reduction of amenities common in other county parks.

Lastly, the advocacy of Lisa and others could not have been stronger. She spearheaded letter writing campaigns to county council members and organized meetings with Parks and Recreation officials and Mr. Pittman himself. The present vision for the property at Beverly Triton may have been even more limited without her strong advocacy. So, again the current news is very welcome. It's only discouraging when compared to what could have been in terms of park development.

[Lisa]

Thank you for all your kind words. It makes this effort easier.

The construction process, final meetings, bids, etc., is at lease 2 months behind where it should be.

The improvements are not done and final until they are in construction and I believe the obstructionists still hope to stall them out permanently.

If you live in Anne Arundel County and want to drop an email to your Anne Arundel County Councilmember asking when construction will begin it would help.

More later,

Lisa

[Memory Maker]

No Lisa ......; THANK YOU for all,of your efforts !!!!!!!!!!A1!!!!

I saw that Chesapeake Magazine did an article on BT community putting Christmas trees on the beaches to prevent erosion. Funny how they are doing this when they lost their lease. Had a public discussion on this on Facebook.