Members of the Park and Recreation Commission on Tuedsay (Oct. 22) voted unanimously to recommend that the Arlington County Board bestow the name “Buckingham Pollinator Park” on a new park.
The park is to be constructed as part of redevelopment of the Harris Teeter site in the Ballston area.
“It’s a no-brainer,” said commission member Andrew Damito, noting that the proposed name also has the backing of the Arlington Neighborhoods Advisory Committee and Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board.
The major redevelopment project is taking place in the 600 block of N. Glebe Road, near the Buckingham Village community. The long, narrow park planned as part of the project will be anchored by N. Tazewell Street to its northeast and N. Thomas Street to its southwest.
Other potential names on the table had been Buckingham Meadow Park and Buckingham Garden Park. But as local advocate Bernard Berne testified during the meeting, neither quite fits the site’s planned amenities.
Berne, who serves as president of the Buckingham Community Civic Association, said the proposed name helps focus attention on bringing back monarch and other butterflies and other pollinators.
Those species existed in larger numbers in the Buckingham neighborhood before development of the community began in the 1930s, he said.
Jill Barker, who chairs the Park and Recreation Commission, agreed with Berne’s train of thought. The name will “highlight that we are losing pollinator species,” she said.
A final date for Board action has not been set, but it’s likely the body will support the joint recommendation of the three advisory groups.
Parks Commission Affirms Support for Deer-Culling Efforts: The Arlington Park and Recreation Commission has reiterated its support for professional sharpshooters to cull Arlington’s deer population.
The advisory panel on Oct. 22 authorized chair Jill Barker to inform the County Board of its support for the timetable to begin culling efforts on county-owned land beginning in about 14 months.
“This is the right time for us to send a letter to the County Board,” Barker said. She also likely will represent the commission at the November public hearing, a required step before the code ordinances can be amended to permit sharpshooters on public land.
Board members on Nov. 16 are expected to take that procedural step. County staff say that they will begin looking in springtime for contractors to do the culling.
The Park and Recreation Commission over the past year has been consistent in its support for culling efforts. The chief opponent to the proposal has been the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, but its leadership has since accepted that county leaders will be moving forward.
The broader community’s position on the matter is subject to interpretation. One survey conducted for the county government showed majority opposition for using lethal means to reduce the deer population, while a subsequent survey recorded broad support for the concept.
