A coalition of environmental groups, community leaders and neighborhood residents is calling on the National Capital Planning Commission to hold off on approving a major overhaul of the Rock Creek Park Golf Course, citing concerns about the number of trees being removed and damage to plant and wildlife habitat.
The renovation, proposed last year, would take two years to complete, remove more than 1,100 trees and add a 50-bay lighted driving range to the facility just off 16th Street NW.
The National Park Service, which owns the course, announced in April that work on the project would begin this fall. Funding for the renovation, estimated to cost between $25 million and $35 million, would come from the National Links Trust, a local nonprofit awarded a 50-year lease in 2020 to operate Rock Creek, East Potomac and Langston, the three public golf courses in Washington.
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The Rock Creek course fell into severe disrepair over the past 20 years. Just 14 of its 18 holes are playable, and it is the least played of the District’s three public courses. The debate is not over whether the course needs to be improved, but the degree to which that should be done.
NCPC commissioners approved the preliminary plans for the renovation at their May 2 meeting but asked the National Park Service to arrange more opportunities for public feedback and to consider improvements before submitting it for final review. Members of the coalition opposing the plan urged NCPC commissioners last month to not make a final determination until “public input has been meaningfully incorporated.” They cited broad opposition to the plans by members of the public in comments submitted to the NPS and the NCPC.
The plan, the letter writers said, “has generated a lot of concern, confusion, and frustration among the public.” Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Zack Bolton and Kim Patterson and representatives of Casey Trees, City Wildlife, the DC Environmental Network and the DC Bird Alliance were among the 26 people who signed the letter.
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Vanessa Bertelli, whose home borders the east side of the public course, is one of those leading the charge against the overhaul.
“I want the golf course renovated as much as anyone else,” Bertelli said in an interview last week at the course, where about 50 people had gathered to express concerns about the proposed changes. “But this extreme plan doesn’t meet the needs of the community, and the community was never properly engaged in this project.”
In addition to installing the driving range, plans for changing the more than 100-year-old course include turning what was once an 18-hole layout to one with a full-length nine-hole course and a shorter par 3 nine-hole course. The renovations would also include a new clubhouse, pro shop and indoor practice area.
“The project is dedicated to rehabilitating this treasured, historic course, ensuring it continues to serve as a vibrant oasis for both golf enthusiasts and nature lovers,” NPS spokeswoman Autumn Cook said in an email Tuesday. “We eagerly anticipate delivering improvements that honor its rich heritage while creating lasting benefits for the entire community.”
Leaders of environmental groups in the Washington region called the proposed changes a “cause for alarm” in an October letter to Brian Joyner, the Park Service’s acting superintendent for Rock Creek Park. They said the work would destroy acres of tree canopy and destabilize plant and animal habitats.
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The District’s average tree canopy coverage, the layer of leaves and branches extending from trees that creates shade, collects water and provides a cooling effect, has shrunk from about 50 percent in 1950 to 37 percent in 2020, according to Casey Trees, a nonprofit created to protect and enhance the tree canopy in the District.
Julia Miller, who lives close to Rock Creek Park and also attended the gathering at the golf course last week, said the tree removal plan was short-sighted. “Once these massive trees are cut down, it will take generations for them to grow back,” she said.
The Park Service says that about half of the trees marked for removal were either dead, rotting, compromised by invasive vines or creating conditions that hampered turf growth on the course. As part of the project, hundreds of native trees would be planted to replace the ones being removed. Pollinator meadows would also be created, and a walking trail around the perimeter of the course would be installed.
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Last week, the Park Service announced it will hold a virtual meeting Wednesday on the plans for the course and will invite questions in advance from community members.
Cook said representatives from the NPS and NLT are also attending meetings hosted by ANCs, neighborhood associations and environmental organizations. “We have engaged in robust public participation with members of the community highly interested in the rehabilitation project,” she said.
The Park Service and the NLT will provide updated information to the NCPC on June 7 for possible discussion at the NCPC’s July or September meeting, Cook said. No work can begin on the site until the commission gives the project final approval.
Not all neighbors of the park or other D.C. residents are opposed to the plan. Many golfers who live in the District submitted comments to the NPS and NCLC in support of the new vision for the course. Bob Wulff, who plays golf and has lived next to the park for more than three decades, said that opponents have some legitimate concerns but that he doesn’t think the rebuilding of the course should be delayed.
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“I respect their opinions, but to me, the golf course is more valuable as a public amenity than saving 300 to 500 trees,” Wulff said.
Other golfers say the course doesn’t need the proposed overhaul. William Experton said he’s been playing at Rock Creek for the past 12 years. He says the course’s less than pristine condition is part of its charm. “It’s a fun course, and it’s challenging,” he said. “We like it because it’s different from all the perfect courses.”
Kim Patterson, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for the Brightwood neighborhood bordering Rock Creek Park, said she hopes a compromise can be reached but is not sure what that will look like. “Make it a beautiful 18-hole course, but why do we need a driving range?” she said. She blamed the National Park Service for letting the course fall into disrepair.
“If the Park Service maintained it in the first place, we wouldn’t be here today,” she said.
