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The two parking lots at the corner of Gallant Fox Lane and MD 197 have been used in the past by the Bowie Farmer’s Market and Bowie’s Skateboard Park (which is slated to be relocated to Allen Pond Park). Ten years ago, Bowie City Council purchased this property in order to prevent a gas station from being built so close to the wetlands. They have since indicated their preference that this lot be beautified, and returned to a green space as much as possible, specifically with the addition of trees. They also requested that consideration be given to expanding the usage of the site to include other public activities besides the Farmer’s Market, which operates one day a week during a portion of the year and is currently operating from the Bowie High School parking lot.

A preliminary design plan was contracted that include a significant amount of landscaping around the periphery of the lots, along with one bio-retention cell. The Bowie City Council wanted less asphalt and more greenery. This site is adjacent to existing wetlands and currently has regular drainage problems. As most of the proposed landscaping could incorporate bio-retention, it is possible that this project could demonstrate more LID techniques than originally proposed in the preliminary concept plan. According to Prince George’s County Traffic Volume Map produced by Maryland State Highway Administration in 2001, an average of 27,375 cars pass this site daily. Given the high visibility of this site, and City Council’s environmentally conscious commitment to restoring the two asphalt parking lots it back to a more natural state, the Gallant Fox Lane Urban Retrofit and Wetland Restoration Demonstration Project offered the opportunity to demonstrate habitat restoration within an urban environment.

Maryland Department of Planning partnered with the City to produce three concept plans for the retrofit of these urban parking lots, each incorporating a varying degree of Low Impact Development stormwater management techniques and serve a variety of public uses. City Council has allocated $40,000 towards the design phase of this proposed project for FY 2005. Additionally, Prince George’s County has awarded the City $300,000 towards the implementation of an urban LID retrofit project. The $300,000 National Community Decentralized Demonstration Project grant received from Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources, (DER), is intended to provide funding for the demonstration of a variety of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques in retrofitting an urban site within the Upper Patuxent Watershed. Prince George’s County, the City of Laurel, and the City of Bowie will use of these funds will conduct showcase retrofit projects. It is the expectation of DER that these Federally funded projects serve as dynamic showcases illustrating to other local governments, businesses, and residents how alternative land use practices can eliminate the need for stormwater retention ponds while beautifying neighborhoods and reestablishing natural habitats and ecological systems into developed communities.

Gallant Fox Lane was one of the three original potential project site proposed for the DER grant as well as one of two projects submitted to a very similar LID retrofit grant issued by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). An application was also made to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the Gallant Fox Lane retrofit project. Upon viewing MDP’s three concept plans, the Bowie City Council chose to restore the two parking lots at Gallant Fox Lane back to its natural state according to the concept Plan One and demonstrate urban habitat and wetland restoration. Although Concept Plan One demonstrates habitat restoration which is one LID technique, it does not necessarily serve to demonstrate a variety of LID techniques. Therefore, DER chose to transfer the $300,000 grant to the Whitemarsh Park project instead, and NFWF preferred that the City apply the $25,000 award to the Whitemarsh Park as well. Although DNR did grant our request for funding towards LID components in the Parks and Grounds project, they were unable to fund our request for $40,500 for LID retrofit at Gallant Fox Lane.

This project, however, is still eligible for grant funds given that it aims to demonstrate wetland restoration and urban forestry. The City is included in the two Watershed Restoration Action Strategies (WRAS). Projects that fall with a WRAS receive preferential treatment from watershed grantors.

The City of Bowie will demonstrate that by reducing impervious surfaces, increasing the urban tree canopy, and restoring wildlife habitat serves to improve water quality and extends the greenway infrastructure. This project will return 50,432 square feet of currently paved land to its predevelopment wetland state, extending the existing forest buffer, and reforest the additional 47,500 square foot parking lot.

Zoning authority for Bowie lies with Prince George’s County. Although Prince George’s County Council has not yet adopted policies that would make Green Building or LID more feasible, collaboration with County planning agencies throughout several demonstration projects may establish a new precedent that would influence future development standards. It is an objective in the County’s Adopted General Plan to revise codes to be more inclusive of alternative building and stormwater practices. A series of demonstration projects are required in order to document where the present code does not provide for the implementation of more environmentally sensitive building techniques such as LID. The proposed demonstration projects will demonstrate responsible land use, habitat protection, and resource conservation through Pollution Prevention (P2) techniques such as LID and BayScapes conservation landscaping that will prevent non-point pollution and improve water quality in the Patuxent River Watershed. In order for City of Bowie projects to effect regional policy change, partners also include regional local governments, builders and developers. Public stakeholders meetings will encourage additional public participation.

The Center for Chesapeake Communities, (CCC), will be documenting City of Bowie environmental projects as a case study on local government transition towards Sustainable Development. This case study will be disseminated nationally to other medium sized local governments, and will document replicable tools and strategies that can be implemented in other communities. The study will illustrate the feasibility, affordability and environmental benefits to operating more sustainably.

The project will offer educational opportunities through the GREEN Initiatives: Public Information Presentations and the City’s Green Page www.cityofbowie.org/green/green.htm .