The Maryland Senate and the House of Delegate both introduced a version of the Racing and Community Development Act of 2020 bill in the Maryland General Assembly last week, and each offers a different approach for dealing with the future of the former Bowie Race Course property. The House version of the bill establishes a task force to determine the future of the property, and the Senate version of the bill gifts the land to two entities: the City of Bowie and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).
Senate Bill 987 requires the property to convey on or before July 1, 2024. Land within 100 feet of the Patuxent River will be gifted to M-NCPPC for what the bill calls passive recreational activities, including hiking, wildlife viewing, picnicking, and walking. The remaining portion of the property will be gifted to the City of Bowie for what the bill calls active recreational activities, including baseball, football, soccer, and cricket. SB987 allows one structure to be built on the property that has up to 50,000 square feet of space (similar in size to the Bowie City Gym), and the bill requires that the city enter into a joint use agreement with Bowie State University for the use of the recreational facilities on the property.
House Bill 1056 establishes that a task force be formed to determine the future of the race track property. The task force must conduct meetings and public hearings about future uses of the property, and input must be sought from state officials, county officials, elected and appointed municipal officials, neighborhood groups, civic, educational, and charitable organizations, and other interested parties. The task force must report to the Governor and General Assembly by October 1, 2021, and the task force findings must include the preferred public uses of the property, including estimated costs for land acquisition and development, along with possible funding sources for the plan.
HB1056 specified membership in the task force as follows: Two members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, three members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House, the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources or a designee, two members of the Prince George’s County Council appointed by the Chair of the Council (one must represent the district where the property is located), the Prince George’s County Executive or designee, the Mayor of the City of Bowie (Mayor Tim Adams), and the Bowie City Councilmember whose district the track resides (Councilman Michael Esteve). The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall appoint a Senator and Delegate to serve as cochairs).
Both SB987 and HB1056 specify that the land be transferred through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Program Open Space. According to the agency’s web site, Program Open Space “provides financial and technical assistance to local subdivisions for the planning, acquisition, and/or development of recreation land or open space areas.”
Restrictions exists for land gifted under Program Open Space, and such restrictions will prevent the former Bowie Race Course property from being sold for development.
Hearing for the two bills will begin in Annapolis later this month, and the text of both bills may be amended. If both bills pass, the conflicting language will have to be reconciled.
The 2020 session of the Maryland General Assembly ends in early April.
Click here to see the text of the Maryland Senate bill.
Click here to see the text of the House of Delegates bill.
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