In November 2022, U.S. Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Sarbanes (both from Maryland) released draft legislation (for public comments) to create a new “Chesapeake National Recreation Area” (CNRA) uniting a series of National Park Service owned and operated park areas and visitors centers, as well as other privately held properties to be contributed voluntarily to this new National Park. This proposed CNRA would be a new National Park Service Unit modeled after the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California and is promised to provide more federal resources, help with conservation efforts, foster public access to the Bay and increase tourism.  

In this draft legislation, the Whitehall estate (Exit 31 on US Route 50) at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland was designated as one of the initial four sites to be included in the CNRA. 

The Whitehall estate must be removed from the CNRA Legislation.

This is Not An Appropriate Place for a National Park Site

• The Whitehall estate is located at the end of a residential road in a residential neighborhood.  
• The existing severe and to date unsolvable traffic issues on the Broadneck Peninsula associated with Route 50, the local access roads, Sandy Point State Park and the Bay Bridge would only be worsened by attracting more tourism and is reason alone to not locate a Site here.
• There are clear limitations on development set forth in decades old Conservation Easements prescribing what can and cannot be done to the Whitehall estate property and the historic road designation for the narrow Whitehall Road similarly limits what can be done to it. 

There Is No Plan in Place 

•  At an April 27 community meeting with Congressman Sarbanes and Mr. C. Scarlett (Brandywine Foundation/Owner of the Whitehall estate), the residents strongly voiced their objections to establishment of a National Park Site at the Whitehall estate.  Congressman Sarbanes and Mr. Scarlett assured the group  there only would be “limited public access” to this Site, for house tours only, to view the water with no beach going activities, the Site would be accessed by water via ferries and there would be no increase in traffic or excessive tourism. They also maintained the Brandywine Foundation would retain control of the Site. 
• In a May 16 Washington Post Article – NPS Chesapeake Bay Office, Wendy O’Sullivan says Whitehall must be “fully open” to the public to enter the National Park System.  In that article, Mr. Scarlett now says they may sell the estate to the government and he hopes it becomes a "national attraction".  
• Before any definition has been put around what "limited public access" to the Whitehall estate means, as we have been assured repeatedly will be the case, we are now grappling with what "full public access" would mean to our communities with the establishment of a National Park Site at the end of this residential road.  

There Have Been No Studies 

•  No traffic impact studies, no environmental studies or feasibility studies have been performed to date or will be performed until the CNRA legislation has passed. Only then will the National Park Service have the authorization and funds to perform those studies to confirm that the Whitehall estate is a viable site. This approach is flawed, backwards in its process and it simply doesn’t make any sense. 

The Legislation is Flawed

• The CNRA Legislation is flawed without provisions for community involvement and agreement before a National Park Site is inserted in a neighborhood.  This situation will be replicated in other communities up and down the Chesapeake Bay if the legislation is passed as it now stands with no provision for community buy-in.
• A Site should only be included in the CNRA if and when it has been proven viable through studies and analyses, has gained community support and the terms of the deal that would be funded with taxpayer dollars have been disclosed.

Please join a growing group of concerned residents and citizens and sign this petition requesting Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Sarbanes (1) remove the Whitehall Estate from the Chesapeake National Recreation Area legislation and (2) involve the communities who will be impacted by this legislation the most in the CNRA and National Park Site(s) planning process going forward.

If you would like to join our email list for updates and information about this issue, please send an email to whitehallareacommunitiesgroup@gmail.com and we will add you.  

Please note, you do not need to add a monetary contribution to support the petition. You can skip that part of the signature process by choosing "share instead". Then on the Share page, please Share there or you can scroll down to the bottom and choose "skip for now".   Your signature is greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Whitehall Area Communities Group