Town Commissioners Approves Res 2019-08 Opposing County Council Resolution 072-2019
At the September 24, 2019, regular Board work session, the Board of Commissioners for the Town of Upper Marlboro unanimously approved Town Resolution 2019-08. This Resolution states that the Town of Upper Marlboro is strongly opposed to County Council Resolution (CR) 072-2019, which would strip the historic Old Marlboro Primary School and Old Marlboro High School sites in downtown Upper Marlboro of its historical designation, so that they can be demolished and a new court facility built on the property at some undetermined point in the future. You can read the Town Resolution and its exhibits below:
Town Resolution 2019-08
A RESOLUTION OPPOSING A PROPOSED MINOR AMENDMENT TO THE 2010 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY HISTORIC SITES AND DISTRICTS PLAN TO REMOVE THE OLD MARLBORO PRIMARY SCHOOL AND THE OLD MARLBORO HIGH SCHOOL FROM THE PLAN
Exhibit A- 2015 M-NCPPC Old Marlboro High School Building Assessment & Treatment Plan
Exhibit B- Maryland Historical Trust Inventory of Historic Places
The Town fears that passage of CR-072-2019 may set a precedent for other historic sites throughout the County to lose their historic designation, as well. The Town has requested on numerous occasions that this property be transferred over to the Town for adaptive re-use, potentially a mixed-use type of development, that would both benefit the Upper Marlboro area and preserve the property’s rich history.
Please reach out to your County Council representative to express your concerns about this proposed action.
SIGN THE PETITION: Petition Summary: Recently, on July 23, 2019, Prince George's County Council introduced Resolution CR-72-2019 to amend the 2010 Prince George's County Historic Sites and Districts Plan to remove the Old Marlboro Primary School, Historic Site 79-019-51, and the Old Marlboro High School, Historic Site 79-019-52. The public hearing is scheduled for September 17, 2019. This makes it eligible for demolition and the site cleared for a new Court building. We call upon the county’s leadership to set the example and send the message that it is essential to preserve our common history and heritage, as represented by our historic sites and buildings. The historic buildings represent more than 150 years of public education within Prince George’s County.
Action Petitioned For: We the undersigned are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to oppose CR-72-2019, and oppose stripping the historic designation from the Old Marlboro Primary School and the Old Marlboro High School. We urge our leaders to take action on adaptive re-use of the building in order to preserve Upper Marlboro’s local history and heritage. We stand firm against any County action OR INACTION which would result in the demolition of these structures.