After community raises safety concerns at Forest Hills Park, MPD prioritizes leash law enforcement; ANC 3F urges agencies to clarify and enforce park regulations

The Forest Hills Park playground, shortly after its 2014 renovation.

by Marlene Berlin

One day in mid-May, ANC 3F Commissioner Teri Huet invited DC officials and community members for a meeting in and about Forest Hills Park. The topic: concerns about park safety and enjoyment.

The park, a half block east of Connecticut Avenue and between Brandywine and Chesapeake Streets, includes a fenced-in children’s play area, two tennis courts, a half basketball court, a baseball field, and an amphitheater with a shaded picnic area. It is surrounded by apartment buildings to the south and west, single-family houses to the north, and a church to the east.

During the May 16th meeting, the chief complaints raised by residents of nearby homes and apartments were about unsupervised children, and parkgoers grilling food and blasting loud music. One neighbor said an unleashed dog attacked her own dog. Other community members previously told Forest Hills Connection about people smoking marijuana, a homeless individual on the baseball field, and unlocked children’s bikes being stolen.

Officials in attendance included Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin, who welcomed attendees and DC agency representatives. Second District Lieutenant James VanderMeer spoke about the MPD’s role in policing the park. Chris Dyer, the community engagement manager with the Department of Parks and Recreation, talked about the rules of the park. Matt Barclay of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations assisted Huet in gathering agency representatives.

What are the park rules?

DPR’s Dyer reiterated what is on the signs of the park, which are not prominently posted and refer to “guidelines,” not regulations: no smoking, no alcohol, no dogs off-leash, and the closure of park after dark.

The only place we could find park rules on the DPR web site was the DPR Permit Handbook, a PDF document. They include:

• Grilling. Small charcoal grills are allowed, but not on athletic fields or playgrounds. While hot, the grill must be supervised by an adult at all times. Gas and propane tanks are strictly prohibited.
• Smoking. It is prohibited within 25 feet of any DPR playground, picnic grove or other outdoor amenity.
• Alcohol and drugs. Consumption is prohibited.
• Hours. All DPR parks and outdoor amenities close at dark.
• Dogs. They must be leashed, and with the exception of service dogs, are not allowed on playing fields and courts, and in children’s play areas.

The DPR Permit Handbook also says “unreasonably loud music” during permitted events could be considered a violation of its code of conduct, but otherwise does not mention music. Nor do the guidelines posted at the park.

The lack of regulations, published or otherwise stands in contrast to what is done in other cities. A web search easily reveals Philadelphia’s rules and regulations for users of city parks and other recreational facilities:

• Parks have clearly listed hours and curfews.
• On music: “No person may create or cause electronically amplified sound in any Park and Recreation Facility that is audible at the property boundary of any occupied residential or commercial property outside of that Park and Recreation Facility, except for electronic amplification for an event that has been expressly allowed under a permit….”
• On grilling: “No person may start or maintain any fire except in appropriate masonry or metal equipment designed to contain the fire and its debris.”
• On dogs: “Each Animal within any Park and Recreation Facility must be on a leash not exceeding six feet in length (including the handgrip but not including the collar or harness) and must be accompanied by a person able to fully control the Animal at all times.”

MPD and DPR’s response to community complaints

After hearing from community members, MPD’s VanderMeer said police would prioritize enforcement of DC’s leash laws, particularly on the ball field.

“This is not a dog park,” he said. DPR’s Dyer concurred.

In a July 23rd email to Forest Hills Connection, VanderMeer said enforcement started with written warnings issued between the May 16th meeting and Memorial Day. Since then, the MPD has issued three tickets for dogs off-leash. He also revealed that 911, during this period, received six calls about the park: two reporting unleashed dogs, two about an unhoused man living at the park, one reporting an injured and unsupervised child, and one about a person feared to have a gun. (Officers found no weapons.)

ANC 3F calls for clearer regulations and expanded enforcement

A reader submitted this photo of the locked Forest Hills Park tennis courts on May 12, 2024.

Another issue that has come up is vandalism, which is why DPR has been locking the tennis and basketball courts overnight. In response to this and other issues at Forest Hills Park, ANC 3F unanimously passed a resolution that urges a higher level of service from MPD; DPR; the Department of General Services (DGS), which repairs and maintains city facilities, and the DC Council, which has an oversight role and can craft legislation.

The ANC requests that:

1. DPR and MPD expand their enforcement programs to maintain services and reduce destructive behavior in the Park; and
2. DGS to provide additional trash receptacles in the Park and a regular schedule that provides for
   trash collection at least 3 times per week from the Park; and
3. DPR and DGS to provide repairs necessary to immediately address the current damage from vandalism to Park facilities, and
4. DPR to strengthen and clarify the regulations for the Park, as warranted, with input from the community, to ensure that a safe and clean environment is maintained for all who use the Park and vandalism is addressed and reduced, and
5. DPR to replace current “guidelines” signs with signs that clearly identify prohibited activities within the Park, and
6. MPD enforce DC drug laws regarding marijuana use in public places, and
7. DPR to install automated locks within 90 days (universal access-controlled locks that can be locked and unlocked from remote locations) on the access doors for the basketball court and the tennis courts, capable of unlocking these doors at 6 am every morning and locking these doors at dusk.