Ellsworth Drive: Not exactly public

Photographer finds taxpayer funding doesn’t grant full access in downtown development area

Unconvinced, since he knew photography was allowed in public places, Py said he went to talk to the Peterson Co. management office, which oversees the development on Ellsworth Drive, including Silver Plaza.

‘‘On a public street, I can take pictures of anything I want,” Py said. ‘‘But I was told it wasn’t a public street.”

Py, 43, said he was told by management that the no-photography policy protects the company from people who might want to say or write negative things. In addition, many of the chain stores do not want their concepts to be photographed. There was also concern that Py might sell his photographs.

Stacey Horan, who does marketing for the Peterson Co. out of its Silver Spring office, referred calls to the company’s director of marketing in Virginia. Phone calls to the director Monday and Tuesday were not returned.

The Peterson Co. leases the development — and Ellsworth Drive — from the county, which owns the property, according to state Department of Assessments and Taxations records. The open-air center sits on land that was purchased by the county during redevelopment efforts.

But Py, who worked in sales for The Gazette during the mid-1990s and was involved in downtown Silver Spring’s redevelopment process, remembered that the property was built with public money.

Nearly $450 million public dollars have been invested in the downtown. Private developers have contributed about $1.5 billion.

‘‘I know public money went to build that,” Py said. ‘‘How can that not be public space when it was built with public money?”

In addition to the site being funded by public money, developers also got major tax breaks, said County Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park. Elrich also said the Peterson Co.’s lease agreement with the county states that the company has the responsibility of maintaining the site’s security, public safety and financial success, and promoting use of the space. The agreement also states cars and pedestrians can freely travel down Ellsworth Drive, and that the county can close the street four times a year for festivals.

Elrich said he believes the company has ‘‘overstepped its bounds” and should relax some of its policies. Taking a picture or passing out literature, Elrich said, should not affect the financial success of the development or affect anyone’s safety.

Additionally, he said, county police also patrol Ellsworth Drive.

‘‘If it’s private, why not have more mall security?” Elrich said, adding you don’t see county police patrolling local malls. ‘‘If it’s public enough for the police to respond there, it must be public enough for people to act like the public.”

People also raised concerns about public versus private space at Thursday’s Montgomery County Planning Board meeting during a discussion of the Silver Spring civic building and veterans plaza, and accompanying ice rink and pavilion. That facility will be located on Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive on county land.

Lines are blurred as to what is public space in parts of the redeveloped downtown, said Richard Jaeggi, a Silver Spring resident. If the ice skating rink is operated privately, he asked, will that mean teenagers will be asked to leave if they don’t have money to skate and just want to watch?

‘‘Do we give up rights to use that space when we want to?” he asked, adding that teens in Ghandi Brigade, a youth film group he oversees, have been asked not to tape footage in parts of downtown Silver Spring.

Elrich said he believes those concerns are valid.

‘‘We’ve got to be sure we are clear about what we are able to do,” he said.

The plaza and rink, though it will be operated privately, will be a public space, said Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson.

Open space like Ellsworth Drive should be public since it appears to be, Py said. The fact that the open street is private raises First Amendment issues, he said. Not only can you not take pictures on the site, you cannot distribute literature, get signatures for a petition or protest, he said.

‘‘I want people to know their First Amendment rights are in jeopardy,” he said. ‘‘I wonder if people know they traded their rights for a Potbelly’s and a Starbucks.”

Talk about it

Should EllsworthDrive, which is owned by the county and leased by a private developer, be treated as a public street or private street? Why? E-mail your response to talkaboutit@gazette.net. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number.