February 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 32

L AW R E V I E W

Recreation, the Pioneer Valley planning
commission and the Franklin Regional council of governments included a
map that identifies the Cross Street Playground as " permanently protected open
space. " A year later, the city's mayor endorsed an open space plan which noted
that, although not all public land is " permanently committed for conservation
purposes, " Cross Street Playground was
public land with a " full " degree of protection and " active " recreation potential.
LWCF Grant " Determinative "
In considering the " totality of circumstances, " the state Supreme Court acknowledged the significant history of
more than 60 years of public park use
at Cross Street Playground. That being
said, the court found the 1979 LWCF
grant to rehabilitate Cross Street Playground was more determinative of
the city's clear and unequivocal intent

Regardless of whether the parcel had been
dedicated earlier as a public park, it became
so dedicated once the city accepted federal
funds pursuant to this condition. It is significant that this understanding was shared by
the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, whose 2006 SCORP stated
that land developed with LWCF funds became protected under Art. 97.
Conclusion
Having found the Cross Street Playground was dedicated as a public park
by the city under the LWCF law, as well
as, the prior public use doctrine and
Article 97, the state Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the lower courts
in favor of the city of Westfield and ordered the trial court to issue a judgment
in favor of the plaintiffs. In so doing,
absent compliance with both Article 97
and the LWCF law, the trial court would
impose a permanent injunction against

" ...in light of LWCF grant funding for the site, the state
Supreme Court held the city of Westfield had 'surrendered all
ability to convert the playground to a use other than public
outdoor recreation without the approval of the Secretary.' "
to dedicate this land as a public park.
Moreover, the state Supreme Court
found: " The restrictions imposed by the
act on the management of land acquired
or developed with LWCF funding remain in full effect over the Cross Street
Playground " (see 54 U.S.C. § 200305(f)
(3) (2012 & Supp. II)).
As a result, in light of LWCF grant
funding for the site, the state Supreme
Court held the city of Westfield had " surrendered all ability to convert the playground to a use other than public outdoor
recreation without the approval of the
Secretary " (16 U.S.C. § 460l-8(f)(3)).
30

Parks & Recreation

diversion of the Cross Street Playground
to an elementary school.
The city of Westfield had argued
that " the failure to build a new public
school would have an adverse impact
on the residents of the city, specifically
the children, who are currently learning
in outdated and decaying schools. " The
state Supreme Court, however, was not
prohibiting the construction of a new
school. On the contrary, the Supreme
Court was merely ordering the city to
comply with the law before it proceeds;
i.e., Article 97 and the LWCF law.
Compliance with Article 97 would re-

| F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

quire a two-thirds vote by the state legislature to allow diversion of the Cross
Street Playground to an elementary
school. Moreover, compliance with the
LWCF law would require the secretary
of the interior, through the National
Park Service, to approve conversion of
the Cross Street Playground to an elementary school. Approval of any such
conversion request, however, would require the city of Westfield to satisfy any
necessary conditions imposed by the secretary to assure " the substitution of other
recreation properties of at least equal fair
market value and of reasonably equivalent usefulness and location " to Cross
Street Playground.
See Also:
* " Park Conversion Protection in
LWCF Project Map "
James C. Kozlowski, Parks & Recreation, Nov. 2011, Vol. 46, Iss. 11
http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/
lawarts/11NOV11.pdf
* " New Yankee Stadium Replaces
Parkland "
James C. Kozlowski, Parks & Recreation, Apr. 2007, Vol. 42, Iss.4.
http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/
lawarts/04APR07.pdf
* " Gift of Park Land in Perpetuity "
James C. Kozlowski, Parks & Recreation, Dec. 2006, Vol. 41, Iss.12.
http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/
lawarts/12DEC06.pdf
* " Land & Water Conservation Fund
Act Blocks Conversion of Scenic
Easement to Golf Course "
James C. Kozlowski, Parks & Recreation, Aug. 1994, Vol. 29, Iss. 8.
http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/
lawarts/08AUG94.pdf
James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an Attorney
and Associate Professor in the School of
Recreation, Health and Tourism at George Mason
University (jkozlows@gmu.edu). Webpage with
link to law review articles archive (1982 to
present): http://mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.



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