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2012 SESSION

12104663D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 314
Offered February 2, 2012
Commending the work of the Fort Monroe Authority, Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, Hampton City Council, Governor of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and National Park Service for their work in establishing the Fort Monroe National Monument.
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Patrons-- Helsel, Anderson, BaCote, Byron, Carr, Dudenhefer, Filler-Corn, Hodges, Hope, Howell, A.T., Ingram, James, Keam, Knight, Kory, Lewis, McQuinn, Merricks, O'Bannon, Poindexter, Rush, Sherwood, Surovell, Torian, Toscano, Tyler, Villanueva and Ward
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Unanimous consent to introduce
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Referred to Committee on General Laws
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WHEREAS, in 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission approved the recommendation by the Secretary of Defense to close Fort Monroe as an Army post; and

WHEREAS, in 2007 the General Assembly created the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority to, among other matters, study, plan, and recommend the best use of the resources that will remain when the Army vacates the post; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, after considerable deliberation and public discourse, the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority approved the Fort Monroe Reuse Plan that recognized five distinct areas within the 565 acre site for future development and stewardship based on their characteristics; and

WHEREAS, in 2010, the General Assembly created the Fort Monroe Authority as the successor to the Fort Monroe Federal Development Authority designating it to be responsible for the preservation and maintenance of the property on behalf of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, whose mission is to establish a Grand Public Place with a substantial unit of the National Park Service at its core, began regular monthly meetings and served as a volunteer advocacy group to support the creation of a National Park Service unit at Fort Monroe; and

WHEREAS, there exists a Programmatic Agreement between the United States Army, the Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Fort Monroe Authority, and the National Park Service and was developed with  twenty-seven consulting parties; and

WHEREAS, such Programmatic Agreement establishes commitments to and processes for the appropriate stewardship of Fort Monroe, and articulated the desire to not take any action which would preclude the use of Fort Monroe as a National Park until consulting with the National Park Service; and

WHEREAS, the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park and City of Hampton Mayor Molly Ward worked together to lobby Congress and the President to establish a National Park Service unit at Fort Monroe; and

WHEREAS, Governor Robert F. McDonnell wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar expressing his strong support for a National Park at Fort Monroe and outlining the boundaries of such a park; and

WHEREAS, at the urging of the Hampton City Council, the citizens of Hampton Roads rallied in a massive show of support during President Obama’s visit to the region on October 18, 2011, by launching a “Green Initiative,” encouraging everyone to wear green in support of the cause; and

WHEREAS, on November 1, 2011, President Obama signed a proclamation under the Antiquities Act designating approximately 244 acres of the property at Fort Monroe as a National Monument with an additional 80 acres preserved by a protective easement; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Monroe National Monument is currently comprised of two parcels and separated by land that shall be owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend the work of the Fort Monroe Authority, Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, Hampton City Council, Governor of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and National Park Service for their work in establishing the Fort Monroe National Monument, and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That all future generations shall know that the members of the General Assembly do hereby agree that the development and use of Fort Monroe shall be designed and undertaken in such a manner that at some point in time the two bifurcated Natural Park Service parcels could be permanently connected by the land owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia that now separates the two parcels; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Wherry Quarter should be designed in a fashion that preserves and protects view sheds between the Chesapeake Bay and the fortress to maximum extent possible; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That Batteries Parrot and Irwin and the land which lies between them and the Wherry Quarter on the Bay side of Fenwick Road, shall be maintained in such a manner that at some point these properties could be joined with adjoining National Park Service properties in a unified national park unit; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That any development which may be proposed between the bifurcated parcels of the Fort Monroe National Monument on any land designated as public open space in the Master Plan for Fort Monroe is not desired and should not be considered.