Phil Engelke, V.P. RTKL Associates, Environments Studio
Park and Rec. Hearing Sept, 11, 2008
I am Phil Engelke, I live at 6164 Encounter Row
As I work in communities abound the world, I am seeing a lot of new thinking about how
communities provide their citizens with a better quality of life. My disappointment is when I come home to find that none of these new ideas are being incorporated in the on going development of my home town.
These exciting places, some new, some re-developed, walkable, vibrant and sustainable,
These exciting places, some new, some re-developed, walkable, vibrant and sustainable,
noticeably absent in Columbia. We now have an opportunity to leave our children a beautiful irreplaceable piece of natural world here in the middle of Columbia.
Columbia is not a museum, it’s a living thing and living things need to grow and change.
Columbia was a brilliant concept in its time; it was a fantastic place to raise my kids. Now we are looking at the third generation of Columbian’s and we are not giving them what was given to us.
We need to demand the best design and the best use of our precious environment. These are targets a great community will aspire to. To make this happen we all need to be stakeholders: the county, the community, and neighboring property owners to work together toward common goals.
We need the best qualified professionals many of whom live here, to guide us. We need to stop being distracted by and mired down in contentious issues. In this way we can have a more attractive community, healthier children and a healthier planet. We will not get a second chance to do this.
Phillips S. Engelke V.P. pengelke@rtkl.com
RTKL Associates Inc. Environments Studio 1250 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington,DC
20036
202 912 8279 Direct 443 791 7904 202 887 5168 www.rtkl.com