Cherrydale residents are seeking to reclaim the original spelling of a neighborhood park as it goes through a of renovations.
In a presentation at an Arlington Parks and Recreation Commission meeting yesterday (Tuesday), neighborhood resident Harry Spector said he wanted to clarify the spelling of Oak Grove Park as two words and not one word.
There are three signs currently in the park that spell it as Oakgrove. However, the original sign in the park spells it as Oak Grove.
鈥淲ith this being the oldest sign at the park, it鈥檚 clear to us that this was the county鈥檚 original intended spelling of the park,鈥� Spector said.
Though the Oakgrove spelling is cited in the county鈥檚 Parks and Recreation master plan, Spector said there is no record the county intended to change the spelling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a typographical error that was never corrected,鈥� he said.
Other official documents since the 1990s that required county approval have also used the two-word spelling, Spector said.
While it seems the change could be made administratively, Spector said he was directed to the Parks and Recreation Commission by county staff, as there is a two-part process for . The commission makes recommendations to the Arlington County Board, which has the final say on approval.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little time consuming to correct a typo, but it鈥檚 probably the only way to do it,鈥� said David Howell, a commission member.
Spector was hoping to fast-track the change, since the county acknowledges the park as Oak Grove while the department references it as Oakgrove. He said he wants the change to happen before the park鈥檚 renovation is complete, sometime between February and May.
The renovations include a new playground for 2-5 year-olds and 5-12 year-olds. There will also be new benches and a new gazebo with picnic tables.
All the members of the committee agreed with Cherrydale residents that the name should be changed, and will be holding another meeting on the protocol of name changing and will include another motion to move forward the spelling of the park.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of absurd to have go through such a process for a simple, obvious grammatical error,鈥� Spector said.
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