Judge demands answers during court hearing on East Potomac Golf Links renovation
Judge pushes for answers on East Potomac Golf Links rehabilitation plan
A judge is pushing for answers in a legal battle over the future of East Potomac Golf Links.
WASHINGTON - A legal battle over the future of D.C.'s East Potomac Golf Links continued to play out in federal court on Thursday.
What we know:
The Trump administration wants to redesign the park, but local golfers and neighbors are pushing back.
The D.C. Preservation League and local golfers filed a lawsuit in February, arguing that President Donald Trump's plan to overhaul the park violates a century-old law.
On Thursday, the judge said she still needs more information about the project.
However, people who use the course, park and Hains Point are worried that work will be done before anyone can stop it.
What they're saying:
"If they just approach this with transparency, I don't think there would be such blowback against it," said Alex Rosen, Founder of Save East Po. "But we don’t see that and that’s why people are on guard 24/7, especially with this issue that people are really passionate about."
"I don't feel link Hains Point is safe or protected right now, but I sure hope it takes a long time to go through these steps," said Elizabeth Kiker, Executive Director of the Washington Bicyclist Association.
The backstory:
On Truth Social, the president pointed to a Sept. 1 start date for construction, but that deadline has come and gone, and no real work has gotten underway.
When the lawsuit was initially filed, Judge Ana Reyes declined to issue an injunction, but warned government lawyers that she didn't want to be "blindsided by bulldozers in the middle of the night."
The Trump administration has promised the plans would involve the public, and have multiple environmental and historical reviews. However, the recent removal and cutting of about 150 trees is bringing up questions about whether this is routine maintenance or more.
The lawyer for the Department of Interior said Thursday that those trees and others that will be taken down are either dying, dead, hazardous or invasive.
"We need to be able to sue before it’s destroyed, not during or after," said Kiker. "You can’t put the trees back up. You cannot put the trees back up. That is literally the point."
"It's just the trees, bobcats, wood chippers, they're pulling out the fences, so they're definitely doing something and I think that's what's so hard to believe. Clearly, something is happening there, but they’re saying one thing and doing another," Rosen said.
What's next:
The judge declined to issue a ruling Thursday, instead saying she wants the Preservation League’s lawyers to file an amended lawsuit. The Department of the Interior is asking the judge to dismiss the lawsuit altogether. The department plans to re-file its motion to dismiss on the same day the amended lawsuit is filed.
In the meantime, trees will most likely keep coming down.
The Source: Information in this article is from original FOX 5 DC reporting.