Ellsworth Drive photo policy unconstitutional
From the MoCo Gazette
“The developers of downtown Silver Spring cannot prohibit visitors from taking pictures on the Ellsworth Drive property, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced Friday, publicly stating his position for the first time on a civil liberties controversy over use of the public-private space.
‘‘The [c]ounty considers Ellsworth to be a public forum permitting the free and unfettered exercise of First Amendment rights by residents of the county and its visitors,” Leggett (D) wrote in a letter to PFA Silver Spring LC and The Peterson Cos.
PFA Silver Spring is the name of holding company that developed downtown Silver Spring, including The Peterson Cos., the Foulger-Pratt Co. and Argo Investment Co. The Peterson Cos. leases the development and Ellsworth Drive from the county for $1.
Leggett was responding to an incident in June, when a security guard stopped amateur photographer and Silver Spring resident Chip Py from taking pictures of the property. Py, who said he was taking general photos of the area on a nice day, argued the street should be considered public property since $450 million in public funds has been invested into the property.”