The Baltimore Country Club property is precious open space in Roland Park.

I sledded down this hill with my brother Stewart.

I drove past the site on my way to City College.  To this day, we call Hillside Avenue “Snake Lane.”

In 2008, I joined the community in opposing the construction of a retirement facility on the property.

Two years ago, I got a phone call from the chair of the Roland Park Community Foundation, Mary Page Michel, “Can the State help us buy the property?”

We quickly agreed that state funding was doable if part of the property was dedicated to use by the students at Poly-Western across the street.

I spoke with Delegate Maggie McIntosh, chair of the Appropriations Committee, and she agreed to allocating $250,000 in Program Open Space funds.

Yesterday, an agreement was announced for the Foundation to purchase the 20-acre property to create a new public park.

It’s not often that a City graduate does something that benefits Poly, our arch rival.

In Baltimore, we call this bipartisanship.