Frequently Asked Questions

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National Park Seminary FAQs

ABOUT NATIONAL PARK SEMINARY

National Park Seminary (NPS) is a unique residential community of single family homes, condominiums, townhouses and apartments located in the Forest Glen section of Silver Spring, MD, just inside the Capital Beltway. NPS was a resort hotel from 1887 to 1893, a school for young women from 1894 to 1942, and a U.S. Army medical facility from 1942 to 2004. NPS is located inside the Capital Beltway (I-495), one mile from the Forest Glen Metro Station. There is quick access to Washington DC and the surrounding area via Connecticut Avenue (MD-185), Georgia Avenue (MD-97), Beach Drive, and 16th Street. Montgomery County Ride-On Bus Route #4 offers direct access from Linden Lane to downtown Silver Spring, the Silver Spring Metro Station, Chevy Chase, and Kensington. Bicycle and hiking trails are plentiful through nearby Rock Creek Park.

Please use these contacts

The NPS community consists of single family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and rental apartments. The community has been developed by the Alexander Company, EYA, Washington Landmark, and Avamere Development. See the site map and photos of the various properties in the NPS Photo Gallery.

  • There are 7 Single Family Houses located on Dewitt Drive, Dewitt Circle, and Linden Lane; 3 of those are part of the Lot 62 Condo.
  • There are 89 Townhouses (21 Newcastle, 28 Stratton, 1 Grant, 7 Monroe, 13 Talbot, 19 Forsythe) located on Linden Lane, Ament Street, Cassedy Street and Hume Drive.
  • There are 42 units in the Main Condo (14 in the Ballroom, 8 in Senior House, 12 in President’s House, 6 in Senior Annex, and 2 in the Music Hall) located on Sacks Street and Dewitt Drive.
  • There are 8 units in the Aloha House Condo located on Cassedy Street.
  • There are 12 units in the Gymnasium Condo located on Linden Lane.
  • There are 14 units in the Powerplant Condo located on Hume Drive.
  • There are 66 units in the NPS Apartments located on Dewitt Drive.

Resident parking at NPS generally is restricted to parking spaces marked with letters and numbers; the letters designate the type of living unit to which the space is assigned, and the numbers designate the space numbers for that living unit. These are private spaces reserved for residents who reside in the different living units. The spaces for the different living units are identified as: Aloha House (AHC); Apartments (H61); Carpenter Shop and Servants Quarters (C22); Gymnasium (GYM); Main Building Condo (MBC); Power Plant condos (PP62); Stables (A43); Carroll House (THP); and single-family houses (20 DEWITT, 9618 DEWITT, D62, G56, G57, G58, G59). Townhouse residents have no reserved parking spaces; they must park in their garages.

The Master Association parking rules do not regulate private parking spaces, nor will the local police enforce parking in private spaces. The living units and residents assigned these spaces are responsible for dealing with vehicles not permitted to park in the spaces. In such cases, the Master Association recommends that living units/residents first place a note or ticket on the offending vehicle warning the driver not to park in the space again or the vehicle may be towed. If the offense is repeated, then the resident may telephone Henry’s Wrecker Service in Silver Spring and have the vehicle towed; the offending vehicle may be retrieved from Henry’s impound yard on Garland Avenue (about a mile from NPS) after paying the towing and storage fees.

Under the Master Association parking rules, vehicles may not park: (1) adjacent to a curb marked by yellow paint; (2) adjacent to a curb identified by a no-parking sign; (3) on the side of a trash corral identified by a no-parking sign; (4) in an area identified by a fire-lane sign; (5) in an alleyway if the vehicle could block an emergency vehicle or impede a townhouse owner’s access to their garage; and (6) in any manner that interferes with access to, encroaches upon, or blocks a driveway, road, street, pedestrian walkway or sidewalk. Commercial vehicles may park in alleyways and on roads for 30 minutes provided they do not block access by emergency vehicles or park in the areas specified by conditions (1) through (4) of this paragraph.

Visitors, but not residents, may park in numbered spaces marked as VISITOR; visitors may either be guests of residents or commercial firms performing work for a resident. Additionally, there are three parking spaces on Ament Street designated for members of the public using the Ireland Trail during daylight hours; visitors (but not residents) may use these spaces only after dark.

For more information, please see the parking plan, parking rules, and Article VI, section 2(f), of the Master Association Declaration, all stored on the NPS website’s Documents page.

See the NPS Photo Galleries. All photos, videos and images on the NPS website are for the personal use of NPS residents and guests. No commercial use of these website images is permitted without prior approval. Fees may apply.

Download and fill out the Filming and Photography Approval Form and the General Release of Liability Form, and send both to Property Management by mail, email or FAX, before ANY photography or filming is done on NPS property. Fees may apply. Also see the Rules Governing Filming and Photography at NPS.

The ballroom is available to rent for both public and private events. Please visit nationalparkseminaryapts.com or contact info@nationalparkseminaryapts.com for more information.

Please see the Community Room Rental Usage Rules and the Community Room Rental Application Form. Also see the Community Room Supplemental Usage Rules, still in effect to mediate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fitness Center is open 24/7, except during COVID-19 restrictions. It is located in the NPS Apartments building, adjacent to the Community Room. Access is through the NPS Apartments Building. Residents of Main and the Apartments use their normal access to the building. Residents of other NPS properties enter through the outside door leading directly into the Fitness Room using their access card (one per residence) which may be obtained from Property Management by submitting a Report an Issue form. Also see the Fitness Room Supplemental Usage Rules, still in effect to mediate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NPS Trash is collected from the townhouses and single family houses by Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services. Weekly pickup of trash, paper and mixed recyclables is normally on Mondays. On certain federal holidays, or in case of heavy snow or other emergency conditions, the pickup day may be shifted to later in the week, usually on Tuesdays. See the County website for further information. The condo units (Main, Aloha, Gym) have trash pickup from the adjacent dumpsters, using contracted services.

There are 4 dog waste bins on the NPS campus, all serviced regularly. The locations are shown on this map

The NPS Master Association is responsible for private roads (those marked with Black street signs, e.g., Hume Drive), alleys and parking lots. The NPS Board contracts with a private company (currently Shorb Landscaping) to handle grass cutting and snow removal. The contractor staff will always wear logo’ed clothing while working on NPS premises. Our Property Management company manages the work. Snow removal begins when our contractor determines that snow accumulation on those areas has reached 2 inches or that accumulation is imminent. If the storm is an ice event, removal will begin after the storm has ended. Drive lanes will be cleared first and then Parking and other areas will be cleared later. Applications of ice-melt products will begin after one full plowing of these areas is complete. Should a resident observe an area that has not been treated, they should report it using the NPS website’s Issue/Comment form. If the issue occurs overnight or on weekends, you may also call the Property Management emergency number. NPS townhouse and single family house owners are responsible for clearing their public sidewalks, entrances and steps within 24 hours of the end of a snowstorm. Condo owners are responsible for snow and ice removal inside their designated trash corral.

All NPS townhouse owners are required to have fire-sprinkler alarm monitoring for their homes. That service is provided through MyAlarmCenter for most owners. Each month, the Master Association fee includes a portion for alarm monitoring, which is paid to MyAlarmCenter by Abaris Realty (the Master Association’s property management firm) on your behalf. Some townhouse owners may have signed agreements with another company to do their alarm monitoring. If you have chosen another company, Abaris Realty will reduce the payments to MyAlarmCenter and will reduce your monthly assessment accordingly. Please provide the name of your new company to Abaris Realty so they can confirm that all townhouses are being properly monitored, as required by the Master Association’s governing documents. If you are considering using another alarm-monitoring company because of features such as an app to turn off/on the alarm, or use of Wifi instead of a landline to connect to the service, please note that MyAlarmCenter also offers these options; you may contact their customer support at 866-484-4800 for more details. Condo and apartment residents have separate fire sprinkler monitoring through their management company or condo association’s service provider.

ABOUT THE NPS WEBSITE

The NPS website is located at nationalparkseminarynew.org.  We are working with the major search engines (Google and Bing/Yahoo) to make the site more easily searchable by their users. We can all help with this by using the site more often!

The website platform supports all major browsers – Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.

Simply click on the link signup here located on the NPS homepage, fill in the requested information, and press SUBMIT. It is recommended that you use your email address as your username. You may receive an email that says “Your request for site access has been received. We will be in touch as soon as we process your request. ”

The email addresses in the directory are used by the Boards and by Property Management to send out communications to the entire community. If your email is missing or has changed, you will miss out on important information. It also makes it more difficult to contact you in the event of an emergency in your home.

The website has an ACCESS ROLE assigned to each website user. The ROLEs currently in use are PUBLIC (no login required), RESIDENT (for renters), OWNER (for property owners), COMMITTEE (for Committee Chairs), BOARD (for Master Association Board Members), MANAGER (for Property Management), and ADMINISTRATOR (for Webmaster). Each role is mapped to the webpages that can be seen, and features that can be used by each group. For example, RESIDENTs can update their own directory information and view, but not update calendars, documents, etc. OWNERs can see their HOA dues financial records. COMMITTEEs can create calendar events and add content. BOARDs can edit web pages. ADMINSTRATORs can manage any content on the website. ROLEs are assigned by the ADMINISTRATOR based on each person’s role in the community, and can be changed whenever necessary. For example, as Board members change, or people leave the NPS community, their ACCESS ROLE will be changed.

All users agree to the website “Rules and Regulations” when they register on the site, which specifically preclude the posting of objectionable material. See the link at the bottom of each webpage for details. This is common practice for websites such as ours. Content is not routinely monitored for compliance, but if objectionable material is discovered or brought to our attention, it will be removed and the originator of that material contacted. Please submit a Report an Issue Form if you find such material on our website.

You can visit the NPS Facebook page, use the hashtag #nationalparkseminary on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and use the NPS Snapchat geofilter while on the campus.

ABOUT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Save Our Seminary at Forest Glen (also known as SOS) is a nonprofit organization established in 1989 that is dedicated to promoting the preservation and communicating the history of the National Park Seminary in Silver Spring, Maryland. SOS provides monthly guided tours, presents quarterly programs and events, collects and preserves the historic archives of the site, leads the effort to restore the campus sculpture, and assists with maintaining the historic landscape.

Carroll House is the name for the former Men’s Shelter managed by InterFaith Works, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency and a non-sectarian interfaith coalition of more than 165 affiliated congregations of diverse faiths, working together to meet the needs of the poor and homeless in Montgomery County, Maryland. Carroll House operated in separate space under the NPS Apartments Building. It was part of the community services agreement with the State of Maryland that originally established NPS. The facility was vacated by Interfaith Works in June 2018. It now houses offices for Pathways to Housing DC. Founded in 2004, Pathways to Housing DC provides home, health, and hope to more than 3,000 adults each year who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness. There are 4 staff members based in Carroll House, though they spend most of their time in the field supporting their clients. On occasion, some of their clients may come on-site for brief counseling sessions, but no one will be housed there. Catholic Charities performs related support services, and plans to have 2-3 staff members based in Carroll House in the future.

For medical, fire or safety emergencies, call 911.

For non-emergencies, NPS is served by Montgomery County Police 2nd District Station in Bethesda. Their phone number is 240-773-6700.

The local Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Station is located at 1945 Seminary Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Their non-emergency phone number is 301-587-3400.

General information about Montgomery County Services can be found on their website or by calling 311.

In the NPS Community, county maintained roads are marked with Green Street Signs (e.g., Linden Lane). The Montgomery County Department of Transportation crews clear those streets. Check their website for further information.

The Maryland State Highway Administration clears all numbered routes in Montgomery County such as Georgia Avenue (Maryland Route 97) or East West Highway (Maryland Route 410). Check their website for further information.

Electric power distribution is provided by PEPCO. You can report power outages or downed wires by calling 1-877-737-2662, or on their website.

Natural Gas service is provided by Washington Gas. You can contact them by calling 703-750-1400 or 800-752-7520, or on their website.

TV, Internet and Telephone service is provided by either Comcast or Verizon, depending on which NPS property you live in.

Water and sewer service is provided by WSSC. You can contact them by calling 301-206-4002, or on their website. You can also subscribe to the WSSC Customer Notification System (CNS) to receive text or email alerts about emergencies such as water line breaks and service disruptions at https://member.everbridge.net/index/1332612387831877#/login

NPS is served by the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system.

The local elementary school serving grades K-5 is Woodlin Elementary School, bus route 3121.

The local middle school serving grades 6-8 is Sligo Middle School, bus route 3103.

The local high school serving grades 9-12 is Albert Einstein High School, bus route 3121.

In the event or aftermath of inclement weather or emergency, the Montgomery County webpage as well as local media such as WTOP contain the latest information about potential school opening delays, early dismissal, or closures.

Montgomery Country Ride-On Bus #4 serves the NPS community, with stops on Linden Lane. The bus operates Monday-Friday, and connects to other bus routes at the Silver Spring Metro Station.

The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) serves Maryland, DC and Virginia with Metro Bus and Metro Rail service. Bus schedules can be found at their website.

The WMATA Rail system (subway) is often referred to simply as “Metro”. Metro system maps can be found at their website.

The nearest Metro station to NPS is the Forest Glen Station on the Red Line. It is located at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Forest Glen Road, about 1 mile from NPS. The Forest Glen station has Metered Parking, Daily Parking, Reserved Parking, Carsharing, Bike Racks, and Bike Lockers. There are numerous smart phone apps available which include Metro system maps and real-time schedules and status. Metro connects to Amtrak, MARC or VRE trains at Union Station (Red Line), Amtrak trains at New Carrollton (Orange Line), MARC trains at Silver Spring (Red Line), VRE trains at L’Enfant Plaza (Yellow/Green Line) and to airlines at Reagan National Airport (Yellow/Blue Line). Dulles Airport can be reached by taking a bus from the Metro station at Wiele/Reston (Silver Line). BWI Airport can be reached by taking Metro to Union Station (Red Line) and then a MARC train to BWI.

Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train Service is a commuter rail system whose service areas include Harford County, Maryland; Baltimore City; Washington D.C.; Brunswick, Maryland; Frederick, Maryland and Martinsburg, West Virginia. The nearest local stations are in Kensington, Garrett Park and Silver Spring. More information can be found on their website.

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) provides commuter rail service from Metro stations at Union Station (Red Line) and L’Enfant Plaza (Yellow/Green Line) to the Northern Virginia suburbs of Alexandria and Crystal City along the I-66 and I-95 corridors. More information can be found on their website.

There are numerous express bus services that leave from Bethesda, MD, Silver Spring, MD or downtown Washington DC to New York City. Some of those include: Vamoose Bus, Best Bus, Tripper Bus, Flix Bus, and Mega Bus.

The Maryland Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail line that will extend from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County. It will provide a direct connection to the Metrorail Red, Green and Orange Lines, at Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton. The Purple Line will also connect to MARC, Armtrak and local bus services. There are 21 stations planned; the closest one to NPS is at Lyttonsville. Service is planned to begin in Spring 2022. For more information, consult the Purple Line website.

Capital Bikeshare puts over 2500 bicycles at your fingertips. You can pick up a bike at any of the over 300 stations across Washington, D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, VA and Montgomery County, MD and return it to any station near your destination. There is a membership fee, and then a payment based on your usage time. The first 30 minutes of each trip are free, but each additional 30 minutes incurs a fee. More information may be found on their website.

There is also a dockless biking rental service in and around Silver Spring called Limebike.

The Forest Glen Annex, adjacent to the NPS community, is a 136-acre U.S. Army installation situated between Brookville Road and Linden Lane. Since 1999, the Annex has been the site of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and the Naval Medical Research Center, along with smaller units. Fort Detrick formally assumed command of the Forest Glen Annex on October 1, 2008 and operational control in February of 2009. The Forest Glen Annex supports Army and Navy medical research units such as the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Medical Simulation, National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM), DoD and Tri-Service Support Agencies, as well AAFES, Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) Commissary, one of the Zachary Taylor Fisher Houses and various Soldier support efforts. It also houses the National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) which is open and free to the public. For more information, see this article on the Forest Glen Annex.

Effective November 2010, the first Quiet Zone in the State was designated at the Forest Glen Road Train Crossing in Silver Spring. This means that trains moving through an at-grade railroad crossing at Forest Glen Road will no longer be required to blow their whistles. With over 50 trains passing through this location every day, this Quiet Zone designation provides much-needed noise relief for the community, including NPS. Additionally, Montgomery County has added a series of safety measures for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers as part of the Quiet Zone, including improved lighting and signage, a median barrier, and a sidewalk to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

ABOUT THE HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

An HOA is a non-profit corporation registered with the State and managed by a duly elected Board of Directors. Its purpose is to maintain all common areas and to govern the community in accordance with the provision of the legal documents: CC&Rs, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation. Within NPS, there are several HOAs. The Master Association oversees all common areas for parking, grass cutting, snow removal and other exterior maintenance. The individual Condo Boards oversee all common areas for those buildings. The governing legal documents for each HOA may be viewed online within the Documents page of this site. The HOAs are financially supported by all residence owners. Membership is both automatic and mandatory.

The Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) are the governing legal documents that set up the guidelines for the operation of the applicable community as a non-profit corporation. The CC&Rs were recorded by the Montgomery County, Maryland recorder’s office and are included in the title to your property. Failure to abide by the CC&Rs may result in a fine to a homeowner by the Association. The governing legal documents for each HOA may be viewed online within the Documents page of this site.

The Bylaws are the guidelines for the operation of each HOA. The Bylaws define the duties of the various offices of the Board of Directors, the terms of the Directors, the membership’s voting rights, required meetings and notices of meetings, and the principal office of the Association, as well as other specific items that are necessary to run the Association as a business. The Bylaws for each HOA may be viewed online within the Documents page of this site.

Each HOA is a corporation and therefore a governing body that is required to oversee its business. The Board of Directors is elected by the homeowners, or as otherwise specified in the bylaws. The limitations and restrictions of the powers of the Board of Directors are outlined in each HOA’s governing documents found within the Documents page of this site. See the HOAs under Committees on this website for a list of the Boards and Board Members.

The Montgomery County Commission on Common Ownership Communities (“CCOC”) provides a training program, “Community Governance Fundamentals”, for common ownership community board members and residents. The law is designed to promote knowledgeable and responsible management of common ownership communities like NPS. The training program addresses ethics, roles and responsibilities of board members and homeowners, governing documents, financial management, meeting rules, and general administration. The training is also available to members of the public interested in learning about common ownership community operations. All NPS Board of Directors are required to complete this training program within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the Board for the first time. The training is offered online. The curriculum, which takes approximately 3 hours, includes brief videos and quizzes to enhance understanding. For more information, see the Montgomery County COC website.

A management company is contracted by the Board of Directors to provide such services as: Collection of assessments, supervision of subcontractors, obtaining bids for subcontracted services, providing financial statements and collection reports, as well as a general clearing house for problem solving, communications with homeowners and the Board of Directors and to serve in an advisor capacity. The management company reports directly to the Board and all decisions are made by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

The management company for the NPS Master Association is Abaris Realty (abarisrealty.com). They may be contacted by submitting a Report an Issue form. Or by emailing managment@nationalparkseminary.org. For After Hours Emergencies, call 301-468-8919. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, always call 911 first.

The management company for the NPS Apartments is Alexander Company. For General Information, call 301-650-5766. For After Hours Emergencies in the NPS Apartments, call 301-650-5766 #3.

The Management Company for the Main Condos is Abaris Realty. For General Information, call 301-468-8919. For After Hours Emergencies in the Main Condos, call 301-421-4530.

The Management Company for the Aloha House Condos and Power Plant Condos is Quasar Property Management. They can be contacted at 301-279-0494 and on the web at quasarrealestate.com.

You can also refer to the Management Contacts page on this website.

The HOAs at NPS, like at other communities, have developed Rules and Regulations as provided for in the CC&Rs and adopted by the Board of Directors. Rules are established to provide direction to the homeowners for activities that affect others in the community, including parking, trash, pets, etc. In addition, the Master Association has a responsibility for architectural review of potential exterior changes to your home from its original “as-built” appearance. Such changes may include patios, decks, plantings, exterior colors, solar panels, satellite dishes, lighting, etc. These rules and guidelines are set up to maintain the aesthetic value and integrity of the community on behalf of all owners, and hopefully protect the market value of your investment as well.  Violations of these rules may result in action by the Board of Directors and a fine. In addition, if you proceed with an exterior improvement or change, without written approval of the Board of Directors, or Architectural Review Board, as applicable, you will be required to remove or correct the alteration and/or be fined for the violation.  For more information about this topic, review your settlement documents or visit the Documents page of this site.

Yes. Notice of the time and place of any regular board meeting will be communicated to the NPS community by email and noted on the website’s community calendar.

One such Blog can be found at: marylandcondominium.net. This site is independent, and is not sanctioned by the NPS Master Association

Click on “Committees” in the menu bar to see the list of committees and their members. Each HOA and each Committee at NPS has documents stored in the Documents page, including meeting minutes, committee charters, and other information. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Committee Chair directly.

ABOUT ASSESSMENTS AND FEES

The assessment is the monthly amount due from each homeowner to cover the operating expenses of the community. There are two components: (1) a fee for the Master Association to maintain common areas and amenities, and (2) a fee for your specific condo association to cover maintenance of that building. Townhouse and single family home owners instead pay a second fee for fire sprinkler alarm monitoring. Your assessments are due on the first of the month. Invoices are mailed to each owner.  Arrangements can also be made for electronic payment. Late payments affect the operating funds of the entire community, so it is important that payments are current and made on a timely basis to avoid late charges and potential liens on the property. The Master Association and Condo Boards periodically review the assessment fees, and may increase those fees over time to ensure they continue to cover operating expenses and provide sufficient reserve funds.

There are several options for online or auto-payment of Master Association assessments. For more information, contact Property Management at their online payment & billing site Abaris Realty | Online Rent Payments (clickpay.com) or by submitting an Issue/Comment form.

In the year following completion of water and/or sewer main construction, connecting improved or abutting unimproved properties are assessed a Front Foot Benefit Charge (FFBC). The assessment as required by law is to repay funds borrowed by WSSC for water and/or sewer main construction. The charge appears on the property tax bill for 20 years, but may be paid in full at any time. The FFBC assessment is determined by multiplying property footage by the rate per foot for the appropriate property classification.

To help homeowners deal with large assessment increases on their principal residence, state law has established the Homestead Property Tax Credit. The Homestead Credit limits the increase in taxable assessments each year to a fixed percentage. Every county and municipality in Maryland is required to limit taxable assessment increases to 10% or less each year. For the NPS neighborhood in Montgomery County, this limit is 10%. Technically, the Homestead Credit does not limit the market value of the property as determined by the Department of Assessments and Taxation. Instead, it is actually a credit calculated on any assessment increase exceeding 10% from one year to the next. The credit is calculated based on the 10% limit for purposes of the State property tax, and 10% for purposes of local taxation. In other words, the homeowner pays no property tax on the market value increase which is above the limit.