Message to the ZC: Slow the belt down -- Do the job right!
As I mentioned last August, under interim director Ellen McCarthy's leadership, the goal of the Office of Planning seems to be to push through as many controversial changes as possible before we have a new Mayor in office. At this point, the Zoning Commissioners, unable to process all the paper being thrown at them at once and actively discouraged from thinking through the implications of various proposals, seem poised to rubber stamp almost anything put in front of them.
Toward that end, last Thursday the Commission considered a major
change to DC’s zoning code. OP’s penthouse amendments would add an additional 20 feet of height to
buildings citywide. In buildings where such a penthouse would exceed the Height Act
limit, those 20 feet would be limited to a single story; two additional stories would be authorized everywhere else.
Any use allowed in the zone would be allowed in penthouses as matter of
right. And penthouse space would not
be counted toward the height or area (aka FAR) limits of the zone. The only constraints on the square footage of a penthouse would be those imposed by setback requirements.
Under OP’s current proposal, only R1 through R4
zones would be excluded from this upzoning. That said, institutions located in such zones have apparently already retained counsel who submitted testimony requesting that schools, churches, museums, and other institutions with buildings located in low-density residential zones be
allowed to develop penthouses subject to the same rules that apply in other zones. And, of course, there are many areas in the city where low-density residential neighborhoods abut commercial, apartment, or mixed-use zones.
Long story short, OP's proposals represent significant upzoning citywide. These new rules would affect existing buildings, new construction, and projects currently in the pipeline. In fact, OP has proposed that previously approved PUDs (e.g. Hine School, West End Library, the Wharf, Babe's, maybe even McMillan) could add such penthouses as a minor modification -- which would require no public hearing.
Long story short, OP's proposals represent significant upzoning citywide. These new rules would affect existing buildings, new construction, and projects currently in the pipeline. In fact, OP has proposed that previously approved PUDs (e.g. Hine School, West End Library, the Wharf, Babe's, maybe even McMillan) could add such penthouses as a minor modification -- which would require no public hearing.
The development community and their hirelings submitted lots
of written testimony, clearly coordinated -- both formally and rhetorically. The Developers' Roundtable* and the DC Building Industry Association sent letters -- in fact the DCBIA made two submissions, one with the findings of a study they commissioned. Trammell Crow, Eden, PN Hoffman, Hilton, Carr Hospitality, Carr Properties and Property Group Partners wrote separate letters as well. Paul Tummonds of Goulston & Storrs weighed in, as did consultant Lindsley Williams -- though neither identified which specific clients, if any, they were representing in this proceeding.
By contrast, not a single ANC Commission or Commissioner wrote or
testified in this case. Why? Two likely explanations -- the first is that
ANC Commissioners were in the final throes of their election campaigns during the period between the October 17th notice and the November 6th hearing. The other is that the 25 page public hearing notice announcing these changes was virtually impenetrable and no attempt (beyond the
boilerplate header stating that “This case is of interest to all ANCs”) was
made to alert Commissioners as to what is at stake in this proposed
rule-making. The claim that these penthouse amendments are being offered in response to changes in the Height Act would naturally lead most people to believe that the new rules would only apply to buildings previously constrained by that statute.
Thanks to the combined efforts of Alma Gates, Chris Otten, Rob Robinson, Marilyn Simon, and Dana Sleeper, the Zoning Commission ultimately agreed to keep the record open for another two weeks. This means that ANC Commissioners and other civically-engaged people have until November 24th at 3 pm to submit written testimony on these amendments to the Commission. The case number is 14-13 and filings cannot be made using the IZIS system. Directions for submissions are available here. You may email your testimony (submitted in the form of a signed pdf attachment) to zcsubmissions@dc.gov. Fax (202-727-6072) and hand delivery (second floor of One Judiciary Square) are the other same-day options. If you use regular mail, testimony must be received by the deadline.
Over the next few days, I'll write more about the substance of this issue. My goal today was primarily to describe the proposal and to point out the very limited window of opportunity remaining for comment.
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*This letter was signed by representatives of Abdo, Property Group Partners, JBG, Gould, Douglas Development (Jemal), Jair Lynch, Western (Herb Miller), Vornado/Charles E. Smith, DRI, Wilkes, Hines, Carr, Quadrangle, Republic Properties, Boston Properties, Brookfield Properties, Forest City, William C. Smith, and Akridge. Almost all of these companies (and many more) are also listed on DCBIA's letterhead.