In a March 31 pre-hearing submission to the D.C. Zoning Commission, Georgetown University offered more concessions to the neighborhood, including more beds and a lower main campus enrollment cap.
“This submission makes significant new commitments in direct response to community concerns…and conveys additional data and information in support of various aspects of the Campus Plan,” the university said.
Citing its high on-campus housing compared to other colleges in D.C., the university said “its initial proposal to add housing in the 1789 block was withdrawn after negative neighborhood feedback. In light of further neighborhood feedback…Georgetown will commit to providing 250 new undergraduate beds either on campus or outside of the residentially-zoned land.” The university would ultimately have to detail whether it is simply adding beds or building new dorms.
“In May 2009, architects hired by the university identified spaces on campus that could potentially hold up to 800 beds, including North Kehoe, Harbin Esplanade, North Residential (an area past Darnall Hall), a small extension to Village C, and the walkway outside of Lauinger Library,” the Georgetown Voice reported.
“The university also proposed to lower its main campus enrollment cap from 16,133 to 15,000,” according to the Voice. “However, only 133 spots in the total enrollment will be eliminated; 1,000 students in the School of Continuing Studies will be relocated to a satellite campus by the end of 2013. The proposed cap of 6,675 undergraduate students remains unchanged.”
Georgetown added that its “willingness to move forward with the commitments in the 2010 Campus Plan, including voluntary enrollment maximums in particular –– for the first time in its history and notwithstanding the financial implications and significant management challenges…is expressly predicated on adoption of all of the elements of the 2010 Campus Plan.”
The zoning commission will meet Apr. 14, 6:30 p.m., for the first of three hearings on Georgetown University’s campus plan.
