Zoning Board Decides Not to Decide . . . Yet
• June 12, 2013

The D.C. Zoning Commission has postponed its decision on Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 Campus Plan until May. The commission seeks more information on the University’s proposals to lessen the impact of its students living off campus, such as its SNAP program, M Street shuttle, expanded trash pickup services and student parking. This second delay will likely require more input from Georgetown residents and the University.

“Well, it turns out the final Feb. 9 Zoning Commission hearing on the G.U. Campus Plan, wasn’t [final],” said Jennifer Altemus, president of the Citizens Association of  Georgetown. “This is getting old.”

During the hearing, commissioner Peter May said, “We’re not talking about approving a plan with the intention of avoiding objectionable conditions . . . I think that there is substantial evidence that these objectionable conditions may exist now.” May added that he found the Office of Planning’s proposal that all undergraduate students be housed in university-owned housing. “extreme.”

“I would rather the University find some way to address these issues in a more proactive way. I don’t know what it is, I just know that it has not happened yet,” he said.

May’s puzzlement echoes the doubts felt by many residents and university supporters alike, but other university projects continue as before.

“Despite the uncertainty about housing, many of Georgetown’s long-term goals will not be jeopardized by the delay,” reported university student newspaper The Hoya. “Several of the construction projects included in the plan are extensions or continuations of schemes that had already been approved as part of the 2000 Campus Plan. Such projects include the construction of the Intercollegiate Athletic Center and the renovation of Reiss Science building. Plans for the athletic facility are still under review by the Old Georgetown Board, but construction of the center does not depend on the Zoning Commission’s ruling. . . . Georgetown has agreed to cap undergraduate admissions rates at current levels and cap the increase in graduate enrollment at 967 students if the campus plan is accepted.”

University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr told the newspaper: “Our voluntary commitment to these maximum enrollment levels is contingent on the approval of the campus plan package as we’ve proposed [it].”

Park Service Sets March 3 Meeting on Boathouse Study
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Another Georgetown issue is on the line to generate two sharply divided camps: Should we build another boathouse on the Potomac River? And how should we do it?

The National Park Service has scheduled a March 3 meeting to discuss its ongoing “Feasibility Study for a Non-Motorized Boathouse Zone along the Georgetown Waterfront.” The four-hour workshop seeks to gather public input and will likely begin Saturday morning, but a specific time and place has not yet been determined.

The announcement was sent by Tammy Stidham of the Park Service’s National Capital Region Tammy_Stidham@nps.gov or call 202 619 7474.

Here is where the Park Service stands on any new boathouse on the Potomac in Georgetown: 

The boathouse zone was designated in the 1987 master plan for the Georgetown Waterfront Park, and now that the park has been completed below 34th Street the NPS is taking a step back to look holistically at potential uses and facilities for the zone. The study will be used to inform future decision-making processes.

The study is being conducted to identify feasible ways to enhance visitor access to the Potomac River with non-motorized boats, while finding a balance among different uses of the space. To do so, this study will:

?- Identify the range and quantity of uses and users that should be accommodated in the zone, consistent with physical site limitations and deemed necessary and appropriate uses for the site.
– Lay the groundwork for future decision-making for development and improvements and guide future planning and compliance requirements.
– Establish a programmatic approach to allowing access to the river for a variety of uses, not just non-motorized boat uses.

The project will consider:

– The waterfront land immediately upstream of the Georgetown Waterfront Park at 34th Street, to about 1,200 feet upstream of the Key Bridge, including federal properties north of Water Street/K Street.
– Existing facilities (Potomac Boat Club, Washington Canoe Club and Jack’s Boathouse), stakeholders and the immediate environs around the zone.
– Inclusion of new facilities within the zone.
– Cyclists, joggers, walkers and other users in and near the zone.
– Relationship with the Capital Crescent Trail.

Woman Found Dead in Rock Creek, Feb. 18
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A body of a female was found Saturday morning, Feb. 18, in the waters where the C&O Canal, Rock Creek and the Potomac River meet alongside the House of Sweden—where walkers, runners and rowers were out and about—near Thompson Boathouse.

The D.C. Fire & EMS Dept. had first responded to a call the night before of a person in the canal but found no one. The Metropolitan Police Dept. is investigating. As of now, no identity or cause of death has been released, nor how the woman ended up in the canal.??

Store Owner Arrested for Selling Alcohol to Minors
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The owner of Town Square Market on 4418 MacArthur Boulevard, Richard Dan Ki Kim, was arrested Feb. 18, briefly held by Metropolitan Police and charged with selling alcohol to a minor.??

According to 9 News Now, “A 17 year-old high school student was also arrested, cuffed and detained for buying the alcohol. Minutes before, police had observed a carload of three young men park outside the store and watch one of them go to the counter, buy the alcohol and leave. When he came outside, police asked him for identification, which he had, although it belonged to someone else. All three young men are students at a high school in Arlington.”

??Reporter Andrea McCarren, who had been investigating underage drinking for 9 News Now, including alleged sale of alcohol to minors in the store at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Foxhall Road, briefly left on-air reporting after her children were harassed by classmates and McCarren herself derided on Facebook.??

Montgomery County Police have also been watching Town Square Market, according to 9 News Now. “In recent weeks, officers have issued 38 citations to minors who bought alcohol at Town Square and crossed into Montgomery County.” The store may face the loss of its liquor license.?

Matthew Donahue: 1936 – 2012 (Prospect Street)
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Georgetown commercial real estate owner and executive Matthew Donahue died Jan. 19. The outgoing Donahue was known for his generous and sometimes quarrelsome nature. As easily as he might open his home on the 3600 block of Prospect Street to friends and family, he would hang a banner over his backyard fence that overlooks the Exxon gas station on Canal Road that read “Remember the Valdez.” From his retail space on Wisconsin Avenue, he once held production work of a Disney movie with a poster that read “Disney Family Values?” to protest its film about priests. Donahue was born and grew up in Georgetown close to his last residence and had been a student at Holy Trinity Elementary School and Georgetown University. He was the brother of Claire Farquhar, Mollie Dodd, both of the District, William Donahue of Bethesda and the late Michael Donahue. He is survived by 10 nieces and nephews, as well as 15 great-nieces and nephews. (Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Trinity Living Wages care of Holy Trinity Catholic Church.) To read an interview about Donahue’s life, visit www.CAGtown.org/OralHistory

Richard Myrick: 1920 – 2012 (32nd Street)
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Richard Myrick died Feb. 2 in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he was born in 1920. A graduate of the Thacher School and Princeton’s class of 1943, Myrick went on to earn his Ph.D. in social psychology at Claremont. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII and then moved to Georgetown where he lived for 50 years and worked at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. After retirement, Myrick spent his summers in Deer Isle, Maine, painting, gardening and supporting the Deer Isle Artist Association, and his winters in his Georgetown studio painting Maine landscapes. Myrick had a way with art, literature and gardening and was always interested in helping others. He was married for a time to Susan Mordecai of Madera, Calif., and is survived by his sister Julie Myrick Allen and three nephews, Pete, Scott and Ted Allen.

ANC Approves Revised Tudor Place Plans
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At Feb. 27 meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, commissioners approved the revised designs submitted by Tudor Place for new buildings on the historic home’s grounds: a garage addition, re-positioned archives and collections building and a new gatehouse on 31st Street. Concerns about the scale of the property additions by 32nd Street neighbors were heard and taken to consideration, with commissioners asking if a smaller rear garage would be “practicable.” Tudor Place director Leslie Buhler defended the plans as part of the non-profit’s mission and future survival and “duty to care” for its property and collections. Other neighbors applauded “the imaginative designs” in the re-do, which will now go before the Old Georgetown Board. Commissioners express their aim was “trying to seek a balance” between nearby residents and the need for maintenance of Georgetown’s history.

In other ANC decisions, the parking of food trucks on residential streets was met with disapproval. Commissioners approved a zoning variance for Noodles & Company, which will open at 1815 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. They opposed designs for a condo at Grace Street and Cecil Place but did give a thumbs-up to renovations at 3401 Water Street for the upcoming Malmaison restaurant.

The ANC will meet next on April 2, 6:30 p.m., at Georgetown Visitation Prep.

Zoning Board Says Yes to Variance for Evermay
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The Board of Zoning Adjustment approved S&R Foundation’s request to use Evermay, the historic, 3.75-acre estate at 28th and R Streets, for its headquarters. Evermay will maintain the non-profit’s offices for nine employees as well as serve as a residence for Sachiko Kuno and Ryuji Ueno, founders of S&R as well as leaders of Bethesda’s Sucampo biopharmaceutical company, one of several sponsors of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. S&R Foundation, which has promised neighbors of Evermay minimal events, strictly controlled within its grounds, is also set to complete its purchase of historic Halcyon House on Prospect Street soon.

Boathouse Study Continues at March 3 Workshop
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The National Park Service held a March 3 workshop on the future of the non-motorized boathouse zone along the Potomac River with almost 90 concerned users of the river and shoreline, including rowers and bicyclists, at the School Without Walls near the George Washington University. The four-hour meeting had attendees break into group for brainstorming. After checking each team’s points of view, NPS’s Peter May and Tammy Stidham along with Margaret Stewart of the Louis Berger Group, consultant on the project, listed some basic agreements: increase access to the shore, plan at least two new boathouses, install a parking area and restore the Washington Canoe Club.

Crew teams from Georgetown University and GW – with some local high schools – are expected to get some kind of rowing facility. The space, west of the Georgetown Waterfront Park to Key Bridge, was touted as a good spot for a boathouse; others worried about bike traffic from the Capital Crescent Trail coming into the soon-to-be busier area and the scale of any new buildings. Of particular concern to some were the protection of the Potomac Boat Club and the possible encroachment on Jack’s Boathouse which might threaten its livelihood. Comments on the NPS website will be accepted on the feasibility study until noon March 30. The NPS will complete its study and set a meeting, possibly in late September.

Evans’ Meet-and-Greet at Lisa and Mike Baly’s House
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Despite the downpour on Feb. 29, neighbors stopped by the 35th Street house of Lisa and Mike Baly and their children to meet Ward 2 councilmember Jack Evans, who reminded the group that he liked to get out and talk to his constituents, even if his re-election seemed assured. Evans answered questions, touted his fiscal responsibility on the budget and taxes and contrasted D.C.’s tax environment with Maryland and Virginia.