Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW -
January
24, 2009
Malaika
Abernathy
Ward
4 Neighborhood Planning Coordinator
DC
Office of Planning
Dear
Ms. Abernathy:
As
you know, during our December 17, 2008 public meeting, requested on behalf of
the developer, comments were made regarding the designs for the residential and
retail development project at the Curtis Chevrolet site at Georgia and Peabody
Streets, NW.
However,
your office and the developer have not given the Commission and the community
the information we need to comment in a timely manner. During our December 17, 2008 and January 22,
2009 public meetings, residents and Commissioners noted this.
On
December 17, representatives from Foulger-Pratt, the project's developer,
promised to provide copies of the plans that could be shared with the public at
libraries and on the web well in advance of our January 22 public meeting. We
were pleased that you agreed that this was important. Unfortunately, this did not happen. We
received discs with the plans only a few days before the January 22 public
meeting, and then only after a telephone call was made to request the
information. Therefore, during our January 22 public meeting, in a unanimous
show-of-hands vote, the Commission adopted the following resolution:
"ANC
4B asks the Office of Planning to delay their comment deadline until February
26 to give the affected community an opportunity to comment on the
designs. We need a response to this
request by January 26."
We
do have some initial comments to share about the design. The following comments
were detailed in a second resolution, adopted in a 7-0-1 show-of-hands vote:
Concerns about the impact of increased traffic in the area
Concerns about Stucco building materials used in construction. Consider brick.
Are the sidewalks wide enough to accommodate couples comfortably?
The project should be safe and attractive.
Is it possible for Barney Senior House to move there?
The Commission would like to establish an ad hoc group to meet monthly
with developers/owners to track the progress of development.
Constituents want to give feedback on the types of stores located in
the project and the ad-hoc committee can gather this information from the
community.
The "low-income" rents are too high.
How is this project being funded and if the
apartments/retail space is not filled to capacity (how will the lost income be
made up)?
Are there any plans to invest in the
surrounding neighborhood (i.e. road and green space improvements)?
What is the projected environmental impact
due to increased residential, retail, and public transportation traffic?
How will property values and property taxes
be affected?
Is 8% a large enough allocation for low
income residents?
What is the estimated difference in pollution impact between
transporting the new apartment residents to the Silver Spring Metro Station and
transporting them to the Takoma Metro Station, given the added distance to the
Silver Spring Metro Station?
What is the estimated difference in travel time during rush hours
between transporting the new apartment residents to the Silver Spring Metro
Station and transporting them to the Takoma Metro Station?
Can 20% of the units be allocated to screened city service employees
(e.g., teachers, police, and firefighters)?
What is the plan for increased security and human services considering
the massive increase in population?
These
initial comments and our request for a delay are made to the Office of Planning
in accordance with District of Columbia Code 1-309.10(d)(3)(A),
1-309.10(d)(3)(B), and 1-309.10(d)(3)(C), which require that our Commission
receive "great weight" from government agencies, and that government
agencies must articulate their decisions in writing with "particularity
and precision," explaining "the reasons why the Commission does or
does not offer persuasive advice under the circumstances."
We
realize that the Curtis Chevrolet project is a "matter of right"
development and that the city's zoning boards are not involved. However, the request for comments was made,
and we also understand that the project may receive benefits under several
We
look forward to working with you during the next few months to ensure that this
project offers the best design and the most needed retail development to the
community. Please contact 4B-04 Advisory
Neighborhood Commissioner James Sydnor, at 202-421-3541 so that your office can meet with 4B-04 constituents on a regular basis
to share ideas and concerns. We think
this will improve the project for everyone.
Sincerely,
Douglass
Sloan, Chair
cc:
Honorable Muriel Bowser
Foulger-Pratt Companies
Curtis Dwarkin (check
spelling)
Director of Office of Planning- FILL IN NAME HERE
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B