Posted by Lydia DePillis on May. 24, 2012 at 7:45 am
If it were not clear before, let the current state of discussion around planning for the McMillan Sand Filtration Plant leave no doubt that this site is the biggest development headache in the entire city (which, considering the competition, is saying something).
At
the moment, there is a master plan for the 25-acre site, which the Historic
Preservation Review Board will take up today—though I`ll be shocked if they
finish it without overflowing to another session. After re-starting the
two-decade-old planning process in 2010, and another round of ``salons`` to
introduce their concept to the surrounding neighborhoods, developers Jair Lynch
and EYA have racked up a chorus of qualified ``no``s: The Pleasant Plains Civic
Association and neighboring Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B voted
unanimously to oppose it as too dense for the historic nature of the site. The
Bloomingdale Civic Association was overwhelmingly against it, passing a
four-page resolution outlining objections and recommendations. The Committee of
100 also weighed in on the side of less development, along with Councilmember
Phil Mendelson.
In
a somewhat surprising move, however, the ANC that actually includes McMillan
decided to be constructive: They decided on Tuesday to support the plan, with a
short list of issues on which they`ll continue to work with the developers to
improve. The vote was almost evenly split, with three white, relatively new
commissioners leading the charge for something different (not that race or
length of service is a real dividing line here, since people of all types fall
on both sides, but the pro-development camp in this case includes more
longer-term commissioners, and had been backed by ex-Councilmember Harry
Thomas). Listed concerns include the amount of open space on the site,
stormwater and traffic management, and the fine points of a new recreation
center.
If
data collected by another neighborhood advisory group set up to negotiate a
community benefits agreement is any indication, the park issue is an important
one for folks living around the site. Preliminary results from 455 surveys
administered door-to-door at the homes surrounding McMillan found that 85
percent want at least half the site preserved as open space. The current
proposal actually comes close to that, but it`s difficult to see, since it`s
spread across one large park and a few smaller areas.
The
problem here is that, other than developers and bloggers—and let`s face it, who
naturally trusts either?—few people are out there making the case that the site
needs a certain number of housing units in order to attract the kind of retail
and new transportation options that people always ask for. Meanwhile, the folks
who want open space also want shorter buildings, when taller ones would allow
for more of everything.
It`s
also true, however, that the plan thus far isn`t especially charismatic in how
it re-uses the site. Without detailed architectural renderings, the development
program appears conventional. The 4.6-acre park in the center will be nice enough,
retaining a row of the old silos for a flavor of what used to be there, but it`s
easy to focus instead on the 18 out of 20 underground cells that will be
destroyed. Perhaps that`s practical, at a time when public funding for
non-market goods is hard to come by. It`s just not a powerful enough vision to
win over the skeptics, who tend to drive these community processes, and who
argue that the site is so special it needs something unlike anything else in
D.C. (To some extend, they also say no as a negotiating position, thinking that
to say ``yes, but`` loses them all leverage down the line.)
As
for the Historic Preservation Office itself, which typically drives the opinion
of the Board: The staff report is very understanding of the developer`s
challenges, and just asks for a greater degree of attention to some of the site`s
historic contours, as well as a greater setback from North Capitol Street. So
perhaps they`ll sign off on the plan on after all.
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