Brookland resident Daniel Wolkoff: "DC HPRB manipulates McMillan federal covenants" + a response re: ACHP

From: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
To: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2015 02:00:47 +0000
Subject: [HistoricWashington] DC HPRB Manipulates McMillan Federal Covenants
   

How did HPRB staff and review board conclude this?

"The HPO recommends that the Board find that the subdivision

of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site is incompatible with the character

of the landmark but reconfirm to the Mayor’s Agent that the master 

plan has been developed to mitigate many of the adverse effects

of the subdivision in the event that the project is found to be one of

special merit."
What mitigations? How does it mitigate, which adverse effects?
What was the contact with Advisory Council, as required by covenants?

  

This recommendation is double speak garbage, an affront to common sense, corrupt manipulation and we reject this.

  

David Maloney is the "State Historic Preservation Officer", the entire $billion McMillan Park deal has come to rest on manipulation and deception by a tiny number of people. Mayor's Agent Byrne, David Maloney, DC zoning Commission, Deputy Mayor M. Jeffrey Miller and the entire DC City Council and Mayors Gray and Bowser.

Daniel Goldon Wolkoff

McMillan coalition for Sustainable Agriculture

1231 Randolph Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
202-232-8391

From: Jerome Peloquin, aquaponikus@gmail.com   

An open letter to the citizen's of The District of Columbia and the City Council from Jerome James Peloquin and Daniel Goldon Wolkoff.

A recent opinion, required under law and submitted by The Historic Preservation Office, (HPO) will destroy 25+ acres of potential green park space here in North East DC, an area sorely in need of such green recreational and environmentally beneficial space.  In addition, McMillan Park is an historical site protected under Federal Law and transferred to the The District with clear restrictive covenants to  prevent subdivision and commercial destruction.  Since literally hundreds of millions of DC and US Taxpayer dollars are involved, and since this decision effects the future of North East Washington DC and since all of this rests on the pinhead of an ambiguous rationale, can the Historic Preservation Office, (HPO) whose opinion is central to the destruction of this public property, tell us specifically how it came to this convoluted example of fractured logic?

         

Can the HPO explain to the citizen's how this "subdivision," ... designed by VMP Partners is: "... incompatible with the character of the landmark .." and then still maintain that, " ...the master plan ...mitigates many of the adverse effects of the subdivision"?  How did you come to that conclusion?  We, The People have a right to know!  Given the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars involved in this Exclusive Rights, Sole Source, No Bid development contract, a more rational and fully disclosed explanation of HPO"s deliberative process is more than warranted !

          

How can such a contradictory flawed, purportedly definitive opinion be issued much less tolerated?  To us the reason is clear - Money!  The developers stand to make tens of millions of dollars on this, so called 'development.'  Extreme legal, lobbying, and outright political pressure has been used here.  We also believe evidence of unethical and possibly illegal steps were taken by past and present city officials to coerce this decision and process.  

  

We demand that the HPO list the factors that cause the 'subdivision,' to be,  "... incompatible with the character of the landmark, ..." and then itemize in detail which, "... elements of the VMP design, "... mitigate ....these adverse effects,..." And ... How?  Finally, assuming that such disclosure will be forthcoming, what efforts and pressure was brought upon the HPO to issue such an obviously contradictory and questionable decision?

This is a reasonable and necessary question that needs to be answered if we, the people, are to have the rights of a democratically governed people of this federal district, a city-state our city and our town.

ᐧ

Jerome Peloquin

717 Lawrence Street, NE

Washington, DC, 20017

....see this response:

From: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
To: HistoricWashington@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:44:09 -0400
Subject: Re: [HistoricWashington] DC HPRB Manipulates McMillan Federal Covenants

In order to involve the ACHP (http://www.achp.gov/), consulting parties must request that it be referred to ACHP within a certain time frame.  See Section 106 of the NHPA (http://www.achp.gov/106summary.html).

Louise Dunford Brodnitz