Dissenting Opinion, Zoning Case 23-25
As commissioner of ANC 3/4G-05 my boundaries include the Chevy Chase Civic Core. My dissenting opinion adds context and recommendations to zoning case 23-25.
The two recommendations are as follows:
Maintain the current building lot coverage at the site.
Concentrate building height at the southwest section of the site.
My constituents, as well as residents from across the ANC and in the city, use the Civic Core frequently and for many different purposes. While many of my neighbors and I are supportive of affordable housing, it is clear that the community center, library, and outdoor space at the Civic Core is an essential public good. It drives connection and growth for the community at a time when that is desperately needed. My hope, and one reflected in a great number of my neighbors, is that the public uses of this site are not diminished. The zoning proposed by the Office of Planning in case 23-25 in the NMU-4/CC2 section should honor the central purposes of the site.
The current proposal allows for 60 percent lot occupancy by buildings. The current lot occupancy is understood to be around 40 percent. The Office of Planning should maintain the current lot occupancy. Losing a third of the current outdoor space is unacceptable. The community has expressed in our survey, conversations, and testimony the necessity and value of shared open space. It should be maintained.
The full ANC commission has requested a 60 foot cap on the buildings at the site. This height limit is acceptable but the zoning could be refined. Northampton Street residents are worried about the height of buildings close to their homes. Our ANC commission has also raised concerns about towering homes that dwarf their neighbors in other parts of the ANC. Northampton Street residents are no different. The zoning should emphasize and direct building height at the site closer to Connecticut Avenue and McKinley Street where taller buildings won’t impact these neighbors in close proximity.
Just days before ANC 3/4G voted on the zoning recommendations the Civic Core parking lot was completely full. Children and their parents were on the playground. Friends gathered to walk and chat in the gardens, games were played on the court, and both buildings were alive with activity. While the affordable housing goals are laudable and I support them, it is also important to preserve the current utility of this space which was first and foremost a place for the community. As zoning along the Connecticut Avenue corridor increases, and potential housing may arrive in the years to come, this space will only take on more significance. The zoning should ensure the shared space for future generations.
Thank you,
Peter Lynch
3g05@anc.dc.gov