Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[Harry]

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/06/29/zoning-board-rules-against-mt-pleasant-library-expansion/

Ok. Is there seriously ANYONE on this forum who thinks it would be a good Idea to waste millions of dollars and reverse course on the library expansion? I suspect it will never happen because that would just be such a monumental waste. Anyone who walks by there knows that the expansion is already standing. Regardless of what your stance was before it was built, can we and our ANCs please get the word out we would NOT support reversing course and wasting millions of dollars. If we just let the project go ahead we will have a new and expanded library THIS WINTER. Or we can waste millions. Drag it out. Tear it all down and who knows when it will be completed. Ridiculous

[jack]

The current very unfortunate situation may be blamed on the DCRA Zoning Administrator, who bought the Library's argument that they could declare that the south side of the building could be considered the "rear", and the west side the "side", for zoning purposes; and the Library's decision to go ahead based on that decision, without first determining that the BZA would support it. The BZA said no, that decision was wrong, and the expansion (not the renovation) violates zoning regulations.

The Library should have gone to the BZA at the beginning, and postponed construction until they had that final judgment. They gambled on the BZA's decision, and lost.

So the question now is, should the zoning violation be allowed, because the property owner has gone ahead with construction?

The Library has now, rather belatedly, filed an application for a zoning variance. That should have been step one, not step two-years-later.

Attached, a portion of the most recent Northwest Current, with a report on these developments.

-- Jack

[Harry]

Should the zoning violation be allowed? Yes. Becase WE are the property owners. This isn't Haydee we are talking about here for once. We are talking about costing OURSELVES millions of dollars and an expanded library. And in wasting those millions we would be pushing the goal of a second library in Ward 1 even further away. And that is what this fight was about in the first place anyway. It is too late to reallocate money to another library. Now the choice is only between saving millions and mtp getting an expanded library. Or, wasting millions and losing out on the expansion.

[ryanshepard]

... in front of the bulldozer if this happens.

[Cory]

To echo Ryan's sentiments, and recognizing the recent decision in Gregg's favor, I would be similarly dismayed if this project gets delayed much longer or, even, abandoned. As explained in the petition for zoning variance, the rear lot definition is not clearly applied to buildings oriented diagonally such as the existing library building. I really wish Gregg would be quiet.

[ryanshepard]

... the one-man District Library Dynamos (Chris Otten) is the primary instigator here - though he's certainly being abetted by ANCs 1C and 1D.

I'm interested in knowing what their real agenda is here - I've been on the Board of the library's Friends group for ~5 years, and neither Chris nor the ANCs demonstrated any interest in the Library before this issue came to the fore. I suspect the problems it was facing (deferred maintenance, underfunding, staffing shortages) weren't sexy enough to draw the attention and needless drama that they apparently crave.

[jack]

Attached. The key observation: "While D.C. law allows property owners to move forward with a construction project that is the subject of appeal, it seems hardly prudent for a city agency to gamble with residents’ money by doing so."

-- Jack

[Cory]

Nor does it seem prudent to proceed with a protest that has cost the city more than $1 million in public funds to address. Especially when the intended remedy of the protest is to waste the money already invested in the libary and money required to dismantle what has already been constructed.

Jack, we've heard a lot from you and Gregg about this but the resolution to support the protest seems to have passed unanimously. It would be good to hear from others on the ANC to explain why they are supporting this action.

[jack]

[Cory]

With all due respect to the severity of the tragedy of the Deauville fire - the fire would not have been so bad if the owner of that building had been held to keep the property up to code. Also, the fire chief signed off on the plans for library addition and the addition does not block off any access to the rear of the buildings that face Mt Pleasant Street - there never was any access there. According to the DCPL's response, the city's policy has never been to address fires from the rear of the building. Afterall, there aren't fire hydrants in alleyways.

This protest has wasted $1 million in taxpayer money and will cost millions more if it gains its intended result.

I'd also like to note that the tenants association of the Deauville has made some progress on the reconstruction of the building. They are teaming up with the same architect and builder as the St. Dennis and the Parkfair. By all accounts, the St. Dennis project is going to be well done with lots of upgraded features including individual HVAC, W/D and sprinklers! Both building also will feature less density as many efficiencies will be turned in 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units to cater to families and roommates. http://www.ibfdevelopment.com/?page_id=1088

[ryanshepard]

... between the Park Marconi and the church - here's an image:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandonwu/2661952139/

It is often locked, but that's why firefighters always carry bolt cutters. It is wide enough to run hoses down, and ends directly behind the Deauville.

Fire safety is not the issue here - I've given up on the ANC being open and honest about its real motives, however. They're happier wasting thousands of scarce tax dollars, denying their constituents a new library, because their impractical, grandiose, "futurist" personal plans for it weren't taken seriously.

[Harry]

Jack- I have been talking to a lot of people in the neighborhood about this and have come up with exactly ZERO who support the ANC's protest. No supporters save for you on this thread either. My question is simply ARE there any protest supporters in OUR neighborhood? I know people trying to redirect funds from our library to another one at Marie Reed or elsewhere in Ward 1 were behind a lot of the initial protests. They were grasping at everything they could to block the addition, from the fire issue (over ruled by the Fire Marshall) to the grade of the wheelchair ramp (where there had been none before).
The fact is that while the protests were intended to redirect funds it has instead done nothing but waste them. 1 MILLION dollars down the drain. That would have been a hefty down payment on a Marie Reed library in the years to come. How much more do we intend to waste? Whatever peoples stances were in the beginning, any reasonable person at this stage should let the construction continue.
So who is it the ANC is representing with their protest? I have been on away and unable to attend any meetings. Of course most normal people don't have the time to attend meetings anyway but thats a whole nother problem.

[jack]

[Cory]

As I understand it, the Fire Marshall has already explained that they do not address fires from rear alleyways - they do it from the front street. There are many good reasons for this including the fact that fire hydrants are on the street, not the alley side.

Also, these buildings are in Stormy's SMD not Gregg's or Yasmins'. And, as I've pointed out in past posts - the renovated Deauville/Monsenor Romero Apartments is proceeding with the same team as the St. Dennis (architect and construction) and will need to have a sprinkler system to address any future fires. The tragic fire at the Deauville was not the fault of a poor response from the the fire department, it was the fault of a negligent landlord who refused to keep his building up to code.

In my opinion, holding back the redevelopment of these properties would be a mistake. With respect to the library, the city has already poured millions into the redevelopment and spent nearly $1 million defending against Gregg and others associated with the "District Dynamos." With respect to the church - that property is going to cost a lot of money to rehabilitate and the developers have offered an exciting proposal to repurpose the church while preserving many of its historic features including the dramatic facade.

If you are really concerned about not repeating the mistakes of the Deauville, then your concerns here are misplaced. Work with the redevelopers of the Deauville and the owners of the buildings on Mt. Pleasant to ensure that they are up to code; that they aren't overcrowded, that they have working sprinkler systems and that fire hydrants on Mt. Pleasant street are in service. Do not punish the taxpayers who have funded the development of the library, the community who deserves a modern library facility, and the developers who are creating opportunities for investment in our neighborhood.

[jsfreed]