Neighborhood Notes - Foxhall: 4 April 2001

Late last week two key documents were released - the Census Bureau block-by-block detail by age group and race/ethnicity classifications, and the final ruling by BZA on GU's Campus Plan.

Census 2000 results show that the area around Georgetown has among the highest percentage increase in population, a 5% increase while the city overall declined by as much. In fact, Wards 1, 2 and 3 all increased, while east of the Anacostia River declined by 15%. The net result is that some Ward boundaries must to be re-located, a Council-driven process that must run its course by mid-year.

The GU Campus plan, as finally issued, is surprisingly responsive to many concerns raised by those neighborhood associations who have status in this planning process. Most significant is zero increase allowed for undergraduate enrollment. We believe this to be a direct response by Office of Planning and BZA to concerns of Burleith and West Georgetown on the destabilizing influence of too high a proportion of rental group homes. BZA also provided specific language that requires sustained strengthening of GU's Off-Campus Student Affairs program, including  provisions for code of conduct, 24-hour hotline, and complaint resolution process.

Although no numeric limits are placed on Graduate students, BZA provisions applicable to all include reporting  applicable city ordinance violations to the appropriate D.C. agencies. This is mainly an issue for DCRA (housing code) and DPW (sanitation), but also includes mandatory registration of student-owned cars in DC, and University-maintained registry of license plates.

BZA has set a reasonable requirement that events likely to draw large numbers of the public (sports, arts, etc) should be scheduled to avoid peak rush-hour traffic. Specific TMP (Traffic Management Plan) requirements ensure GU fully utilizes its 4,080 parking cap but uses shuttle transport to avoid exceeding it.

© Bob Andrew, Foxhall