Neighborhood Notes - Foxhall: 9 August, 2000

In reviewing whether the BZA or Zoning Commission should have jurisdiction over campus plans, there is at least one thing that both the universities and community groups agree upon – the present process is time-consuming and exhaustive, and can be improved in both process and substance.

Foxhall community is in a slightly unique situation of having already been through the campus planning process for GWU’s Mt. Vernon College AND now in the final throes of the process for Georgetown University. Differences in how each of the institutions and communities approached the process might help explain why MVC’s resulted in a mediated plan with agreed conditions while GU’s mediation process broke down.

MVC chose to initiate a term-limited (ten-year) campus plan process even though they had a non-expiring campus plan, and to include the specifics of the first two years of development at the same time. MVC also placed their full draft plan in front of the community working group at the very first meeting. ANC3D recused itself from mediation process, although a commissioner sat in but didn’t interject. (for more see www.foxhall.org/campus/MVCPlan.htm)

In contrast, GU endeavored to separate active building applications (St. Mary’s dorm and former Wormley School) from the campus plan renewal, and did not provide their draft plan for the first four months of a community working group process. Although this draft was provided on-line on GU’s website, the final plan was not. More importantly, detailed tabulation of community questions and university responses still hasn’t been made available on-line by GU, effectively limiting effective commentary to the few nominated community members. ANC2E,
despite having their own constitutional process, did not follow their chair’s advice to stay out of mediation and leave this to the heads of community associations, thus enlarging the mediation group beyond an effective size.

© Bob Andrew, Foxhall