Park View, D.C.

A rendering of ZP Georgia’s proposed multi-family development at 3212 Georgia Ave. NW, which will replace Petworth Liquor.

I’m sure many people are wondering how the Planned Unit Development project planned for 3212 Georgia Avenue fared at the November 8th ANC 1A meeting. The short answer is it fared well and received ANC support.

Readers may recall that there were three resolutions on the agenda related to various aspects of this development. These issues were (taken in turn):

1. A resolution in support of the disposition of a small, District owned,  alley lot roughly behind 3216 Georgia. This resolution was tabled to be taken up again at a later date. This was not due to lack of support, but rather due to the timing. There is a well defined process for the disposition of District owned property, including public meetings and approval by the DC Council. As the public meeting for this disposition has only recently been set for February 13, 2014, at the Park View Recreation Center, it was premature to consider the resolution in advance of the public meeting;
2. A resolution supporting the closing of a dead end rear alley behind 32 18 Georgia. This alley spur has been abandoned for all intents and purposes, and unnecessary for access to any of the abutting property owners. This resolutions was approved unanimously (resolution here); and,
3. A resolution considering five areas of zoning flexibility and commensurate community amenities. This resolution was also approved by a vote of 8 in favor, 1 against, and 1 abstention  (resolution here).

The strong votes in support belie the amount of time that was devoted to this issue at the meeting. A great deal of time was spent discussing the property line between the lot that Petworth Liquor is on and the properties that abut it to the south along Kenyon Street. Sylvia Robinson, of the Emergence Community Arts Collective, and Romeo Morgan, of Morgan’s Seafood, both expressed concern that the new development would create a safety issue in the event of a fire or emergency as there would be no alley behind the Kenyon Street properties — especially for the apartment building at 705 Kenyon.

In consulting with the Office of Planning prior to the meeting, it was confirmed that no easement exists between the properties. Also, any building constructed on the site — whether the proposed PUD or a smaller structure — would be allowed to build on the property line as a matter or right (which is consistent with the other commercial properties on Georgia Avenue). Additionally, a tall fence currently runs along the rear of the Kenyon Street properties, and even though it contains gates, those gates are locked and a portion of the fence is topped by razor wire.  Lastly, none of the areas of zoning flexibility being sought negatively impacted the abutting properties.

Taking all of that into account, ANC 1A voted to support the resolutions considered.

This entry was posted on January 15, 2014 at 7:01 am and is filed under Architecture, Development, Housing. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Development, Georgia Avenue corridor, housing, Park View