At a duly noticed public meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3F with a quorum present on September 15, 2003, the Commissioners voted 6-0-0 to approve this report and the companion resolution concerning BZA application 16977.The vote was held after input from the Sheridan School and the community at this meeting.
The Sheridan School at 4400 36th Street , NW, is located in ANC 3F in a R-2 Zoning district.The revised application requested both variances and special exceptions.
The School requested special exceptions under Section 206:
(i) add one thousand
two hundred (1,200) square
feet of gross floor area("GFA") to an existingbuilding,
The
school wishes to create bay windows for classrooms on the north and south
sides of the building.The
windows will have shades and be screened by landscaping to make the bays
less noticeable to neighbors.The
landscaping will be installed according to the landscaping plan.Some
of the planned trees and shrubs have already been planted.
(ii) reconfigure the parking areain front of the Schoolalong 36thStreet in order toadd four (4) additionalparking spaces,
The
school is requesting these additional spaces and the variances below to
meet future teacher/staff additions in light of the requirements of subsection
2101.1Only
the island in the center of the lot will be modified.The
outside dimensions will not be increased.
(iii)
increase the maximum number of students enrolled in the School
from 215 to 226,
The
school anticipates the need for additional revenue to fund the cost of
these modifications.Presently the
School is below the enrollment cap of the 1992 order.
(iv)
increase the number of students who may be enrolled in the
School's CASA summer educational program in excess of one hundred (100)
students (to a maximum of 226 students).
The
school is adding this provision because the previous BZA orders were silent
on their summer camp program. A Zoning Administrator’s Decision dated December
30, 2002 did not fully support the school’s present program.Residents
who attended the ANC meeting said they did not envision problems from a
summer program enrollment of 226.The
program is held inside and outside the school building.Enrollment
will be the same as during the school year, and the hours of operation
will be the same.
The area variances are:
(i)
a variance from the requirement that each required parking
space shall be accessible at all times directly from improved
streets or alleys pursuant to Section 2117.4,
(ii)
a variance from the requirement that each required parking
space shall be a minimum of nine feet in width and nineteen feet
in length pursuant to Section 2115.1 and
(iii)
a variance from the requirement that an elementary or junior
high school provide two (2) parking spaces for each three (3)
teachers and other employees pursuant to Section 2101.1.
The school believes that with these variances it will meet any anticipated future teacher/staff parking requirements.
As for the variances we have no objection as long as public safety concerns are addressed. Presently the school double-parks its parking lot overflow in its parking lots’ driving lanes blocking the properly parked cars, thus preventing public safety vehicles such as fire engines from gaining easy access to the building.The school only became aware that their practice had negative public safety implications after these concerns were first raised by the neighbors . The neighborhood view was confirmed when the school requested a review by the Fire Department. Therefore, any proposal for the parking lot must assure that there is sufficient access for emergency vehicles.
The parking lot on Alton Place cannot be expanded more than is requested here.The tandem and compact spaces will accommodate more cars while allowing passage for fire equipment.Similarly, the lot on 36th Street has reached its limits.It is unlikely DDOT would approve a longer curb cut to accommodate more pull-in parking spaces or one so close to an intersection.Were this lot to be expanded, the neighborhood and city would lose some valued trees.
In the attached conditions
to further minimize the overflow parking problem the school, after encouragement
from the community, has committed to a parking management plan for its
parking lots which will encourage both the use of METRO and carpooling
by the staff. The ANC endorses this plan strongly since it is a small step
in reducing congestion in our neighborhoods as well as addressing the public
safety issues.
School’s Efforts to Address CommunityConcerns
The School has been
in this location for forty years.The
School filed its first BZA application with the Board of Zoning Adjustment
in early 1960’s, receiving initial BZA authorization May 21, 1963 (not
1962 as stated in the revised application).Over
the years the School obtained orders from the Board twice more, in 1979
and 1992.The School first filed
the current application (16977) on December 12, 2002. After receiving two
extensions, this revised application was filed with the Board July 31,
2003.
The
School and its staff recognized the importance of community support. The
School even before the submission of its first application began seeking
community reaction to its plans in its regular neighborhood quarterly meeting.
After the application was filed, at the numerous meetings, the neighbors
pointed out a number of issues which they would like addressed in regard
to the application. They were:
1.
Parking management plan
2.
Landscape completion and maintenance
3.
HVAC unit replacement and noise impact
4.
Parking of the school’s bus on its property
5.
Construction management issues.
6.
Delivery and pickup schedule for vendors
7.
Incorporation of previous orders’ terms and conditions in the new order.
When
it was clear to the School that these concerns could not addressed by the
first BZA hearing date February 25 and a second one on May 20, the School
decided to submit a revised application.As
further proof of the spirit of cooperation, they made a draft available
to the neighborhood for comment. Through this whole period the School and
the neighbors met frequently both in neighborhood-wide meetings and with
smaller subgroups trying to arrive at consensuses about the various issues.
Throughout the process the ANC Commissionerfor
the areaaswell
as the ANC 3F chair were continuously involved . Drafts went back and forth
between the School and the neighbors.
In
early August the School’s attorneys prepared a number of “neighbor agreements”,
reflecting their recommended language for points on which the School and
neighbors had agreed. However, the School’s attorneys wished to treat them
as a separate document, an approach that the neighbors felt was not very
productive for assuring future school compliance. On September 10the
school made last minute concessions which seemed to address most of the
outstanding objections including the key one ofincorporating
all the agreed uponterms and conditions
in the final BZA order if the Board approves the application.
In
the light of all the concessions of the School to the neighborhood and
the mechanisms that neighbors included to permit continued monitoring of
the School’s adherence to its commitments, the ANC recommends that the
BZA adopt the list of conditions at Attachment A jointly developed by the
school and the neighborsas part
ofit final order. We believe each
provision meets the test of section 206.2 “not
likely to become objectionable to adjoining and nearby property because
of noise, traffic, number of students, or otherwise objectionable conditions”.
Also, ANC 3F recommends that the BZA incorporate by reference:
1.
The attached construction management planto
minimize the adverse impact of the school’s construction on its neighbors.
(Attachment B)
2.The
attached Landscape Management Plan to assure that the School and the neighbors
know all the obligations of each to assure that the School does not become
the source of “objectionable conditions” in the future.(Attachment
C)
Conclusion
Overall
the ANC endorses the BZA applicationof
the Sheridan Schoolstrongly as
long as the additions and changes outlined inthis
report are incorporated in the Board’s final order. In addition, this Commission
commends the Sheridan for its great efforts in making certain that the
provisions of Section 206.1 were effected.
Attachments:
AList of proposed conditions to BZA order
BSheridan landscaping plan conditions
CSheridan construction management plan