INTRODUCTION

 On February 2, 2001, Ms. Judith Rabinowitz and Mr. Joel Fischman filed an application with the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) for concept review of a house and bridge proposed to be constructed on a site located at the southwest corner of Broad Branch Road and Davenport Street, N.W.  The address of the site is 2800 Davenport Street, N.W., and is Lot 99, Square 2258.  CFA assigned the application No. S.L. 01-026

 The application was filed under the provisions of the Shipstead-Luce Act (40 U.S.C. 121), which provides for CFA review of the  proposed erection of certain buildings, including those abutting upon a street bordering Rock Creek Park. The above woodland property abuts Broad Branch Road, which borders Rock Creek Park.  The application is for a house proposed for construction on the site and for a bridge across a woodland stream for access to the site and house from Davenport Street.  The stream which runs along Davenport Street is a tributary to Broad Branch, which flows into Rock Creek.

 CFA included the application on the agenda for its February 15 meeting.  The applicants described the site and their proposed house and bridge at the meeting.  They stated that they had discussed the project with various regulatory government agencies.

 Vice Chairman Robinson, after hearing from the applicants and neighbors of the property, said the CFA members  would visit the site, and he rescheduled the application for consideration at the CFA’s March 15 meeting to give ANC3F time to review and comment on the proposal.  The applicants later requested that the application be placed on the agenda for the CFA’s April 19 meeting.

 The applicants have responded to questions from the ANC regarding the application, and the answers have been made available to the CFA staff.

BACKGROUND

 In 1989 an application was filed with CFA for concept review of proposed development of a property that included the site covered by current application S.L. 01-026.  The 1989 application originally proposed the construction of five new houses (one fronting on Chesterfield Place, three along Davenport Street, and one set back from Broad Branch Road on an alley off Chesterfield Place).

 The proposal was rejected by CFA because of its impact on vistas along Broad Branch Road and on the quality of the Park experience.  The developer then proposed an alternative plan for construction of only four houses, removing the house proposed for the corner lot of Broad Branch Road and Davenport Street.  At the Commission  meeting (September 21, 1989) when the proposal was approved, CFA and the developer agreed that this “corner lot” would be open space, kept in a woodland state.

 On October 13, 1989, CFA issued a letter to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs of the District of Columbia approving a concept alternative for the four-house plan and stating that the vacant lot would be retained as open space, noting that “this alternative is a compromise solution for the development of a property ideally left untouched.”

 The Commission also stated in this letter that their concept approval was predicated on five additional factors that applicants had agreed to address and submit to the CFA for review:

 (1) preserving the existing terrain in its entirety,
 (2) preserving all trees 8 inches or greater in diameter at a point 4 feet above grade,
 (3) providing a palette of materials neutral in color,
 (4) paving all driveways and walkways in a dark material, and
 (5) providing electrical, engineering, and landscape plans complete with discreet lighting for the exterior, all necessary culverts, retaining walls and drainage systems, as well as new planting materials for additional enhancement and screening.

 On November 17, 1989, ANC3F adopted a resolution which:
 (1) opposed the proposed construction of four new houses on the environmentally fragile site bounded by Broad Branch Road, Davenport Street, and Chesterfield Place, N.W.
 (2) requested that all D.C. government agencies require strict compliance with all laws and regulations with a view to denying applications for proposed subdivision and construction permits, and
 (3) agreed with the CFA determination that the area overlooking Rock Creek Park at the corner of Davenport Street and Broad Branch Road should remain wooded and designated a “preservation area” with no removal of trees and foliage and no construction permitted.

 No action was taken by the applicant to implement the 1989 plan and to construct any of the four houses.  Some time after 1989 parts of the site were acquired by a neighbor, and the remaining property was subdivided into three lots.  Two lots have addresses on Chesterfield Place and one is on Davenport Street (which is the subject of this application).  This lot includes part of the property that was the corner lot that the 1989 applicants agreed not to develop.
 

DISCUSSION

 Vice Chairman Robinson noted at the February 15 CFA meeting that there has been no change in this property since 1989 except that the trees are now larger and more mature.  It is clear that the terrain of the site and the location of the woodland stream present substantial engineering and construction challenges.  This woodland property, with its steep slopes and stream, is an environmentally fragile area.  Construction of the proposed house and bridge on the property will require destruction of at least two sizable existing trees, a 17" beech and a 15" oak, and other vegetation.  The excavation of the foundation and lowest level of the house and the addition of a substantial amount of fill to form the driveway and parking area could impair the roots of other nearby trees and contribute to their decline.  The destruction of  vegetation would  create serious problems of soil erosion and water run off into the stream.  In addition, the proposed use of posts to support portions of the house will create areas under the house without vegetation to control the erosion.  This erosion could cause irreparable damage to the stream and Broad Branch Creek.
 
 The Shipstead-Luce Act provides for the CFA to review plans as they relate to height and appearance, color and texture of the materials of exterior construction, and to make recommendations to the Government of the District of Columbia which, in the judgment of the CFA, are necessary to prevent impairment of the public values belonging to the park.

 The applicants have submitted information to ANC3F, stating that under DC zoning regulations, as owners of a corner lot, they have the option of “fronting” the house on Broad Branch Road or Davenport Street.  They have selected Broad Branch Road as the “front” of the house and claim that measurements taken at the “front” comply with the zoning regulation requirement that the height not exceed forty feet from the finished grade level at the middle of the front to the ceiling of the top story.   Questions however have been raised as to this interpretation of the zoning regulations.

  The house will have a Davenport Street address and the property will be entered from Davenport Street. The Davenport Street elevation of the house is four levels.  The height of this elevation exceeds 40 feet and will appear even higher due to an eight-foot retaining wall in front of the garage to support the parking area.  Because the house is sited quite close to the street and at a bend in the road just before it enters the park, this elevation will be highly visible and block views of the park for those approaching it.

 The height of the proposed house will also make it highly visible from Grant Road and other vistas in Rock Creek Park and from Broad Branch Road.   Grant Road, inside Rock Creek Park, winds down to Broad Branch from an elevation comparable to that of the proposed house.  Not only will the view of the house be prominent, but the removal of trees will also create a break in the canopy that will diminish the natural sense of this setting.

 After reviewing the application and supplemental information supplied by the applicants and after viewing the site, ANC3F continues to support its resolution dated November 17, 1989.  In 1989 CFA Chairman J. Carter Brown stated, referring to the site,  that “The ideal thing to be built there is nothing.”   ANC3F agrees with this sentiment.
 
 ANC3F’s RECOMMENDATIONS

 ANC3F offers the following recommendations to CFA and requests that they be included in CFA’s decision on application  S.L. 01-026:
 
 Recommendation No. 1
 ANC3F recommends and urges that CFA reject application S.L. 01-026, because the proposed house would impair the public values of Rock Creek Park and have the potential to degrade the property and the stream, a tributary to Broad Branch and Rock Creek.
 

 Recommendation No. 2
 That CFA reaffirm its 1989 position that all trees 8" in diameter or larger must be retained and preserved on Lot 99, and that the area at the corner of Davenport Street and Broad Branch Road (former “corner lot”) must remain as open space in a woodland state with trees, saplings, and shrubs.  This reaffirmation will protect the Park and reassure the neighborhood for the future.

 Recommendation No. 3
 If a subsequent application is filed for this site, ANC3F recommends that the CFA require:

 1. A lower height to prevent impairment of the public values of the Park and to protect the vistas in the Park, including vistas from Grant Road, uphill and to the east of Broad Branch Road;

 2. Use of natural stone to face the exposed foundations, bridge, retaining walls for the parking area and bridge and walks.  The stone color should be similar to the rock outcroppings on the site;

 3. That any proposed bridge roadway, driveway, and parking area be composed of material that will blend with the site, such as exposed concrete aggregate with stones to blend with the site; and

 4. That there be development of a long-term plan to protect the woodland environment and the stream, designed by a landscape architect in cooperation with the Park Service and approved by CFA.

 ANC3F thanks the members and staff of the CFA for their careful and thoughtful consideration of this matter.
___________________________________________________________________________

Adopted by a vote of 6-1-0 at a duly noticed meeting of ANC3F with a quorum present on
April 16, 2001

/S/ David J. Bardin_______________          /S/ Robert V. Maudlin________
Chair                                                             Secretary