WHEREAS:  The Washington Home and Hospice of Washington (TWH) located at 3720 Upton Street NW has applied to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for a special exception for “construction of a 4-bed addition to hospice facility and the enlargement of existing parking lot from 75 to 173 parking spaces”; and

WHEREAS:  The Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) held public hearings on Application 16836 on April 2, June 25, July 9, and October 15, 2002; and

WHEREAS:  In a June 17, 2002, resolution and in testimony before the BZA ANC 3F stated its finding that The Washington Home had not justified the need for a 173 car parking lot in an R-1-B residential zone; and

WHEREAS:  Parking for the additional four beds could be obtained without changing the size and shape of the existing parking lot which as currently marked exceeds the authorized level of 75 parking spaces; and

WHEREAS:  ANC 3F has expressed concern about the impact of a nearly one and a half acre parking lot on a number of mature large trees, the visual effect that a very large asphalt parking lot would have in a residential neighborhood, storm water management issues that are raised in creating such a parking lot, and concern about additional traffic generated by the increase in parking; and

WHEREAS:  Many of ANC 3F’s concerns were reinforced by the October 15, 2002, testimony of Mr. Jim Urban, an expert in landscape architecture, at the October 15, 2002, BZA hearing in which Mr. Urban confirmed that the design of the proposed parking lot would endanger a number of mature large trees, also testified as to shortcomings in the applicant's storm water management plan, and demonstrated that the parking lot design is not appropriate for this R-1-B residential neighborhood; and

WHEREAS:  The District's Comprehensive Plan for Ward 3 cites “protection of [the Ward's] healthful verdancy” and “encouragement of design solutions that promote both conservation and improvement of the Ward's resources” as environmental goals for Ward 3 and specifies that “all discretionary construction approvals should be conditioned on an affirmative answer to the question: Does the proposed project provide a net gain for the ward environmentally” which the Plan defines to include both the natural and the visual environment (10 DCMR Section 1403.3); and

WHEREAS:  The Ward 3 Comprehensive Plan in Section 1403.5 further states that the District government should “encourage institutional and large corporate residents to promote public transit usage and discourage employee reliance on single-occupant vehicles and this should be a condition when possible in connection with discretionary government approvals. . . .The Land Use Element is drafted in part to minimize reliance on automobiles and instead promote pedestrian transit and public transportation”; and

WHEREAS:  ANC 3F believes that a four bed addition to The Washington Home should be approved together with a long term resolution of the parking situation; and

WHEREAS:  The appropriate long term resolution of the parking situation at the Home is to maintain the parking lot in its present design and landscaping, as approved by the BZA in 1985, which would achieve several important objectives including preserving existing trees, maintaining green space, balancing the use of on and off street parking, and minimizing neighborhood traffic; and

WHEREAS: The existing parking situation can be improved by better management of the parking lot, restriping of spaces, allocation of spaces for carpools along with a program to encourage carpooling, restriction of the lot to those working at and visiting the Home, use of transit subsidies, instituting shuttle service from the Home to Metro, and implementing other measures that will reduce dependency on automobiles.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:  ANC 3F does not object to the applicant's request for a four bed addition, along with additional parking spaces that the BZA may deem appropriate to support the four additional beds, so long as the approval of a four bed addition is not linked to changing the existing parking lot which is defined as the existing perimeter, shape, and height of the currently paved parking area including the existing islands as landscaped; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: ANC 3F recommends that the applicant be encouraged to improve the existing parking situation by: (1) restriping of spaces; (2) developing parking lot management procedures and controls that would utilize the parking lot more efficiently and improve the availability of parking spaces for Washington Home visitors and staff; and (3), in accordance with testimony presented by ANC 3F and DDOT and in conformance with the Ward 3 Comprehensive Plan (DCMR 1403.5), implementing a program to reduce demand for parking to include incentives and guidelines for increasing the use of mass transit and decreasing reliance on automobiles by visitors and staff; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: ANC 3F adheres to its resolution of June 17, 2002, opposing the requested parking lot expansion and redesign.

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Adopted November 18, 2002, at a duly noticed public meeting with a quorum present by a vote of 7-0-0.
 

   /s/   Cathy Wiss                                         /s/   David J. Bardin
   Cathy Wiss, Chair                                      David J. Bardin, Secretary