May 23,2011

Alfredo Pulupa/Candida Fernandez 4341 Yuma Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016

Jamison L. Weinbaum, Director, Office of Zoning 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 200-S Washington, D.C. 20001

Ref: ZONING COMMISSION CASE NUMBER, 11-07 "A college or university shall be located so that it is not likely to become objectionable to neighboring property because of noise, traffic, number of students, or other objectionable conditions."

To Whom It May Concern: I am a resident of Ward 3 Northwest and a native Washingtonian. My mother's home is on the 4300 block of Yuma Street, N.W. and I am temporarily living in Glover Park, N.W. not too far down from . So for over the past 40+ years we have lived in this area, we are witnesses to the erosion of what used to be a safe and secure area to live for us and our children. While I'm not against change and commercial development, Tenleytown has exploded into an overdeveloped, gridlocked traffic nightmare that has brought much undesired crime and intrusions into our neighborhoods. But the purpose of writing a letter to your office is to bring attention to us residents and our concerns for the expansion plans of American University in Tenleytown N.W.

In my current area of Glover Park, there are plenty of issues and problems with the university but the primary focus of my letter is my mother's neighborhood Yuma Street since we are more impacted there. Over time, we have seen American University slowly and stealthily taking over, developing property, and basically forming a noose around Tenleytown that is slowly tightening and closing in on us. AU campus on Brandywine Street N.W., Tenley Circle, their main campus on , current Law Center at Massachusetts A venue, and we're stuck in the middle. There are 2 rental houses on our block that are rented by university students who, to be fair, have been fairly well behaved over the years with only a few (but increasing) telephone calls to the police about noisy end of semester parties, urinating in our yards, empty bottles and cups all over, petty thefts (drunken scavenger hunts?), but thankfully not the norm. The main problem has been with their overnight and weekend visitors and their cars. Yuma Street between Tenley ~ :5 Circle and Massachusetts A venue is a Metro bus route that only runs during business hours on Cr5 E ' ~ week days. As a result, we need our cars and only have parking on 1 side of the street. This ~ i; ~·~J ; makes things rather dicey when trying to fit cars from both sides of the street on 1 side only. i ...::::::::: g~ ---....'---1 ...__ When this neighborhood was built, the average family owned 1 car. How times have changed CJ tl and most households now have at least 2 cars. So add to that any outside visitors and it becomes z·;;:: :z 00 ~ a circus. We do not have any options for off street parking such as driveways and car ports so ~ i:5 ci 2: 1-"' we depend heavily on street parking. We are especially hit hard in the winter when there are bad w a. (/) i snow storms and we have to dig our cars out. We have nowhere to go if someone parks in our <( >< ("' IJ.j cleaned out space. My mother is elderly and if she leaves her house and comes home to no -2- parking, I'd prefer she not have to park a block away and walk in 90+ degree heat of summer or freezing cold of winter. We are grateful to the Parking Enforcement officials for assisting when they can especially since Metro opened and we deal with the commuting traffic that park in our neighborhoods for use of the Red Line, but they can only do so much. Even walking in the area is risky now. I have been struck by cars twice crossing at the intersection of42nd & Yuma Streets N.W. which, ironically, is a 4-way stop intersection. And since this intersection is near the campus property in question, I hate to think how much worse it could get when the Janney Elementary School expansion at 42nd & Albemarle Streets is finished this summer and American University gets its expansion done also. There are police patrols already but still the current increase in noise and traffic is unbelievable, and the speeding and running of stop signs is common place. All the deterrents our neighborhood leaders have suggested to slow down or discourage the reckless driving have been refused. So even though our Neighbors watch group has informed us of the "study" that was done suggesting that the student increase at this campus would benefit from using Metro, we have to be realistic and also look at what faculty and staff would not be using Metro but commuting instead. I, myself, find Metro very limited and undependable and I give up and drive many times instead and they may do so also. Plus what increase in American University shuttle bus services will there be added to aggravate the traffic problems because they won't be expecting their students to be walking between all these expanding campuses? All the students that we've had in the neighborhood are from out of state and all have cars they use. They get temporary parking permits so using public transportation would be at a minimum anyway.

It is with much regret and disappointment that we have learned over time that our own elected officials do not always act in the best interest of their constituents, and in this instance we residents feel we are basically being ignored and left to fight our own battles. So my household supports the efforts of the Tenley Campus Neighbors Organization 100%. It is with amusement and chagrin that I read a letter in the Northwest Current expressing dismay that we residents are making such a fuss about any expansion. How it is that American University offers so much community outreach and how that (hideous) Katzen Arts Center is a lovely setting for this person's daughter's dance recitals. Yes, they can afford to be supportive since they can also probably leave the area and return to their nice, quiet neighborhoods and park in their (off-street) driveways without any worries. We here in Tenleytown, however, are not so fortunate. We're living it every day and seeing it get worse without much hope. I would love to see our area become an inviting environment for children once again much like the neighborhood I grew up m.

The poetic irony is that our city government is so gung-ho on getting fair representation and home rule for the District of Columbia. Yet, instead they are nurturing a transient community of federal employees and college students while the permanent residents are being forced out. We're becoming a "college town" and there will be no District of Columbians to enjoy home rule let alone state hood at the rate we're going. We have already witnessed what has happened to our neighbors in Brookland, Foggy Bottom, and Georgetown so as tax paying residents of the -3-

District of Columbia here in Tenleytown (vis ) we are asking help from the zoning commission so our voices may be heard. We would like to be the ones hosting and welcoming the university communities into our neighborhoods instead of it becoming the other way around.

Sincerely yours, ~~ Alfredo Pulupa

Copy to:

Stephen Mordfin, Development Review Specialist District of Columbia Office ofPlanning- Development Review Division 1100 4th St. SW, Suite E650 Washington, DC 20024