Compiled Public Comments
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COMPILED PUBLIC COMMENTS SUBMITTED AT PHASE ONE PUBLIC MEETINGS AND VIA THE PROJECT’S ONLINE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTAL UPDATE: July 19, 2013 Height Master Plan for Washington, DC Phase One Public Outreach Summary July 9, 2013 Phase one public engagement for the Height Master Plan began on March 5, 2013 with a capacity crowd of over 200 people attending the HeighteneDConversations: Impacts of Building Heights in Capital Cities. This NCPC Speaker Series event held at the National Archives featured a panel of international experts who explored the impacts of building heights in capital cities around the world. The session featured remarks from Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform. This was concurrent with the launch of the Height Master Plan website, the principal mechanism for outreach and notification. The study- specific website details the study’s approach and includes related study resources, a curated blog, a library of media coverage and thought pieces, and an online public comment portal, in which nearly 100 individuals comments have been submitted from citizens throughout the US. Online comments have ranged from simple, two-sentence observations to submittal of full academic dissertations. The online submissions are viewable at: http://www.ncpc.gov/heightstudy/comments.php NCPC also commenced a digital and social media campaign, generating, monitoring, and engaging with contributors on Facebook and Twitter using the Twitter hashtag #HeightDC. Phase One Public Meeting Series Phase One Public Meeting Series Petworth Library (Ward 4) Monday, May 13 MLK Central Library (Ward 2) Saturday, May 18 National Capital Planning Commission (Ward 2) Tuesday, June 4 Savoy Elementary School (Ward 8) Thursday, June 6 As part of phase one outreach, four public meetings were hosted at locations throughout the city to bring the conversation related to the shape, form and charter of the city directly to the each of the District’s wards. By the end of the phase two public meeting series, all eight of the District’s wards will have been included. Each of the phase one meetings were presented as an open house format: representatives from NCPC and DCOP provided a brief overview of the study and guiding core principles, and then held an open Q&A session with attendees. The public was then invited to visit display board for more in-depth one-on-one conversations with NCPC and DC Office of Planning staff. Each meeting saw an audience of roughly 50-75 people, comprised mainly of DC residents. 2 While public opinions on changes to Washington building heights varied drastically—some public comments staunchly defended the existing skyline while others pushed for development to the magnitude of Manhattan and Dubai—several consistent themes arose at each of the meetings. Comments on Case Studies Attendees commonly questioned the selection of cities represented in the case studies; in particular, issues arose regarding the number of international cities chosen. This was often backed by a comment that as the nation’s capital, Washington, DC should compare itself to domestic cities as opposed to foreign ones. Overall, attendees seemed to need more information on what guided the choice of cities for case studies, and the purpose of the case study analysis—whether it was to model DC’s shape and character after these cities, find cities with similar existing conditions, or simply determine best practices. Comments on Core Principles At the public meetings, presenters, boards, and public comment cards guided much of the discussion towards the study’s three core principles. A general concern was that all three principles looked to the past instead of the future (i.e. they were designed to protect the history of the city rather than accommodate growth). Principle 1: Ensure the prominence of federal landmarks and monuments by preserving their views and setting. While commenters agreed on the symbolic importance of federal landmarks and monuments, there were several mentions that private buildings could not only be added to the skyline without competing with civic structures, but could even frame and enhance desired views or corridors. Principle 2: Maintain the horizontality of the monumental city skyline. Of the three core principles, Principle 2 was by far most controversial. Many respondents took issue with the term “horizontality,” both the emphasis on the concept and the definition of the word itself. A popular criticism was that even with taller buildings, a horizontal skyline was still achievable as long as the height increase was uniform. On the other hand, a few pointed out that DC’s existing skyline was not “horizontal” at all, but rather punctuated by structures such as the Washington Monument, and steeples, and generally following the area’s natural rolling topography. Principle 3: Minimize negative impacts to nationally significant historic resources, including the L’Enfant Plan. The third principle was relatively uncontested—the majority of responses agreed that preserving the L’Enfant Plan was important. This seemed to guide the design of streets and there were a number of questions as the L’Enfant plan prescribed or intended for building height in the future Washington City. Additionally, it was noted that Principle 1 and Principle 3 were similar in objective. Primary Discussion Points Affordability Aside from the principles and case studies, affordability was perhaps the most discussed topic, both during the Q&A sessions, one-on-one conversations with staff at the discussion boards, in the public comment cards, and 3 online. However, there was quite a bit of debate over the relationship between building heights and affordability. There was certainly agreement on the already-high existing prices, but some argued height increases would do nothing to ameliorate the current conditions whereas others said relaxing of height limits was essential for affordability. Density Density, too, was consistently discussed at all four public meetings, although once again attendees were not in agreement on how it would be impacted by height changes. This may have been part of a larger confusion about population growth and real estate, and how building heights played into these issues. The relationship between density, affordability, and height could be clarified in future meetings and outreach. Home Rule Many residents were frustrated that a federal Height Act existed at all, which is to say that even if they did not necessarily support increasing the limit, they felt the city (through the District of Columbia Office of Planning, presumably) should have greater jurisdiction over building heights. There was also the perception that the Congressional interests were mutually exclusive to those of the city and its residents, with no common shared interests. Indeed, a major point of confusion was the scope of public outreach for the study: why is it a national conversation when it should be a matter of home rule? This perspective was not surprising as public meeting attendees were largely local residents and much of their concern was rooted in the desire for neighborhood protection. Conversely, comments received via the online public comment portal reflected a greater acknowledgement of Washington’s shape and form as a significant contributor to Washington’s symbolic role as the nation’s capital. Federal Interest As the conversation was taken into the neighborhoods and online there was, perhaps unsurprisingly, little discussion at the meetings and online specifically regarding the federal interest in building heights; the majority of attendees self-identified as residents, and as such the comments rarely shared a federal stakeholder’s perspective. Additionally, NCPC convened meetings with federal stakeholders both as Facilitated Discussion Groups and individually with leadership and staff of targeted federal agencies. At these sessions a great deal of conversation focused on impacts to future federal security and communications infrastructure, facility operations, mission implications, and historic, cultural and symbolic resources. Overview Residents at all four public meetings and online provided varying perspectives on whether the Height of Buildings Act should be modified or updated; however there was certain agreement that it has thus far played an important role in shaping the city’s character, and a unique character, at that. All phase one public comments provided in person and on the web are compiled below, and will be included as an appendix in the final recommendations and master plan transmitted to Congress. 4 Staff did their best to transcribe all handwritten comments. Originals are available upon request at the offices of the National Capital Planning Commission. 5 MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013 | PETWORTH LIBRARY 6 WORKBOOK COMMENTS J. | Petworth, DC Principle 1: The Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and White House should remain prominent. Street level views are most important to me. Height can be increased along 16th Street, NW, Pennsylvania Avenue, North Capitol Street, New York Avenue, and Florida Avenue in a way that the White House and Capitol building, the Washington Monument, and many more historically significant buildings would remain prominent as viewed from the street. Principle 2: Taller buildings can certainly coexist with our skyline. A horizontal skyline means “squat”. Principle 3: Building heights should relate to L’Enfant streets and public space. What else should we be concerned