Report of the Executive Director
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June 7, 2012 PAGE 1 REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DELEGATED ACTIONS During the past month, the Executive Director approved eight projects under the Chancery of the United Arab Commission’s delegated authority: Emirates Consulate (1) 1. Revised preliminary and final site development plans for the Chancery of the United Arab Emirates Consulate/Security Annex at the International Chancery Center, Northwest Washington, DC. (7135) 2. Preliminary and final site development plans for landscape improvements at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Naval Support Activity, Bethesda, Maryland. (7308) 3. Preliminary and final site and building plans for the construction of a new warehouse and office building at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (3) Southwest Washington, DC. (7331) 4. Preliminary and final site development plans for Phase 1 of the site lighting project for the Saint Elizabeths West Campus, Department of Homeland Security, Southeast Washington, DC. (7374) 5. Commented favorably on the preliminary and final site and building plans for the proposed renovations to Buildings 74 and 81, at the Naval Research Laboratory in Southwest Washington, DC. (7378) 6. Preliminary and final site and building plans for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence on the South Post of Fort Belvoir, Fairfax, County, Virginia. (7379) National Intrepid Center of Excellence (6) 7. Preliminary and final site development plans to resurface five tennis courts and replace lighting standards and luminaires at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center in Northwest Washington, DC. (7381) 8. Found that the proposed second-stage Planned Unit Development for the new George Washington University Textile Museum on Lot 46, at Square 102, would not be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital, nor would it adversely affect any other federal interests. (ZC 06-11F/12F) Photo: Legg Mason Photo: Rock Creek Park Tennis Center (7) June 7, 2012 PAGE 2 Comprehensive Plan: For the National Capital PLANNING UPDATES Comprehensive Plan Staff continues its work on revising the Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. The Transportation Element will be presented to the Commission at its June meeting for final adoption. Also at the June meeting, the draft Environmental Element will be presented to the Commission for authorization to release for public comment. A public forum on the proposed updates to the Environment Element is scheduled for June 27 at NCPC from 6:30-8:00 pm. The Workplace Element is being drafted and will be presented to the Commission at its September meeting. Staff is conducting initial policy analysis on the visitor element and a stakeholder forum was held on May 22. Initial visitor policy drafts are out for stakeholder agency comment until June 29. Urban Design Element Task Force The fourth meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Urban Design Task Force will be held on June 12. This meeting will focus on broad policies related to the federal interest and the important character qualities of the capital city. At its April 9 meeting the Task Force discussed basic urban design policies for federal facilities and property. Information on the project status, and comments received to date, is available at www.ncpc.gov/urbandesign. The draft element will be complete for Commission presentation by early fall. Union Station/L’Enfant Plaza Station NCPC continues to host coordination meetings of important stakeholder groups regarding area-wide projects affecting Union Station. At the June 5 meeting the group received presentations from regional commuter transit services on their broader regional growth plans and how Union Station fits within those plans. The group also discussed next steps for the broader effort. Montgomery County CIP Staff reviewed the Montgomery County Executive’s FY13 Recommended Operating Budget and FY13-18 Public Services Program to determine the program’s potential impact on federal properties or other federal interests in the National Capital Region (NCR). After careful review, staff reports that none of the capital projects appear to have any adverse impact on federal interests. Further, staff supports the county’s inclusion of the MD 355 Crossing Base Realignment and Closure, which will assist in mitigating the impacts of BRAC in the region. Staff also commends the program’s inclusion of several projects that will help meet NCR sustainable development goals, including storm-water Metropolitan Branch Trail management projects, the Bethesda Metro Station south entrance, the Metropolitan Branch Trail, and Wheaton Redevelopment Program. June 7, 2012 PAGE 3 Maryland Avenue SW Small Area Action Plan On June 6, Physical Planning Director Bill Dowd presented testimony before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation and Planning in support of the Maryland Avenue SW Small Area Action Plan. Federal Capital Improvements Program (FCIP) A request for agency submissions of projects to be included in the FY 2013 FCIP was circulated in early May. Responses are due on June 15. The online capital improvement Maryland Avenue SW Small Area Action Plan project submission process, started in 2011, received positive responses from a majority of participating agencies. The submission interface, developed in-house, will be used as part of the next phase of retooling the FCIP to develop an interactive, web accessible map of projects and facilities. State of Memorial Planning Report In cooperation with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Park Service (NPS), staff is revising the draft report, The State of Commemoration Planning in Washington, DC. The draft report was originally prepared by NCPC in consultation with the NPS and is based on a joint two-year (2009-2011) research project regarding the establishment and development of commemorative works in Washington. The study was prompted by public interest expressed about the memorial process during the public comment period of the Monumental Core Framework Plan, the National Mall Plan and during the comment periods of individual memorial projects. The research and study was also initiated by the agencies’ desire to continue to work together and with the public to implement a process that is transparent, informed, and efficient. The State of Commemoration Planning is designed to take a first step in an open dialog with the public, agency stakeholders, and Congressional sponsors about the current memorial landscape and key issues that warrant improvement and further study. Commemorative Works On-line Map Staff continues to work on mapping commemorative sites in the District and the region. Phase I of the online map, completed in 2011, is on NCPC’s website and focuses on memorials that fall under the jurisdiction of the Commemorative Works Act (CWA). This map provides information—developed as part of Washington as Commemoration, a joint research project between National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service—to help locate and learn about commemorative works in Washington, DC. The current effort focuses on non-CWA federal memorials. Interactive map of commemorative works June 7, 2012 PAGE 4 PUBLIC OUTREACH AND PLANNING ASSISTANCE RECENT EVENTS Speaker Series: Sustainable Installation Planning NCPC’s most recent Speaker Series event, Sustainable Installation Planning, took place on May 17 at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus. The program featured a keynote by Dr. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Speaker Series: Sustainable Environment, and an in-depth presentation of the just-released update to the Unified Installation Planning Facilities Criteria by Dr. Mark Gillem. They were joined by David Robertson, MWCOG, and James Manzelmann, Defense Intelligence Agency, for a moderated discussion. This event furthered NCPC’s continuing dialog on sustainability with the Department of Defense and regional stakeholders. National Mall Design Competition Winners On May 31, NCPC, the National Building Museum, and the Trust for the National Mall presented A Conversation with the National Mall Design Competition Winners. Representatives from each of the winning teams presented their concepts for revitalizing parts of the National Mall. They then participated in a panel discussion led by John Beardsley, Director of Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks. Representatives from the winning teams included Constitution Gardens: Rogers Marvel Architects (Robert Rogers) & Peter Walker and Partners (Adam Greenspan); Union Square: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (Rodrigo Abela) & Davis Brody Bond (Peter Cook); and the Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater: OLIN (Skip Graffam) & Weiss/Manfredi (Marion Weiss). The event took place in the National Building Museum’s great hall and drew 285 attendees. University of Pennsylvania Urban Design and Transportation Project This spring NCPC staff supported a team of students from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) School of Design and Planning on their semester project. The focus of the studio was on highway removals, a movement in urban and transportation planning gaining currency in the United States with successes in Boston and San Francisco. Ken Walton and Stacy Wood attended the UPenn student review this month along with planners and urban designers from New York City, New Haven, Montreal, Toronto, and New Orleans. The proposals reflected excellent work on many levels,