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 Tennis Center in Northwest Washington, DC. (7381)

8. Found that the proposed second-stage Planned Unit Development for the new George Washington University Textile 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

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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

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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 (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 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

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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 : 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 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, resulting in very impressive planning, policy, urban design, and economic development solutions. June 7, 2012

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2012 AIA Convention Washington DC was the host city for the 2012 AIA National Convention, and NCPC’s staff members were actively involved. In addition to staffing a booth on the exhibit floor, staff participated in many of the conference presentations. NCPC’s Bill Dowd and Diane Sullivan, along with CFA’s Tom Luebke and consultant Otto Condon, provided a status report on the SW Ecodistrict initiative. Ken Walton participated on a panel describing an energy assessment process that he helped design as part of the SW Ecodistrict initiative. Ken also participated on a panel describing the variety of options and potential career paths for recent graduates of architecture programs. The program was sponsored by AIA DIV, an organization within the AIA designed to highlight opportunities for women and minorities in the architectural profession.

Washington Architectural Foundation and AIA/DC NCPC staff carried out several outreach projects with the Washington Architectural Foundation and AIA/DC. The Washington Architectural Foundation and the Constance Whitaker Maffin Foundation presented the 2012 Constance Whitaker Maffin Memorial Competition Award to a student from Washington’s Phelps Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (Phelps ACE) High School during the AIA 2012 convention. The Maffin High School Design Competition focuses on public space, and provides students experience in planning and design, motivates them to use analytical skills and creativity in problem solving, and inspires community action. This year’s competition required students to design an outdoor performance space on the Southwest Washington waterfront. NCPC provided data for the design process and participated as mentors to students and jurors for the competition. Staff also supported the AIA/DC Architecture in the Schools program at Phelps Architecture Construction Engineering High School. Architecture in the Schools (AIS) matches volunteer architects with public school teachers to enrich the learning experience of children. NCPC staff has had an on-going relationship with Phelps US First Robotics at Phelps High School and provided support for the first group of seniors to complete the program with their Introduction to Engineering certification exam. NCPC staff also worked as mentors in the US FIRST Robotics at Phelps. US FIRST’s mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self- confidence, communication, and leadership. Staff mentored the student in computer modeling and graphics, and video production skills. June 7, 2012

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Flood Protection and Sustainability Planning Office of Public Engagement Director Julia Koster provided a lunchtime presentation on NCPC’s work on flood protection and sustainability planning at a May 21 climate adaptation conference hosted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Delegation from Changhai, China On Friday, May 25, Public Affairs Specialist Stephen Staudigl presented an agency overview to an 11-person delegation from Shanghai, China. The group is participating in a six month training program at the University of Maryland and wanted to learn about urban planning in the nation’s capital and NCPC’s role. Storm water in the Federal Triangle

Transformation of Burke Park NCPC recently released a new video, produced in conjunction with the DC Office of Planning that captures a recent tree-planting event supporting the transformation of Burke Park.

IV. AWARD

NCPC received the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve - Above and Beyond Award on May 24, recognizing the agency’s continued support of Policy and Research Director and Army Lt. Col. Mike Sherman during his one-year tour of duty in Iraq.

V. PERSONNEL Burke Park

After 33 years of federal service, including 16 years at NCPC, Eugene Keller (Gene), community planner in the Planning Research and Policy Division retired on June 2, 2012. Gene worked on a multitude of key NCPC initiatives including the Comprehensive Plan and environmental and historic preservation policies. He performed critical research for the Comp Plan’s Environment Element. He served admirably as the resident NEPA and environmental compliance expert. Previously assigned to the Urban Design and Plan Review Division, he applied his expertise to the review of over 425 projects, including master plans for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Forest Glen Section, Armed Forces Retirement Home, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda Campus, and Fort McNair. Gene also worked on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Georgetown Waterfront Park, Unified Communications Center at St. Elizabeths East Campus, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial and the U.S. Institute of Peace Headquarters projects. Throughout Mr. Keller’s tenure with NCPC, he was recognized for his strong research abilities, Gene Keller attention to detail, broad institutional knowledge, keen wit, and great sense of humor. We wish Gene a very happy retirement. June 7, 2012

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Rebecca Carroll, a community planner with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, (NAVFAC), began a three month rotation with the Urban Design and Plan Review Division on June 4. We look forward to having Rebecca with us as an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding between NCPC and NAVFAC on both project review and long range planning issues.

This past month, several students began summer internships in the Physical Planning Division. Kristen Fulmer is a rising senior at Virginia Tech where she is pursuing a Public and Urban Affairs degree with a concentration in environmental affairs and property management. Kristen will support staff’s efforts to finalize the SW Ecodistrict report, along with other sustainability initiatives.

Michael Limberg has a Bachelors of Arts in Architecture from Miami University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Community Planning degree at the University of Maryland. During his internship, Mike will focus on helping to update the 1992 Mall Roads Streetscape Manual so that it reflects current design standards and best practices for sustainability.

On May 29, Hannah Dolan joined the Office of Public Engagement as a summer intern. Hannah is a rising senior at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and is participating in the school’s 2012 DC. Summer Study Program. She has a dual major in English and Political Science.

Cecelia Hagan joined the staff of the Office of General Counsel as a summer legal intern. Cecelia just completed her second year at the Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, NC. Ms. Hagan is interested in the field of urban planning and municipal law. She previously worked, among others, as a legal intern for the City Attorney’s Office of the City of Winston Salem, NC. where she worked on condemnation proceedings and analyzed issues legal pertaining to eminent domain and commercial real estate leases.

Julia Benjamin has joined the Policy and Research Division as a summer intern. Julia is in her third year of the Bachelor of Architecture program at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and has a double minor in Geography and International Studies. She has a strong interest in planning and policymaking and will assist with the ongoing work on commemoration.