COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE COMMITTEE REPORT 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 DRAFT TO: All Councilmembers FROM: Chairman Phil Mendelson Committee of the Whole DATE: November 3, 2015 SUBJECT: Report on Bill 21-336, “Closing of a Franklin Street, N.W., Evarts Street, N.W., and Douglas Street, N.W. in Square 3128, S.O. 13-09432, Act of 2015” The Committee of the Whole, to which Bill 21-336, the “Closing of Franklin Street, N.W., Evarts Street, N.W., and Douglas Street, N.W. in Square 3128, S.O. 13-09432, Act of 2015” was referred, reports favorably thereon, and recommends approval by the Council. CONTENTS I. Background And Need ...............................................................1 II. Legislative Chronology ..............................................................3 III. Position Of The Executive .........................................................4 IV. Comments Of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions ..............4 V. National Capital Planning Commission Review........................4 VI. Summary Of Testimony .............................................................4 VII. Impact On Existing Law ..........................................................10 VIII. Fiscal Impact ............................................................................10 IX. Section-By-Section Analysis ...................................................10 X. Committee Action ....................................................................11 XI. Attachments .............................................................................11 I. BACKGROUND AND NEED On September 16, 2015, Bill 21-336, the “Closing of Franklin Street, N.W., Evarts Street, N.W., and Douglas Street, N.W. in Square 3128, S.O. 13-09432, Act of 2015” was introduced by Chairman Mendelson at the request of the Mayor. Bill 21-336 would authorize the closure of Franklin Street, N.W., Evarts Street, N.W., and Douglas Street, N.W., between North Capitol Street and 1st Street, N.W. The applicant is Vision McMillan Partners, LLC and the District of Columbia by and through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The purpose of the closing of these streets is to facilitate a major new redevelopment project at the former McMillan Reservoir Slow Sand Filtration Site. Committee of the Whole Nov. 3, 2015 Report on Bill 21-336 Page 2 of 11 The Street and Alley Closing and Acquisition Procedures Act of 1982, effective March 10, 1983 (D.C. Law 4-201; D.C. Official Code § 9-201 et seq.) (“Act”) establishes procedures for closing streets and alleys, opening new streets and alleys, naming public spaces, and other procedures related to streets and alleys. The Act authorizes the Council to close all or part of a street or alley, and establishes one standard for reviewing a street or alley closing application: whether the street or alley is determined by the Council to be needed for street or alley purposes. The Act also authorizes the Council to make approval of a street or alley closing contingent upon: (1) the dedication of land for street or alley purposes if the public interest would be served by such action; (2) the granting to the District of specific easements for public purposes; and (3) any other condition that the Council considers necessary. Pursuant to the Act, street and alley closing applications are submitted to the Surveyor of the District of Columbia who assigns a Surveyor’s Order (S.O.) number and collects applicable fees. The Surveyor requests comments from executive branch agencies and public utilities. A plat is prepared and the application is forwarded through the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs, which also solicits comments from executive branch agencies. When these reviews are completed, the application is transmitted to the Council in the form of a bill from the Mayor. Council members may also initiate action on an alley or street closing on their own by introducing a bill. In such cases, the Act provides that the Council cannot consider such a bill until the required reviews have been completed. Regarding Bill 21-336, all of the reviews have been completed without objection. The Act establishes notice requirements for street and alley closing legislation. The Council is required to publish notice of a street or alley closing in the District of Columbia Register. Further, the applicant is required to give written notice to all property owners abutting a block or alley affected by the proposed street or alley closure. The applicant is also required to post signs at each end of a block or each entrance to an alley affected by the street or alley closing legislation. The applicant is required to give the Council certification of compliance with these requirements. Regarding Bill 21-336, these requirements have been met. After street or alley closing legislation becomes law and all conditions required by the Council and the Act have been satisfied, the Surveyor records a copy of the act and plat in the Office of the Surveyor. Thereafter, the street or alley is deemed closed and title to the land reverts or vests in fee simple to the record owners as shown on the plat. The land becomes subject to tax and zoning laws in the same manner as the abutting land. The right of the public to use the street or alley typically ceases, and any proprietary interest of the United States or the District of Columbia in the street or alley ceases. If a closing plat shows an easement or dedication of land for public purposes, the land encompassed by the easement or dedication becomes available for the specified public purposes. The Development Project The McMillan Reservoir Slow Sand Filtration Site (“McMillan Site”) was conveyed to the District by the federal government in 1987. Prior to that, the site had been operational as a slow- sand water filtration system for 70 years. The property features two paved service courts that divide the site into three large, grassy open spaces. These open spaces are the roofs of 20 Committee of the Whole Nov. 3, 2015 Report on Bill 21-336 Page 3 of 11 unreinforced concrete filter beds that were covered by a layer of fill. In 2014, the Council approved three resolutions authorizing the Mayor to dispose of the property to Vision McMillan Partners (“VMP”) to redevelop the property into a combination of healthcare facilities, apartment buildings, townhouses, a recreational center, and open green space.1 VMP is a partnership between three development companies: Trammel Crow Company, EYA, and Jair Lynch Development Partners. Trammel Crow will construct over one million square feet of healthcare facilities; EYA will construct 146 townhouses; Jair Lynch will construct 531 apartment units in two buildings; and the District will be responsible for infrastructure, eight acres of park space, a 17,000 square foot recreational facility, and the preservation of a portion of the McMillan Site’s historical features. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2023. The streets to be closed were created by Subdivision in County Book 6, Page 93 “C.W. Dobbin’s Addition the City of Washington” on July 7, 1887.2 The streets exist on paper only, although they are not shown on the Highway Plan as they predate it. The streets must be closed to allow for subdivision of the property into townhome, commercial, multifamily, and District parcels. Subdivision is necessary to ensure that the needed permits can be obtained, the land disposition and development agreements can be executed, and complex horizontal and vertical development activities are completed according to the project schedule and within the disposition authority provided for in the McMillan Townhomes Parcels, Commercial Parcels, and Multifamily Parcels Disposition Extension Approval Resolution of 2015.3 Therefore, the Committee recommends approval of Bill 21-336. II. LEGISLATIVE CHRONOLOGY Sept. 16, 2015 Bill 21-336, the “Closing of Franklin Street, N.W., Evarts Street, N.W., and Douglas Street, N.W. in Square 3128, S.O. 13-09432, Act of 2015” is introduced by Chairman Mendelson at the request of the Mayor. Sept. 22, 2015 Bill 21-336 is “read” at a legislative meeting; on this date the referral of the bill to the Committee of the Whole is official. Sept. 25, 2015 Notice of Intent to Act on Bill 21-336 is published in the District of Columbia Register. Oct. 2, 2015 Notice of a Public Hearing on Bill 21-336 is published in the District of Columbia Register. Oct. 26, 2015 The Committee of the Whole holds a public hearing on Bill 21-336. 1 See The McMillan Residential Townhomes Parcel Disposition Approval Resolution of 2014 (Res. 20-0705; 62 DCR 1091), the McMillan Residential Multifamily Parcels Disposition Approval Resolution of 2009 (Res. 20-0706; 62 DCR 1094), and the McMillan Commercial Parcel Disposition Approval Resolution of 2014 (Res. 20-0707; 62 DCR 1097). 2 Testimony of Roland Driest, Surveyor for the District of Columbia, at the October 26, 2015 Public Hearing on Bill 21-336. 3 PR 21-307 Committee of the Whole Nov. 3, 2015 Report on Bill 21-336 Page 4 of 11 Nov. 3, 2015 The Committee of the Whole marks-up Bill 21-336. III. POSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE Roland Dreist, D.C. Surveyor, testified at the Committee’s public hearing on October 26, 2015. He stated that the purpose the street closings is to facilitate a major new redevelopment project at the former McMillan Reservoir Slow Sand Filtration Site. The streets to be closed were created by Subdivision in 1887 and were established before the current system of street dedication. He advised that the streets are not shown on the Highway because they predate the plan. Title to the streets appears to be with the District. The square footage of the street area to be closed is 209,070; with a 2016 tax assessed value of $50 per square foot, the total estimated value of the land is approximately $10.5 million. Mr. Dreist testified that there were no objections on the record, including none from the Executive branch agencies or utility companies.