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Public Space Committee says Shell, No

by David Alpert   •   December 19, 2008 11:27 am

Capping a very long hearing yesterday, DC's Public Space Committee agreed with resident opposition and denied the public space permit for a new Shell gas station at 14th Street and Maryland Avenue, NE. This site is around the corner from the revitalizing H Street corridor, and within a few blocks of two other gas stations. Echoing the "livable, walkable" mantra, several residents talked about how another gas station is not right for the community and not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

The Public Space Committee, which comprises representatives from DDOT, the Office of Planning, DCRA, and others, doesn't get to decide whether the owners can operate a gas station, but can decide how the station might use public space. Current zoning in this area allows gas stations as a "special exception", which the Board of Zoning Adjustment decides. The Public Space Committee reviews any use of public space, including the public park(ing) area between the sidewalk and the property line. On Washington's original L'Enfant diagonal avenues, such as Maryland Avenue, this public park(ing) area is particularly wide. And the owners want to pave or repave most of the public space surrounding their proposed gas station.

Fortunately for opponents of the project, Public Space Committee members found plenty of negative impacts from this proposal on the public space. Chairman Matthew Marcou focused the discussion quickly on some of the key issues. While the owners may currently have the right to let vehicles cut across the public space to access the property to and from the street, cars would also drive on the public space to circulate around the pumps and queue up to pump gas. Also, the pumps are close enough to the property line that many cars would partially sit on public space while filling up. Marcou also pointed out flaws in truck circulation, the size and height of the proposed sign, and the wide driveways.

(Marcou, by the way, repeatedly mentioned that he uses Zipcar instead of having his own car. Sometimes he brought it up in amusing ways, such as when discussing the sizes of various vehicles, where he said, "I'm a member of Flexcar [now Zipcar], so I own thousands of vehicles.")

Many other gas stations in DC do share these same flaws, but those are grandfathered and don't conform to current standards. Office of Planning's representative on Public Space, Chris Shaheen, also laid out a case why this area is different than, say, upper Wisconsin Avenue. He explained how the public park(ing) area creates a "sequence of open spaces" which L'Enfant-era planners expected to be landscaped, not paved. In particular, Shaheen argued, along avenues like Maryland, the public park(ing) connects small triangular parks and leads to the Capitol. Therefore, we should consider this public space as part of a public park network.

The applicant's attorney, Richard Aguglia, argued that DC needs more gas stations. Aguglia said that the number of stations fell from 277 at some point in the past (I didn't write down the exact date) to 130 in 2002, and further since; after the ballpark opened, more gas stations closed nearby. "DC needs a gas station at this location," he argued. The Council even considered, but rejected, a measure years ago to create tax incentives for new gas stations. But the owner of some nearby stations testified that he sells much less gas (25,000 gallons a month) than in the past. The drop in gas stations isn't a bad thing. People are driving less, commuters prefer to just get their gas in the suburbs, and we can now utilize land in DC in much better ways than with suburban gas stations.

Aguglia also said that any other use of the property, like a 2-3 story building, would occupy more of the lot and lack space for parking. That's true, but makes the logical leap that another use needs on-site parking. A garden shop or daycare center, some of the alternate uses neighbors have suggested, could do fine with just street parking, assuming our zoning laws allowed it. Thinking that a gas station is the best use of a small lot, because other uses require parking while the gas station only requires paving over the public space, is a very gas-station-oriented view of our city.

The property owners can now redesign their proposal to use less public space, if they choose, though they would have to significantly shrink the station to fit everything on the property. They also might appeal the ruling, an eventuality the ANC's lawyer, Richard Luna, warned about. Or, perhaps they will simply find a more "livable, walkable" business to establish on this property to better serve the H Street neighborhood.