Drawing by JBG Companies.

Yesterday, developer JBG Companies, opposing neighbors, and advocates faced off before the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a hearing about the proposed development on the Whitman-Walker site on 14th between S and Swann.

Streets surround the project on three sides along with an alley along the entire back side, spanning from S to Swann. Tom Coumaris owns a property across the alley, and seven years ago moved into the carriage house facing the alley to rent out the main house. He opposes locating the proposed loading and parking entrances off the alley because they will create noise next to his front door, and argues that the building will impede his light and air.

Joseph Freeman, owner of an 8-unit half-condo, half-rental building on Swann, also spoke against the project, along with several other neighbors. Freeman said, “The developer wants to kill neighborhood peace, light and access because it just wants to fatten its wallet. There is no compelling public interest in that.”

I disagree. There is a significant public interest in seeing this project built. A new project impacts not only the nearby residents, but every other person who walks, bikes, rides the bus, shops, eats, or works in the area. The BZA must consider the impacts of a project when considering variances and special exceptions. The immediate neighbors do feel the impact more acutely and their needs should receive greater consideration, but we must balance their needs against the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of other people who use this area as well.

More housing on this block positively impacts residents of the surrounding area. More housing increases the Metro ridership, enabling more service, lower fares, or lower taxes. It increases patronage for the businesses we like to enjoy. It lowers housing costs. It reduces our environmental footprint. And it lessens development pressure far out at the edge of the region, reducing traffic in the area.

Less parking also positively impacts residents of the area. The developer wants to build 90 spaces instead of the required 108, to limit the underground garage to two levels. If forced to build the full amount of parking, this project will create more traffic, reduce future Metro ridership and revenue, increase conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians or bicycles, and make the new housing more expensive.

Having the parking and loading face the alley positively impacts area residents. If forced to open onto 14th Street, the garage would increase pedestrian-vehicular conflicts on the much-busier 14th Street, conflict with the 14th Street bike lane, and reduce the street frontage available for retail.

The Utopia project curb cut was a very extraordinary circumstance. This is not. DC’s policy calls for garage entrances and loading docks in alleys. Sure, almost anyone would like to push negative impacts away from their own alley and onto the public realm. But alleys are the proper places for parking and loading.

As for light and air, the developer submitted studies showing that the building will only minimally overshadow the adjacent townhouses. And alternate designs they could have built as-of-right would have cast the same shadows. My three story townhouse is right across a narrower alley from a nine-story building, which doesn’t step back at all on higher floors. Having buildings of different sizes near each other is the reality of living in a city.

Fortunately, members of the BZA seemed to be appropriately balancing neighbors’ needs with those of the broader community. Zoning Commission member Gregory Jeffries talked about the value of density near Metro stations, and the role of alleys as the proper place for loading and parking in DC. (One rotating Zoning Commission member participates in many BZA cases.) Board members repeatedly pressed neighbors for suggestions about workable alternatives, but they presented none. DDOT and the Office of Planning did make some specific suggestions, which I’ll cover in an upcoming post, and which I hope the BZA will adopt when they rule on the case in January.