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NCPC wants more power over streetcar wires

by David Alpert   •   June 25, 2010 11:31 am

NCPC is asking the DC Council to agree to give it a greater authority over the District's streetcar system than its federal mandate may currently provide. If it doesn't get that power, NCPC may try to discourage the FTA from giving DC the grant to extend the streetcar to Benning Road Metro or possibly file a lawsuit.


Image from Google Street View.

According to attorney Andrea Ferster at the recent streetcar overhead wire hearing, the law gives NCPC approval over certain issues including federal property and buildings, but not over streets.

Therefore, Ferster argued that while NCPC has an advisory role on overhead wires, they don't get to formally approve or disapprove a street project. (There may be legal nuances, but this seems to be the same reason DDOT was able to go ahead with poles on the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane despite CFA's dismissal of the idea.)

However, in furtherance of its mission to "protect the federal interest," NCPC is asking the DC Council to modify its overhead wire legislation to grant it more decisionmaking authority over wires within the City of Washing than its current advisory role provides, according to Ellen Jones of DC Surface Transit, the nonprofit organization supported by BIDs and other groups which helps market the Circulator and is advocating for the streetcar program.

NCPC Chairman Preston Bryant sent a memo to the other Commissioners saying that,

There are sticking points as to NCPC's suggested amendments for our proposed role in the planning and approval process so that we can achieve a certain level of involvement and can properly defend any decisions we make in terms of the streetcar plan and overhead wires.
If they don't get this power,
NCPC reserves the right to bring suit on this matter. Whether we exercise that option remains to be seen and would require further discussion by the Commission.

Last, as things appear to be unfolding where NCPC cannot support the District legislation, it is likely that we will not be able to positively opine on the District's Urban Circulator Grant funding application to the Federal Transit Administration or on future requests for federal funding from the FTA. The District's application to the FTA is for upwards of $25 million. This is substantial funding.

Absent an agreement being struck between NCPC and the District on the proposed legislation, NCPC will likely notify the FTA of our legal opinion concerning overhead wires and other federal interests.

Should the FTA not grant this or future funding, it calls into question the District's ability to go forward with the streetcar project. Thus, a lot depends on NCPC getting comfortable with the proposed District legislation.

I have asked, but don't yet have details on NCPC's proposed amendments. If they just want approval for streetcars crossing the Mall or key viewsheds, that seems fine. If they want approval power over streetcars anywhere in DC, that sounds unfair. Most likely it's somewhere in between, like just the L'Enfant City or just a core portion like Union Station to Georgetown.

I can understand NCPC's desire to have the power to ensure wires don't go across major viewsheds, like Pennsylvania Avenue or 16th Street. Therefore, NCPC should identify a narrow set of corridors that do matter, like any road with a clear view of the Capitol, White House, or one of the three major monuments, and ensure that batteries are used instead of wires in any of those areas.

But blocks which feel like part of a commercial district instead of a monumental extension of the Mall, like most of K Street, don't need to be included. It doesn't really affect the "federal interest" what those streets look like any more than there's a federal interest in the streets of Crystal City.

If DC gives up some of its legal right to govern its streets and NCPC ends up being particularly obstinate, requiring wireless operation everywhere west of Union Station even on blocks without any important views on H and K Streets NW, DC could end up shooting itself in the foot. On the other hand, maybe averting conflict is best and once the wires are up on H, everyone will look at them and realize it's all a tempest in a teapot and they aren't nearly as intrusive as some feared.

33 comments
Tags: DC, DC Council, NCPC, overhead wires, streetcars
Related posts:
David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater. 

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What IS NCPC?

by Malnurtured Snay on Jun 25, 2010 11:34 am • link • report

So let me get this straight. NCPC, a federal agency, currently doesn't have the power to meddle in a particular set of local DC concerns. So they're asking DC's locally- and democratically-elected government body to give up some of the power afforded to them and give it to a federal agency.

Or, put another way, NCPC doesn't have the power to stop the streetcar system from going forward, but they're asking the body that's currently in the process of allowing the system to be built to give them power to not allow it to be built.

That's like me asking a store for permission to steal merchandise.

by Tim on Jun 25, 2010 11:39 am • link • report

@Malnurtured Snay

A Federal agency that apparently worships at the altar of McDonnell. Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered the era of government shakedowns.

But in all seriousness, the NCPC is struggling for relevance. Let them keep authority over the Mall and precious "viewsheds" if that is truly their primary concern. Any future streetcar routes will require substantial planning and support from a whole host of federal agencies anyway, even if just to get necessary federal transit funds. And if the plan is to move forward with wireless technologies as they become more widespread and affordable, then I don't see any real conflicts. It's all a bunch of puffery.

by Adam L on Jun 25, 2010 11:44 am • link • report

@Malnurtured National Capital Planning Commission http://www.ncpc.gov/

by Dennis Jaffe on Jun 25, 2010 12:35 pm • link • report

Can you imagine the symbolic significance if somehow there was a streetcar running down Pennsylvania Avenue from Washington Circle Park to Eastern Market.

by Kevin M Diffily on Jun 25, 2010 12:39 pm • link • report

"once the wires are up on H, everyone will look at them and realize it's all a tempest in a teapot and they aren't nearly as intrusive as some feared."

This really is more of a non-issue than many seem to realise.
Anybody who hasn't been to a city with a recent streetcar installation should take a Google Street View look at, say Salt Lake City UT or Portland OR. Then do the same for Benning Road or H Street NE and ask: is somebody going to assert that the Mormons are less protective of the viewscape around their temple grounds than we can -- and will -- be about those two streets?

by intermodal commuter on Jun 25, 2010 12:41 pm • link • report

So let me just get this straight. NCPC is threatening to derail (pardon the pun) the streetcars by bitching about it to the FTA unless DC gives the NCPC the power to cancel it themselves? Maybe the FTA will have the wisdom to ignore NCPC when making that decision.

I feel like at this point, the wires aren't even an issue anymore. It seems more like a pissing contest.

by Teyo on Jun 25, 2010 12:46 pm • link • report

How about the Council vote on a symbolic resolution to disband the NCPC instead? The whole situation with the NCPC is reminiscent of the Army Corps of Engineers when people finally figured out that a lot of their busy work was actually destructive to the environment.

by aaa on Jun 25, 2010 12:46 pm • link • report

It sounds like NCPC is trying real hard to work with the Council so that it doesn't shoot itself in the foot by allowing DDOT to continue going down a road that will guarantee it neither gets the required funding for the project nor the wires exemptions it is seeking. This is a real positive step. They could have instead just shut the whole thing down. At least several federal laws have already been violated in the construction that's occurred to date. On that basis alone the feds could have sent the whole streetcar project packing.

by Lance on Jun 25, 2010 12:59 pm • link • report

@Lance

The Home Rule Act makes the Mayor the primary agent for the city's planning. The NCPC, CFA, and other federal agencies were relegated to advisory roles in the process, only retaining limited direct powers when it comes to federally managed properties. Federal agencies don't have the power to just "shut the whole thing down" unless Congress would like to act and overturn the explicit authority they granted to D.C.'s municipal government. NCPC knows they don't have any direct control over the streetcar plan and has thus resorted to trying to exert control by other means.

by Adam L on Jun 25, 2010 1:10 pm • link • report

Indulge me with one federal law that has been broken to-date.

by to Lance on Jun 25, 2010 1:12 pm • link • report

@David NCPC is asking the DC Council to agree to give it a greater authority over the District's streetcar system than its federal mandate may currently provide.

Something to keep in mind ... The Homerule Charter was given to us by Congress ... who can rescind or amend it at any time. What the feds, and their representatives such as NCPC, want to be their mandate is what is their mandate.

If you don't think that is politically feasible, you need look no further back than just a little over 10 years ago when the Control Board was brought in.

I really think what the Feds are doing here is simply saying 'include us in the process so that we can guide you now to help you achieve what you're looking to achieve ... without going down the wrong road such as stringing wires everywhere.

Why anyone would object to that is beyond me. This is a costly system ... One that will be practically impossible to do with District funding alone. This is the national capital. Why wouldn't the feds want the capital to set the standard for the 21st century ... with wireless technology ... vs. falling back on soviet-designed systems? With enough funding, anything is possible. Let's not bite the hand that feeds us ... else we end up with just a single line over on H St NE ... and nothing else.

by Lance on Jun 25, 2010 1:15 pm • link • report

Sometimes I wonder if Lance is as much of a turd burglar in person as he is on GGW. Then I move on, realizing he is actually C100's Meg Maguire in disguise.

by Ward 6 on Jun 25, 2010 1:16 pm • link • report

The comment by "Ward 6" is very insightful. Shows how useful these blogs are.

I guess if Lance was a Streetcar at All Costs person he would be much more respected.

by JRinDC on Jun 25, 2010 1:18 pm • link • report

@Adam, Are you new to DC? You must be if you don't understand that ultimately the feds will do want they want to do.

by Lance on Jun 25, 2010 1:19 pm • link • report

Why wouldn't the feds want the capital to set the standard for the 21st century ... with wireless technology ... vs. falling back on soviet-designed systems? With enough funding, anything is possible. Let's not bite the hand that feeds us ...

Shorter @Lance:

"I, for one, welcome our bureaucratic overlords."

(Incidentally, top-shelf provocateurism. Chapeau!)

:)

by oboe on Jun 25, 2010 1:23 pm • link • report

@Lance

Only if Congress cares enough to act. The truth of the matter is that most members of Congress couldn't care less about what happens in the District, as long as they introduce legislation to keep their constituents happy on issues like gay marriage and guns. If the city actually proposes a plan that has wires strung up across Pennsylvania Avenue or the National Mall, then you may see some movement. Until then, I doubt Congress will pay very much attention.

by Adam L on Jun 25, 2010 1:23 pm • link • report

@Lance

Don't you think, with a majority democratic congress and an administration that has been promoting mass transit funding and sustainable alternatives, that the doom and gloom you are forecasting is simply spun in your Committee of 100 colored glasses?

Really, can't we look beyond our noses, rather than down them, to figure out how to optimize our transportation options for the 21st Century?

@oboe - well played on the overlords!

by William on Jun 25, 2010 1:28 pm • link • report

What Adam said.

The idea that NCPC is going to use their significant leverage with the FTA is pretty quaint. My guess is that the current administration, and its folks at FTA could not really give two shits about what the NCPC thinks on an issue like this. Pardon my French.

You basically lobby the White House (and/or LaHood). If you get permission you tell the NCPC to go get stuffed. If not, then you come back and talk to NCPC.

Contra Lance's earlier post, you certainly don't pull off your trousers before you've even been asked to dance.

by oboe on Jun 25, 2010 1:33 pm • link • report

The "feds" encompass a wide array of disparate interests, so it's a bit of a misnomer to say they will or won't do something

As it stands now, I have a hard time seeing Congress moving in any unified fashion on this. Why would any of them give a crap about overhead wires in DC, one way or the other? In fact, the only interest I see from Congress is the Oregon delegation being roundly supportive of streetcars, in the hopes of building them out there. And the Republicans will only care if the streetcars get gay married or smoke a joint.

For the executive branch, Sec. LaHood actually helped open the Penn bike path, so clearly he doesn't seem to care about the CFA/NCPC's objections too much. Why would he bother to get involved in a pissing match with DC about overhead wires.

So far as I can see, despite the antiquated Federal Law on these wires, the only interest on the Federal level on dealing with it is CFA/NCPC. They can throw a tantrum, but I don't see anyone else in the Federal government wasting political capital backing them up.

by TimK on Jun 25, 2010 1:34 pm • link • report

NCPC seems to be doing what the CFA has done for years: always trying to expand its authority outward, even if its enabling statutes don't give it such expanded jurisdiction.

by Fritz on Jun 25, 2010 1:35 pm • link • report

@Progress DC:

Here is a link to a street with Portland's streetcars. I almost didn't notice the wire. It is very minimal compared to the old thicker wires.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=portland,+or&sll=38.902538,-77.029143&sspn=0.012357,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Portland,+Multnomah,+Oregon&ll=45.525035,-122.681183&spn=0.022249,0.038581&z=15&layer=c&cbll=45.524934,-122.68118&panoid=csaCVh1BPsOPWIbcDxvnfg&cbp=12,32.64,,0,1.5

Please warn us before posting links to such horrifying photos! That treeless Hellscape, with the wires blotting out the sun! It will haunt me in my dreams!

by oboe on Jun 25, 2010 1:52 pm • link • report

The city, and most here, have scoffed at NCPC all along, and they continue to scoff at them at the peril of the project. This could have all been cleared up years ago, but it's come to this: an office of the federal government will be reporting to another part of the federal government that a bunch of local yahoos shouldn't get federal money because they're thumbing their noses at the feds. Lots of congress-folk, with local yahoos of their own competing for this same federal largess, will be more than happy to take DC out of the running and do whatever it is the cranks at NCPC are asking for.

DDOT and the city need to play ball with NCPC now before it gets worse.

by crin on Jun 25, 2010 2:05 pm • link • report

It is important to always remember that representatives from Maryland and Virginia sit on the NCPC Board. Theoretically at least, these are people who might not always want to see DC succeed, especially if that success comes at the cost of their own jurisdiction. For example, if H Street NE once again thrives, that could mean fewer Capitol Hill residents shopping and paying taxes in Arlington. A stretch, perhaps, but still. Call me paranoid, but I prefer not to take chances and assume that our suburban neighbors always have the District's best interests at heart. (Imagine the outcry if someone decided to give Mayor Fenty final say over whether Columbia Pike should have a streetcar!)

In short, NCPC is another indignity that DC and its residents have to live with. But we certainly do not have to roll over and take it with a smile or, god forbid, with gratitude, as some seem to suggest we should do. Yes, the federal governments has final say. Guess what? I think that (for lack of a better word) sucks. Really, really sucks. I am fully supportive of our duly elected officials fighting back as much as they possibly can. And I have absolutely no patience for those who say we should be thankful that our federal masters at NCPC or NPS or on Capitol Hill are there, ready to set us straight when we undertake misguided projects to promote economic development in our city or to improve mobility for District residents and taxpayers.

By the way, in case anyone is wondering who NCPC Chairman Preston Bryant is, he was the Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, with a Richmond mailing address and telephone number. Before that, he served in Virginia Legislature as Republican from Lynchburg (a city noted worldwide for its forward-looking urban planning and transportation policies). Guess what? While Bryant may have done some good and admirable things in those positions, I could really care less what he has to say about streetcars or anything else in the District until he moves here and starts voting and paying taxes here. And I fully support my elected officials pushing back against his interference in what should be a local matter.

(Perhaps Byrant is open to some suggestions from District elected officials about how the Administration in which he served might have better addressed the foreclosure fiasco in Prince William County or the ongoing planning nightmare that are Fairfax and Loudon Counties............Or perhaps Bryant could set up a symposium in which District elected officials could give unsolicited advice to him and the Mayor of Lynchburg about that city's urban planning, economic development and transportation plans....)

by rg on Jun 25, 2010 2:12 pm • link • report

@rg ... Perhaps a place to start would be for DDOT to do some real planning ... including planning funding ... and not from federal sources ... to show the feds we really can do it all on our own ... What do you think?

by Lance on Jun 25, 2010 2:20 pm • link • report

@Lance

No federal dollars? Do you realize how many federal dollars pay for transportation projects of all stripes in the US?

by Alex B. on Jun 25, 2010 2:26 pm • link • report

@rg:

Call me paranoid...

Dude...That's pretty paranoid.

By the way, in case anyone is wondering who NCPC Chairman Preston Bryant is, he was the Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, with a Richmond mailing address and telephone number. Before that, he served in Virginia Legislature as Republican from Lynchburg (a city noted worldwide for its forward-looking urban planning and transportation policies). Guess what? While Bryant may have done some good and admirable things in those positions, I could really care less what he has to say about streetcars or anything else in the District until he moves here and starts voting and paying taxes here. And I fully support my elected officials pushing back against his interference in what should be a local matter.

Looks like Mr Bryant of the Lynchburg GOP was recently appointed to a 6-year-term by none other than President Obama. Thanks, Pres! Good to see that elections have consequences!

My hope is that, at some point in the next century or so, when a Democratic president is elected, he'll actually take a bit of time to *purge* all the assorted right-wing apparatchiks from various government agencies (say, for example, the MMS) rather than increasing their number in the name of bipartisan comity.

Sigh.

by oboe on Jun 25, 2010 2:30 pm • link • report

Hey NCPC want some baguettes with that whine?

Seriously, this is a hollow threat. Like the Committee of 100, it's an organization grasping for relevance. As others said, there is no such thing as "the feds". Being one insignificant arm of the federal government doesn't give you the full force of the entire government.

by Reid on Jun 25, 2010 2:36 pm • link • report

So you are suggesting that DC, alone among US cities, should forego all federal transportation funding (or perhaps all federal grant funding) just to prove a point?!? Seriously?!? I am sure that Virginia and Maryland would really love that!

Or are you suggesting that every US city, in exchange for any federal grant, should subject itself to the whims of NCPC?

As for planning, DDOT has been working on this project for over a decade. Have you read the hundreds upon hundreds of pages of detailed analysis and planning in the Alternatives Analysis?

by rg on Jun 25, 2010 2:53 pm • link • report

Paranoid? Perhaps. But it is naive to think that VA and MD elected officials have the best interests of the District in mind and at heart.

And yes, this is NCPC grasping for relevance. Here is what it's statutory authority is:

(e) Principal Duties.— The principal duties of the National Capital Planning Commission include—
(1) preparing, adopting, and amending a comprehensive plan for the federal activities in the National Capital and making related recommendations to the appropriate developmental agencies; and
(2) serving as the central planning agency for the Government within the National Capital region and reviewing the development programs of the developmental agencies to advise as to consistency with the comprehensive plan.

And here is what the next section of the US Code says:

(a) Planning Responsibilities.— The Mayor of the District of Columbia is the central planning agency for the government of the District of Columbia in the National Capital and is responsible for coordinating the planning activities of the District government and for preparing and implementing the District elements of the comprehensive plan for the National Capital, which may include land use elements, urban renewal and redevelopment elements, a multiyear program of public works for the District, and physical, social, economic, transportation, and population elements.

Seems pretty clear to me that NCPC is grasping......

by rg on Jun 25, 2010 3:00 pm • link • report

Fenty appointing a jogging buddy with no planning experience to NCPC has nothing to do with NCPC's attitude towards Fenty. Yeah, right.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2010/06/fenty_appointee_to_ncpc_a_retread.html?surround=lfn

by crin on Jun 25, 2010 3:55 pm • link • report

Why wouldn't the feds want the capital to set the standard for the 21st century ... with wireless technology ... vs. falling back on soviet-designed systems?

@Lance: the overhead contact wire systems used worldwide by streetcars was invented in 1887 in Richmond VA. That's a bit before the dawn of the Soviet-era and a place---to the best of my knowledge---that has managed to resist then spread of Red Menace.

Maybe DC should catch up with the 20th Century before grasping at alledged 21st Century technologies that are costly and aren't ready prime-time. Making streetcars relient on esoteric technologies that were too expense to operate and maintain is how DC lost a world-class streetcar network in the first place (or was that the intent of your provocative misdirections in the first place?).

by T R Hickey on Jun 28, 2010 10:21 am • link • report

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