Minutes

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D

Special Meeting – September 20, 2006

This Special Meeting was held in order to hear concluding presentations and take a vote on Zoning Commission Case #05-42 Sibley Memorial Hospital Consolidated PUD and Zoning Map Amendment, which is set for hearing on Thursday, October 12, 2006. The ANC must have its report filed to the Zoning Commission no later than Thursday, October 5^th, which would be just one day after the next regularly-scheduled meeting.

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chair Alma Gates.  Other commissioners present: Heuer, Thompson, Wells, Shapley and Mullane. Commissioner Haas was absent with notice.

Three Sibley-related items were on the agenda:

1)   A presentation by the Department of Transportation’s Bike Trails group concerning a proposed bicycle trail along Dalecarlia Parkway. As part of its amenities package for the PUD, Sibley has proposed to contribute $35,000 to this project.

2)   An update from Jeff Jennings, Ward 3 liaison for DDOT, on outstanding traffic issues related to the Sibley application.

3)   Discussion and vote.

Dalecarlia Parkway Bike Trail- Chris Holben, Bicycle Program Specialist, DDOT

Chris Holben presented the plan for the trail, which he said is in the “very, very early planning stages.” After examining the road, the tentative plan is to place a trail on the east, or residential, side of the road. The primary considerations are safety/topography.

DDOT has determined that it owns roughly 15-20 feet of land on either side of Dalecarlia Parkway. A tree survey would need to be done. There would need to be two street crossings, at Rockwood Parkway and Warren Street.

Bike trails are funded out of fees gathered on city rights-of-way. Funds have now been set aside for the design phase of the project, which will take 6-9 months and cost about $200-250k (in the FY07-08 budget and set to begin in January, 2007).

It will cost about $1 million for construction. Sibley’s contribution would help pay for construction. Construction funds have not been budgeted and would come from other than ROW funding, in the FY08-09 budget.

A Warren Street resident raised strenuous opposition to the project, stating that homes such as his that back up against Rockwood have planted bamboo screening that could be lost, and that a trail could reduce property values. Commissioner Thompson said that the fact that the project is in its early stages, and that as yet the community has not been consulted, would be taken into consideration by the Commission in its vote.

Update on Traffic Issues – Jeff Jennings, Ward 3 Liaison to DDOT

Jeff Jennings said DDOT has asked Sibley to provide additional information concerning several items, and had received a response on some items. He said DDOT continues to have concerns about the reconfiguration of the intersection of Loughboro Road and Dalecarlia Parkway, both from a design and safety standpoint.

Another concern is the impact of traffic during off-peak hours (between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.). DDOT is also examining crash data at nearby intersections and gather data on vehicle speeds on Dalecarlia Parkway.

One benefit for the community is a shuttle bus Sibley has committed to operate between the hospital and the Friendship Heights Metro station during daytime hours (6 a.m. to 5 p.m.). This shuttle will be available free of charge for area residents.

Finally, DDOT has concern about heavy truck traffic on Little Falls and the safety of those trucks entering and exiting onto Dalecarlia Parkway.

Commissioner Mullane said this information was all helpful.

Jennings said DDOT needs answers to other questions, such as whether Sibley will fund construction of the new intersection at Loughboro and Dalecarlia, which DDOT would require it to do. There are a lot of intersections in Ward 3 that need work, so DDOT isn’t likely to prioritize this intersection for its own funding.

Design, safety and funding are all outstanding concerns. Jennings said his understanding was that Sibley would contribute to construction contingent on receiving Zoning Commission approval for the full scope of its project, including a medical office building for 90-100 doctors.

At another intersection, Loughboro Road and MacArthur Boulevard, it appears DDOT will be able to implement one of the hospital’s proposed mitigation measures which is to re-time traffic lights to move traffic more quickly.

Discussion and Vote on Zoning Commission Case #05-24 Sibley Memorial Hospital

The applicant is in Commissioner Thompson’s single member district.

Commissioner Thompson presented a resolution including a) key recommendations and justification; and b) conditions. Commissioners agreed to consider the recommendations before continuing on to discuss and vote on conditions.

Commissioner Heuer asked Commissioner Thompson if her key recommendations constituted a motion. Commissioner Thompson said yes, and Commissioner Heuer moved to second. Discussed ensued.

Commissioner Shapley protested that the key recommendations – reducing the building size, the number of floors, the number of practicing doctors, and the garage size; and opposing SP-2 designation – came out of the blue.

Commissioner Thompson outlined the rationale for reducing the building height from 90 feet to 65 feet: Among other things, 65 feet is the matter-of-right height for SP-1, and eliminating two floors above grade would result in a 65-foot building and a proportionately lower volume of daily traffic.

Commissioner Mullane said that on the one hand traffic is the biggest issue. On the other hand, if the ANC placed too many conditions on the project, it might have the effect of killing it.

Commissioner Wells said she continued to have strong concerns both about the size of the building and the complexity of the intersection issues.

Commissioner Shapley stated that the overall increase in traffic volume would be only 7 percent.

Commissioner Heuer demanded the chair call the question, and commissioners agreed. The vote was 4-2-0 to support the key recommendations with Commissioners Shapley and Mullane opposed.

Discussion then turned to 12 proposed conditions.

Commissioner Heuer asked Commissioner Thompson if the conditions constituted a motion. Commissioner Thompson said she was making a motion to adopt the conditions. Commissioner Heuer seconded. Discussion ensued.

In the course of discussion, revisions were agreed to that resulted in eleven final conditions. Commissioners then voted 5-0-1 to adopt the 11 conditions, with Commissioner Mullane abstaining.

Chairman Gates moved to conclude the meeting at approximately 9:30 p.m.

The next meeting is the regularly-scheduled meeting of October 4, 2006.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Thompson

Secretary