Testimony by DC for Reasonable Development ::
Written testimony DC4RD TESTIMONY TO NCPC ON DC COMP PLAN
See video testimony here >> https://youtu.be/JPSIuDzt5uk?t=4270
After hearing the testimony, NCPC officials voted to approve the Comprehensive Plan concluding (without any planning studies on the record) that the changes to the Plan, including the Future Land Use Map, will not have a negative effect on the federal interests. Two NCPC commissioners abstained but wouldn’t explain what gave them pause.
Press Alert — DC for Reasonable Development, (202) 656-5874DC Residents to National Capital Planning Commission: Send the DC Comp Plan Back to the City Council and Mayor for Real Planning & Impact StudyOn Thursday, July 1, 2021, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) intends to review the DC Comprehensive Plan and its 1000+ pages of changes as approved by the DC City Council on May 18, 2021. The DC Comprehensive Plan and changes to it only come before the NCPC perhaps three times over a 15 to 20 year period.The July 1st NCPC hearing starts at 1pm, and the public can watch it live here :: https://www.ncpc.gov/liveThe role of the National Capital Planning Commission is to determine whether or not the amendments to the Plan and planning maps will not have a negative impact on federal interests, including nearby federal properties, agencies, workforce, and environs.There was an immediate swell of DC residents who signed up to testify after NCPC staff issued a report on Friday, June 25, 2021 that concluded the voluminous changes to the DC Comp Plan and planning maps won’t negatively impact federal interests. The problem, DC residents say, is there is absolutely no evidence or basis for this conclusion because no planning official or agency has conducted any adverse impact studies or planning analysis whatsoever over the past three years of deliberations.The DC Council Office of Racial Equity report on the DC Comp Plan changes makes clear that there is no complete or relevant study of impacts by the city’s desire to “unlock” of 200 million square feet of newly developable density, land, and air rights around the city, including nearby Federal properties. (see CORE Rpt Appendix at page 26).The Mayor and City Council want to open up the flood gates and have many more people move into the city and into taller denser buildings around the city and in proximity to the National Mall, the downtown core, and along some of the coastlines and subsequently nearby federal properties, including sensitive federal agencies and bases. DC residents believe that without impact studies the triggered increase in population will put even more burden on “already fragile utilities, sewer lines, transportation systems . . . threatening the ability and capacity for the central government to function.”
The Comp Plan changes allow downtown sized buildings to be constructed as a “matter-of-right” on DC’s flood plains such as in Anacostia, threatening to compel floodwaters into other nearby areas such as onto the Joint Base-Anacostia & Bolling that consists of the White House Communications Agency and US Secret Service outposts among important Dept of Defense needs. There has been absolutely no study of how the Comp Plan changes have been coordinated with anticipated flooding impacts to mitigate damage and harm to government functions.“Emergency response time will obviously be reduced or perhaps catastrophically impaired with more and more congestion in the streets and in the denser communities in the new bigger buildings to be sited newly around the federal interests and properties. Emergency egress routes such as up North Capitol past the Armed Forces Retirement Home or heading down South Capitol past Fort McNair will become less available as taller denser buildings and more population in DC make streets more congested and less passable in times of crisis. Same goes for East Capitol Street out over the Anacostia river. … There are no walls between DC and the federal interests and properties and workforce that ensure our central government continues to operate as efficiently and safely as possible. The significant changes made by local officials we see in the voluminous amendments to the Comp Plan and planning maps were required to be studied, but were not.” From Testimony submitted to NCPC by DC for Reasonable Development (see attached below).
NCPC Commissioners include local officials like Arrington Dixon and Linda Argo alongside representatives from National Park Service, Dept of Defense, Secty of the Interior, Homeland Security, the House of Representatives, Government Operations Subcommittee, and other important federal agencies.
The NCPC hearing starts at 1pm, Thursday July 1, 2021, and the public may watch at this link :: https://www.ncpc.gov/live
See the NCPC agenda here :: https://www.ncpc.gov/review/agenda/###
