The Foggy Bottom Current
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Georgetown plan would cut parking
Q Street zoning appeal highlights ‘cellar’ issue
GO FLY A KITE
■ Dupont: Board sides with
By MARK LIEBERMAN
developer, agency on density
Current Staff Writer
Tentative plans to remove more than 40 metered parking spaces below the Whitehurst Freeway to accommodate a dedicated bike lane and other traffic enhancements drew mixed reviews from the Georgetown community Monday night. However, all agreed that the current roadway configuration needs improvement along K Street/Water Street NW. The Georgetown Business Improvement District partnered last year with the D.C. Department of Transportation and Toole Design Group to plan short- and long-term improvements along the neighborhood’s southernmost street, which runs near the Potomac River. The first phase, set for implementation this fall, includes a bike lane between 34th and 30th streets NW, improved and expanded crosswalks, an improved system for tour bus drop-off and a new left-turn lane from K Street westbound onto Wisconsin. See Parking/Page 2
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Last July, D.C. zoning administrator Matt LeGrant approved an application to convert a singlefamily home in Dupont Circle into a four-unit condominium building, allowing a construction permit to be processed seemingly without incident. Since then, though, the 1514 Q St. NW project has been beset by a lengthy Dupont Circle Citizens
Brian Kapur/The Current
■ Politics: Bowser highlights
The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off kite season on Saturday on the Washington Monument grounds. The seventh annual Blossom Kite Festival featured competitions and demonstrations that showed off the creativity of kite makers and skill of fliers.
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The agency promises more road paving projects this year.
missioners from Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park and Petworth who blasted the agency’s dealings with their communities. “The testimony that we had today is people complaining that DDOT is not responsive,” Cheh
Association appeal of LeGrant’s decision. The group’s appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment argued that an area of the home that’s partially below grade should have been included when calculating the building’s floor area ratio, which determines density. Once that space is factored in, the association argued, a permit was issued for a project with 33 percent greater density than allowed under the moderate-density zoning for the site. After several procedural delays, the Board of Zoning Adjustment voted unanimously last WednesSee Zoning/Page 20
Mayoral address promises action on Northwest issues Fillmore, transportation work
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Agency vows improvement after complaints Many District streets are in poor condition and communication with residents has been spotty of late, D.C. Department of Transportation director Leif Dormsjo acknowledged in a recent D.C. Council hearing. However, the director said his agency has plans to improve both issues. Dormsjo was speaking during the annual performance oversight hearing on his department, held by Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment. His remarks followed hours of testimony by public witnesses, including advisory neighborhood com-
Vol. XI, No. 17
Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
said. “They call for assistance, they call and call, there will be a statement of understanding and ‘things will be tended to’ — and then the ball is dropped.” Dormsjo said that the agency has struggled with turnover among key personnel responsible for community engagement, and many officials recently had to prioritize preparations for the January inauguration. “I wasn’t surprised by the comments I heard — it has only inspired me and my team to do a better job,” Dormsjo said at the March 13 hearing. “I’m not going to deny that some of those gaps have plagued us most recently.” He said staffers sidetracked by the inauguration have now resumed See Transportation/Page 17
Mayor Muriel Bowser spent much of her 51-minute State of the District address on Thursday speaking to citywide concerns: rising costs for housing, inequalities in education and failures of infrastructure. But she also made room for several issues specific to Northwest, which include the Fill■ BUDGET: more Arts CenBowser unveils ter, a D.C. Pubplans for fiscal 2018 spending. lic Schools proPage 3. gram that has been repeatedly at risk of closure; the National Park Service project to rehabilitate stretches of Beach Drive NW; and the D.C. Department of Transportation project to replace the closed section of Klingle Road NW through Rock Creek Park with the controversial Klingle Valley Trail. In her remarks, Bowser touted what she described as “expanding our investment” in the Fillmore
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
In her remarks, Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged support for the Fillmore Arts Center program.
Arts School program, which currently serves students from five area public schools but will drop two of those schools — HydeAddison and Marie Reed elementaries — from its roster next school year. The mayor has previously emphasized a new option that allows public schools anywhere in the city to apply to use the Fillmore space. Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh told The Current on Tuesday that she’s thrilled to see Fillmore in the 2018 budget as promised, though disappointed See Mayor/Page 5
NEWS
EVENTS
SHOPPING & DINING
INDEX
Tree trouble
‘All That Jazz’
Shaw award
Calendar/22 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Foggy Bottom News/11 Getting Around/13 In Your Neighborhood/16
One street’s residents say plantings would block unique Potomac Gorge views / Page 2
Foundry Gallery to open diverse collection of works by its members on Thursday / Page 23
Main Streets group picks 8th Street spice shop as ‘best new business’ of 2016 / Page 21
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/27 Shopping & Dining/21
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