The Georgetown Current
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Vol. XXVI, No. 30
Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Ward 3 crowding prompts review
CHAMPIONSHIP CUBS
■ Schools: Lack of capacity
needs addressing, officials say By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
D.C.’s population has risen significantly over the past decade, and most observers agree that the city’s school system has improved overall. But with the confluence of these two factors, many schools
now face a conundrum: finding room for an influx of new students in buildings with limited space. The challenge is particularly acute in Ward 3. According to new data from D.C. Public Schools, projected enrollment will exceed building capacity this fall in all of the ward’s public elementary, middle and high schools except for Hearst Elementary, which will be overfilled no later than fall 2020. Lafayette and Hardy weren’t
included in the data because they’re located outside the ward, although their districts include sections of Ward 3. School communities are already feeling the impacts of overcrowding, and at a meeting of the Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network last Thursday, Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh vowed to team up with parents and Ward 3 State Board of See Schools/Page 5
Divided ANC opposes height of shelter By KATHERINE SALTZMAN Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Georgetown Visitation girls basketball team captured its 11th straight Independent School League championship on Sunday. Senior guard Sydney Love-Baker, a Palisades resident, played a key role in the win. See story, page 11.
The city’s proposed Ward 3 emergency family shelter received mixed feedback from the local advisory neighborhood commission last week, as a divided ANC 3C (Cleveland Park, Massachusetts Avenue Heights, Woodley Park) voted to support the shelter location while requesting a lower height. The facility is planned as a six-story, 50-unit building located on the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District Headquarters property, 3320 Idaho Ave. NW. It’s one of seven proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to replace D.C. General — a deteriorating and overcrowded family shelter in Southeast — with smaller community-based short-term housing facilities across the city. Various aspects of the project have sparked grave concerns among community members, though sevSee Homeless/Page 7
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The proposed short-term family housing would displace parking next to the 2nd District Police Headquarters, prompting plans for a parking deck.
Critics question utility of proposed gondola
Agency vows to investigate Soapstone Creek pollution
By MARK LIEBERMAN
■ Environment: Neighbors’
Current Staff Writer
Advocates for a gondola system across the Potomac River between Georgetown and Rosslyn are continuing to make their case despite a recent funding setback in Virginia and some reservations from Georgetown neighborhood leaders. The Arlington County Board announced on Feb. 10 that it won’t provide further funds for the Georgetown Business Improvement District project, which has an estimated cost of up to $90 million. Board chair Jay Fisette wrote in a letter to the gondola study committee that his team needs to focus on more pressing transportation issues in the area and doesn’t currently see the gondola as a worthwhile investment. Meanwhile, the Citizens Association of George-
complaints prompt inquiry
Rendering courtesy of Georgetown BID
If constructed, the gondola would link Georgetown to Rosslyn, Va., alongside the Key Bridge.
town and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E (Georgetown, Burleith) have offered tentative support for further research on the project’s merits. But at an ANC 2E meeting Monday, several commissioners expressed concerns about the possibility that the gondola could funnel Georgetown’s customers to Virginia, away from neighborhood businesses. ANC 2E voted unanimously in support of further See Gondola/Page 18
By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Responding to neighbors’ requests, the District is taking new steps to monitor pollution and water quality levels at Soapstone Valley Creek in Forest Hills, which has a history of E. coli contamination and frequent troubles from stormwater overflows. The D.C. Department of Energy & Environment will search for sources of pollution in the 400-
acre watershed that flows into Soapstone Creek, which in turn flows into Rock Creek. Joshua Rodriguez, from the agency’s Inspection and Enforcement Division, said at Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3F’s meeting last Tuesday that the goal is to eliminate pollution and take steps to restore the stream’s health. The source of Soapstone Creek is mainly rainfall that collects into stormwater pipes, then empties into the stream. Pollution becomes a problem when this stormwater gathers debris and chemicals from the street. And with stormwater See Soapstone/Page 2
PASSAGES
SPORTS
SHOPPING & DINING
INDEX
‘Good at Heart’
Northwest knockouts
Spreading its wings
Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 In Your Neighborhood/16 Northwest Passages/13 Opinion/8
Chevy Chase author’s debut novel reflects on her family’s Nazi ancestry / Page 13
Wilson High, four other local teams bring home basketball trophies in title games / Page 11
Longtime family-owned boutique Phoenix reopens after renovation, expansion / Page 19
Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/13 Service Directory/27 Shopping & Dining/19 Sports/11
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