ANC 1C Commissioners Disappointed By BZA Decision on Meridian Development Project 

For Release: July 27, 2018

Contact: Amanda Fox Perry, ANC1C08

ANC 1C Commissioners Disappointed By BZA Decision on Meridian Development Project 

Look to Office of Planning and Zoning Commission to Address Ongoing Concerns 

The BZA voted on Wednesday, July 25th, to approve two special exceptions for the Meridian development project (BZA App. 19689).  ANC1C has opposed this project seven times as it has worked its way through the review process, beginning in 2015. The community’s opposition rests on the size and scope of the project, which would bring 110 luxury residential units, a 9,600 square foot conference center, and underground parking to the currently tree-covered lot in the Meridian Hill Historic District.

ANC1C’s long-standing opposition has been driven by overwhelming community objections and concern’s about the project’s impacts. ANC1C is also concerned that Meridian International, a non-profit leadership organization that is headquartered in the adjacent historic John Russell Pope mansions, is not a private school – a key requirement they must satisfy in order to obtain the relief needed for the conference center.

“Although there have been changes in the project as a result of the community’s expressed concerns, the fundamental flaw of the project remains: once again it attempts to solve Meridian International’s financial challenges by selling off a portion of the historic property for a non-mission related purpose,” said Commissioner Ted Guthrie. “The conference center/office use portion of the project standing alone would not have engendered the strong and prolonged neighborhood opposition. Instead of attempting a fund-raising campaign for a worthy nonprofit purpose, Meridian International has again chosen the expedient route: selling off a portion of the property to developers, with its attendant negative impacts on light, air, noise, ambiance and traffic. One might reasonably have expected better of an institution whose mission purports to be providing ‘a neutral forum for international collaboration across sectors’.”

Another major concern with the project didn’t arise until earlier this month, when ANC1C discovered that the lot’s current zoning violates the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM). The Comprehensive Plan states that if a lot’s zoning does not correspond to the Comprehensive Plan’s land use designation, the discrepancy must be resolved in favor of the Plan.

“Fortunately, it is within the authority of the Zoning Commission to down-zone this lot in accordance with the FLUM, and we are hopeful that they will choose to do so,” said Commissioner Amanda Fox Perry, who represents the affected SMD. “However, it’s troubling that the apparent Comp Plan violation wasn’t addressed by the Office of Planning in its review of this project. The fact that we had to find this discrepancy on our own, years into the process, raises serious questions about the integrity of the review processes that our decision-makers are relying on.”

“These decisions have real and lasting impacts on the health, safety, and well-being of our communities,” said ANC1C Chair Hector Huezo.

Hector Huezo, 1C02

Amanda Fox Perry, 1C08

Ted Guthrie, 1C03

Wilson Reynolds, 1C07