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The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Board OKs Fannie Mae as landmark

Georgetown debating one-side parking rule

ZOOLIGHTS

■ Regulation: BID objects

to resident-only parking plan

By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer

The Fannie Mae headquarters was unanimously named a landmark and concept designs for a planned redevelopment were largely supported at the Historic Preservation Review Board’s Nov. 16 meeting. The landmark designation only applies to original buildings close to the street at 3900 Wisconsin Ave. NW, including the central property and its matching side wings that were built in 1958 and 1963, respectively. The application was filed by developers to defuse community concerns about the planned project, they said. “This property, in our opinion, is iconic,” developer Richard Lake said at the hearing. “We’re excited about utilizing the existing structure.” The proposed mixed-use project — which includes adaptive reuse of the newly designated buildings as well as new construction — is set to include residential apartments, a hotel, a public lawn See Landmark/Page 23

By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer

As Georgetown grapples with ongoing parking pressures, the area’s residential and business communities are squaring off over the idea of reserving more spaces for locals. Several members of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E (Georgetown, Burleith) want to ask the city for Enhanced Residential Permit Parking, an arrange-

Brian Kapur/The Current

■ Hawthorne: Chestnut St.

The National Zoo recently kicked off its annual ZooLights festival. The event will run daily throughout the holiday season, except for Dec. 24, 25 and 31. The event features environmentally friendly LED displays as well as a light show set to music and a glow-in-the-dark play zone for kids.

By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

LAMB is seeking zoning approval to move to Kingsbury’s campus.

the site’s intensity of use compared to Kingsbury’s current 108 students. LAMB pairs a Montessori educational model with a duallanguage Spanish/English immersion program for students in prekindergarten through fifth grade.

ment that reserves one side of each residential street for vehicles with Zone 2 parking permits during certain hours. The other side of the street would continue to allow vehicles without that pass to park for up to two hours, but the change would add fresh restrictions to about 2,000 parking spaces. Proponents said such a change would make it easier for residents to find spaces near their homes. But at ANC 2E’s meeting on Monday, droves of business owners voiced outrage at the idea — which they said would devastate See Parking/Page 3

Sidewalks draw ANC nod as city allays past concerns plans will not cut into yards

By KIRK KRAMER Current Staff Writer

Charter aims to consolidate at Kingsbury The Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School is seeking zoning approval to consolidate its three locations to the Kingsbury School campus in 16th Street Heights, with the shift intended to begin as early as fall 2018. The charter, known as LAMB, intends to co-locate with the Kingsbury special needs school for a few years and eventually assume the 5000 14th St. NW space entirely. The change would allow LAMB to serve all its students under one roof and increase its total enrollment from 462 to 600 — but would also dramatically increase

Vol. XII, No. 1

Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End

Neighborhood leaders have spent months discussing the proposal and how to mitigate traffic issues, though some residents remain wary. Kingsbury intends to vacate the campus between 2020 and 2025 and to share the space with LAMB starting next year. Kingsbury’s future plans haven’t yet been publicized. LAMB’s proposal for the Kingsbury site requires Board of Zoning Adjustment approval. In addition to the impact of additional enrollment, the board will also evaluate a proposed expansion of the existing school building and the construction of a 5,528-squarefoot gym. Building Hope Inc., a See Charter/Page 3

Plans to construct sidewalks on Chestnut Street NW — once the subject of significant debate in the Hawthorne section of Chevy Chase — won unanimous support from the local advisory neighborhood commission last week. Members of ANC 3/4G said the latest sidewalk plans address the primary objection to earlier designs. The D.C. Department of Transportation now intends to make room for new sidewalks by narrowing the street, rather than removing prized green space. “The street will get narrower, traffic will go slower, there will be no loss of yard, new trees will be planted,” commissioner Chris Fromboluti said at the Nov. 27 meeting, calling the plan a “winwin.” Under D.C. law, residents of a block that lacks sidewalks can petition the Transportation Department to install them. Residents of Chestnut — a residential street

Brian Kapur/Current file photo

The Transportation Department will narrow the street rather than remove residents’ green space.

running between Western and Oregon avenues NW just west of Rock Creek Park — made such a petition in 2015, citing pedestrian safety needs. But outrage followed when the city’s designs called for paving up to 10 feet of some lawns and removing nearly 30 trees over a two-block stretch. ANC 3/4G member Abraham Clayman joined the commission in February, while debate was still raging on the sidewalk proposal. He said he didn’t enter office with preconceived notions. “I knocked on every door on Chestnut Street and listened to about two dozen residents share See Sidewalks/Page 3

SHERWOOD

HOLIDAYS

CURRENTNEWSPAPERS.COM

INDEX

A call to action

Christmas Revels

Check out our new website, where you’ll find more of the communityoriented news, features and sports you read weekly in The Current.

Calendar/18 Classifieds/23 District Digest/4 Foggy Bottom News/9 Holidays in Washington/13 In Your Neighborhood/12

Mayor accelerates affordable housing plans amid potential federal tax change / Page 6

Latest iteration of 35th annual holiday show celebrates FrenchCanadian history / Page 14

Opinion/8 Police Report/8 Real Estate/17 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/22 Week Ahead/4

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