In what has been an excruciating process, the Board of Zoning Adjustment delayed a vote on the GW campus plan for a second time Wednesday. Citing a need to review additional testimony and exhibits submitted by GW and the mayor’s Office of Planning, the board members will reconvene Feb. 13 to render a verdict on the issue. Regardless of the volume of documents or amount of testimony to be reviewed, this process has dragged on long enough. The BZA should not delay a vote any longer.
There has been ample time to digest the arguments of both GW and the surrounding community. The campus plan process began more than two years ago with community dialogues and BZA hearings giving several forums for gripes about the University’s plans. GW officials and community activists endured several rounds of compromises hammering out acceptable stances on many once-contentious issues. Countless hours have been spent so far preparing, meeting and testifying all in an effort to finally secure a vote. Now, a few government appointees are stalling the process again.
Board members say they are hung up on plans to add on-campus housing at GW and the University’s promise for parking on campus. These issues are not new. In fact, they are the two main issues the BZA has dealt since the prolonged process began. GW officials have spent countless hours defending its plan to house more students on campus, and residents and the Office of Planning have returned with equal opposition to the plan’s feasibility. The arguments are not changing, and it is the BZA’s job to end a spiraling debate.
While everyone involved in the campus plan process wants the officials reviewing the future of Foggy Bottom to be well informed, from observations at BZA meetings, the board members often appear clueless as to the issues involved. Perhaps they need a few days to read the information provided to them, but they should have already familiarized themselves with the arguments of both sides. Playing catch up now is irresponsible and wastes the valuable time and money of District taxpayers.
The BZA needs to do its duty and vote on GW’s campus plan Tuesday. The members cannot continually postpone such an important decision and still retain their credibility. Foggy Bottom is exhausted from the process. The BZA must vote on the measure so everyone can finally move on.
