University officials have known since December 2001 that zoning regulations would require GW to house 70 percent of undergraduates within the defined campus boundaries or outside Foggy Bottom, but only now is the University planning to actually comply with the law.

While we strongly disagree with the Board of Zoning Adjustment restrictions because they infringe on GW’s academic freedom, the University must still adhere to existing law when making long-term plans. This has not been the case. The hubris of the University in assuming the courts would shoot down the BZA order pre-empted any sort of forward planning to meet the housing requirements.

This has forced a budget overhaul that disproportionately devotes University resources to housing concerns and delays campus development plans. GW must now plan for three new residence halls next year, which could have been implemented over the past two years.

The order, which was upheld in the U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 4, states that GW must comply with the housing restrictions before it can construct non-residential buildings. The University contends it always wanted to fulfill the requirements, but on the administration’s own timetable. Had officials given the BZA ruling the attention it deserved, they would have sped up this schedule to avoid the current housing scramble. Even after the order was handed down, GW continued plans in direct conflict with the mandate – such as the construction of the School of Business and Public Management – without sufficiently considering the University might lose to the community in its appeal of the BZA order. The business school was scheduled to begin construction in February, but now construction has been postponed for at least one semester.

While the new budget proposed by the University this weekend contains many good initiatives such as increased 4-RIDE funding and the combination of the meal point and debit dollar programs, short-term planning has forced GW to place undue emphasis on housing concerns.