he Environmental News
– February 22, 1998
Children’s Island
Rock Creek Park
Also in the News
Anacostia River
Ward Three Land Use Development
Recycling
Calendar
Children’s Island
Will wonders never cease? The Control Board announced on Friday the 13th
that it had disapproved the proposed lease between the City and the Contessa Bina Sella de
Monteluce. The CB stated that it could not approve the lease without: a development plan,
a business plan, feasibility and environmental studies, and "financing
information." This is reminiscent of the Council’s 1993 resolution calling for
13 separate studies of this kind, and the National Capital Planning Commission’s call
last November for the advance preparation of an environmental impact statement.
What does this mean? It’s hard to know – the silence from
the Contessa’s lobbyists has been deafening when compared to the hundreds of press
releases they distributed in December trumpeting their short-lived victory before the
Council. They stated last fall that is was necessary to secure the Mayor’s and the
Council’s (and presumably the Control Board’s) blessing of their 99-year lease
in order to secure financing for the enterprise. Could this be the death knell for their
house of cards?
Perhaps so. The Control Board’s terse letter to the Council stated
that Chief Management Officer Camille Barnett and Chief Financial Officer Tony Williams
would handle this matter from now on — by implication taking Mayor Barry out of the loop.
The Mayor, natch, has been one of the Contessa’s biggest boosters since the early
80s.
In the meantime, entrepreneur and Black Entertainment Television exec Bob
Johnson told the Washington Post’s Vanessa Williams that he has designs on
the islands, and that he wants to partner with Disney. This raises a number of questions:
Does Johnson share our vision of a neighborhood – and river-friendly development?
Does the 1994 federal legislation authorize this? And how does Williams obtain information
like this? Is Johnson sending out press releases?
Rock Creek Park
Though the National Park Service is midway through the preparation of its
General Management Plan for the Park, the word is out – they will almost certainly
recommend the plan endorsed by the City Council and the Washington Post – no
change in the status quo. This probably means no restrictions on commuter traffic, and no
expansion of facilities for bikers, bladers and the like.
Also in the news
Bell Atlantic has formally requested the Park Service to erect a series of
cell-phone transmission towers in the Park. The exact locations and configurations of
these steel towers remains undetermined, but they may rise as high as 250 feet. Towers of
this height can be seen just west of Falls Church and at the intersection of Route 95
North and the Beltway (near Silver Spring), and their ugliness is breathtaking. Local
enviros are asking whether there aren’t better ways of delivering to Bell Atlantic
their all-important minutes of air time. Is the transmission in the park really that bad?
Anacostia River
At the initiative of Rebecca Hanmer – EPA’s designated liaison
with D.C. – several dozen stakeholders met for two days in mid-February to discuss
the problem of Combined Sewer Overflows into the Anacostia. These flows occur mostly
during wet weather, when storm waters vastly outstrip the capacity of the Blue Plains
sewage treatment plant to handle them. The Water and Sewer Authority simply dumps the
combined storm water and sewage directly into the river, resulting in a major health
hazard and ecological mess. (This also happens in the Potomac and in Rock Creek, but to a
lesser extent).
The optimal solution to this problem is to construct new, separate sewer
systems. But with an estimated price tag of $2 billion, this remains a dream. Instead, the
participants considered more practical alternatives – such as using existing
underground pipes, some with diameters of up to 12 feet, as storage devices that can trap
unexceptional storm water flows and then release them to Blue Plains at a rate that the
treatment plant can absorb. This system may actually be preferable to the construction of
separate systems, as it prevents most of the trash-laden waters that flow off our streets
from ever reaching the river directly.
Ward Three Land Use Developments
The proposal to construct a large handful of high-price residences on the
"Greystone" site – next to Rock Creek Park at the junction of Beach Drive
with Porter/Klingle – was rejected by the "Mayor’s Agent," who had
been appointed to review the details. Chief among her reasons was that the developers
seemed to have completely changed during the course of her review, but were trying to
finesse that fact. Good riddance to a potential blight on the Park. Peter Espenchied
fought this one for two years at least.
Developers hoping to construct a large residential complex on the Tregaron
site – current home of the International School – have folded their tents.
Unlike most developers, these were advised by civic-minded land use lawyer Richard Nettler
to scope out the public reaction before committing themselves to the project. The feedback
they received at public meetings convinced them that the opposition to their plan would be
too stiff. Kudos to Steve Solomon and the rest of the Klingle Valley activists.
Montgomery County Executive Steve Duncan announced an expanded development
proposal for Friendship Heights. Some argued that development around Metro stations is the
way to go. Others said that the plan would completely overwhelm the existing neighborhood.
This brings to mind Sam Smith’s observation that the subway system, rather than
easing traffic along arteries like Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues, has instead fueled a
rush of traffic-clogging commercial development.
Recycling
DPW has negotiated a contract with the winning bidder for the citywide
curbside collection and processing contract (Waste Management in a joint venture with
Eagle Maintenance). The contract is now lodged in the Office of the Corporation Counsel,
after which it must navigate the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Council, and
the Control Board. DPW is sticking to its predicted start date of "sometime in early
April." Long-time observers are snickering. CMO Barnett told a small group on Feb. 20
that she is interested in initiating recycling in the school system.
Calendar
"Restore the Core" is the name of a program recently begun by
the Sierra Club’s New Columbia Chapter. While many are working to stop or manage
suburban sprawl, this project takes aim at the other half of the problem — the economic
and environmental abandonment of the City. Their first target is the revitalization of the
near-Southeast community between the Anacostia River and the SE Freeway. Next meeting:
March 10. Contact: Gwyn Jones – 488-1140
March 2 – Recycle-in at the Mayor’s office (Judiciary Square Metro).
Our monthly combined protest and drop-off takes place from 4 – 6:30 pm. Volunteers will
help you empty your car. Eagle Maintenance picks up everything for recycling at 6:30 pm.
Its a cool place to hang out.
March 5 – Monthly enviro brown-bag lunch, with a discussion of metro and
D.C. issues. Everyone welcome. Location: Friends of the Earth, 1025 Vermont Ave. NW.
Contact: Larry Bohlen – 783-7400.