Friday, May 30, 2014

Citizen Input Sought on Parking Variance for Proposed 45-Unit Project [UPDATED]

screen-shot-2014-05-29-at-9-30-12-pm
Current 1-story building at 1326 Florida Ave, proposed site for 4-story 45-unit building

Citizen Input Sought on Parking Variance for Proposed 45-Unit Project
(Reposted from the Trinidad Neighborhood Association Website)

Citizens have an opportunity to provide feedback on a proposed 45-unit apartment complex in the Trinidad Neighborhood.  Local developer Ditto Residential LLC is proposing a 4-story 45-unit apartment complex to replace the existing 1-story commercial building at 1326 Florida Ave NE.  The property is located next door to Engine 10, the local firehouse on Florida Avenue.

Current zoning regulations require a 45-unit development to have a minimum of 23 parking spaces for use by apartment residents to reduce impact on neighborhood parking capacity.  However, the developer has requested permission to build only 16 spaces for the 45 apartments, requiring review by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) including a public BZA hearing.  As a part of the zoning variance process, citizens may submit comments to the BZA supporting or opposing the requested parking variance.  In addition, local ANC commissioner Tina Laskaris plans to hold a community meeting to discuss the project.

Citizens wishing to comment on the proposed parking variance, including support or opposition, may participate in all of the following ways:
  • Submit written comments to the Board of Zoning Adjustment at bzasubmissions@dc.gov referencing case number 18785,  or testify at the BZA hearing on June 24 at 9:30 am at 441 4th Street NW in room 220 South.  For more information, contact the Office of Zoning at 202-727-6311.
  • Attend ANC Laskaris’ local meeting to discuss the project on June 4th at 7pm at the Joe Cole Recreation Center, 1299 Neal Street NE. For more information, contact ANC Laskaris at 5D06@anc.dc.gov or 202-549-0153.
  • Attend the full ANC 5D meeting to express comments on June 10 at 7pm at the local MPD station at 1805 Bladensburg Road NE. For more information, contact ANC 5D Chair Henderson at 5D05@anc.dc.gov.
The Trinidad Neighborhood Association provides the above information in the public interest due to general concerns expressed recently regarding building heights, increased density, and neighborhood parking capacity.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE POST ABOVE HAS BEEN CHANGED
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The changes reflect new numbers for required and requested parking.

11 comments:

pat said...

i suggested i would support this provided there were
car share and bikeshare slots made available and
subsidized to the residents.

Anonymous said...

No. Must meet standards.

Mister Easley said...

blah blah parking need parking blah buh buh density blah parking blah im being priced out mmhmmm

Anonymous said...

Isn't this right next to the big
"Lock 7" 48 unit development at Orren and Florida that was approved to allow only 8 spaces?

In that project, they will have 16 2-br units and 33 1-br or studio apartments, giving a total of at least 65 people living in that building. Add to that this new project, and that's an awful lot of parking demand that will spill over into residential blocks north of Florida Ave.

I realize some people are car free, but a lot of people moving into newer buildings *do* have cars (such as Atlas Flats, which has enough parking demand to necessitate a garage).

Anonymous said...

My understanding is that the DC DMV is actually looking to rescind residential parking passes for those in zone six who applied after March 16, 2010. No new residential street parking passes will be issued and those who arrived after 2010 will no longer be permitted to park on the street long term.

www.dmv.dc.gov/parkresupdt2010/dmv-asf

h st ll said...

+1 pat

Anonymous said...

It is near the Lock 7 project with fewer parking spaces and more units. The neighborhood association supported that development when it reduced parking by more than double what this one requests so why not this one? At least the developer is involved with and talking to neighbors. They are also adding inclusionary zoning affordable housing rental units. Someone else will buy the lot if this developer doesn't. I am sure there would be outcry over the jackhammering if they did build with a garage for parking. Mister Easley can add construction noise to the string of complaints/buzz words.

Anonymous said...

1:37, your link is dead and I've never heard anything else about this nor could find anything else on the web (DC sites or just general chatter). Please post a functional link if you expect us to believe that.

Anonymous said...

Also, I agree that space for car and bike sharing (and lots of bike parking for people who own their own) is the right move to reduce parking demand. However, while an initial subsidy (say, a waived application fee and first year annual fee for Zipcar) would be helpful in getting people to try it, I think the cost savings are enough of a subsidy on their own in the long term. I tried it for a month before selling my car, fell in love, and can't imagine why I kept the car, now. I could drive over 4 hours a week, every single week, in Zipcar and still spend less than I was on a personal car (I typically use it more like 4 hours a *month,* on par with how much I used my hunk of steel I was paying through the nose to own).

pat said...

compared to the costs of ZipCar, and Bikeshare,
making it free to the tenants for the first 7 years seems better.

then once they get used to the savings, it's a simple sell.

LDLD said...

Increasing the residential population density should require a commensurate increase in parking availability, provided by the developer. The neighborhood is simply not equipped to sustain parking for a sea of condos; if you're building the condos, you need to provide the parking for the future residents (and their parking demand) that you are bringing into the neighborhood. Not doing so lets the developer avoid the true cost of development and shifts it onto other residents.