Opinion ID: 2164332
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Campus Plan.

Text: The University developed its first Campus Plan in 1974. On May 22, 1987, at the direction of the BZA, the University submitted an updated Campus Plan for the years 1987 to 2000. As part of this plan, the University proposed to construct a number of new buildings, including a facility which would occupy 150,000 square feet and would be used to house the Washington College of Law. The University proposed that the new law school be located on the site of the existing Cassell Center on Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. [1] The BZA held four public hearings on the University's proposals. Several neighborhood organizations, including Neighbors for a Livable Community (NLC), presented testimony in opposition to the plan. The residents' primary objection was to the proposed new site for the law school. On May 9, 1988, following the conclusion of these public hearings, the BZA directed the University to negotiate with the organizations and individuals opposed to the plan, and to respond to certain proposals submitted by NLC. In response to the Board's directive, the University appointed a new team, whose mission was to find a way to meet the University's needs while accommodating the legitimate concerns of neighborhood residents. Representatives of the University met frequently with representatives of the NLC and with other interested organizations and neighbors. All local residents were invited to these meetings and were given the opportunity to voice their concerns and objections to the proposed Campus Plan and to make suggestions and recommendations to the University regarding possible modifications. As a result of these contacts and negotiations, the University was able to formulate a new plan (the 1989 plan) and to secure the support of the NLC and of a number of other individuals who and organizations which had opposed the 1987 plan. Several of these organizations entered into a detailed agreement with the University, which was ultimately incorporated by the BZA into its Order approving the Campus Plan. There was testimony before the Board that the neighborhood organizations were united in favor of most of the plan until shortly before the agreement was signed. In an effort to accommodate the neighbors' suggestions and to win their support, the University made significant concessions with respect to various parts of its proposal. Specifically, the University agreed to reductions in the size, height and design of the Washington College of Law. The law school would now occupy 130,000 square feet, instead of 150,000 as previously contemplated. The third floor was to be eliminated, and the activities originally planned for that floor were now to be conducted in windowless underground space. The University's architect testified that, when viewed from the Fort Gaines neighborhood, the law school would appear to be only one and a half stories tall, and that much of the building would be almost entirely invisible from that location because of its reduced height and because of a fence that was to be constructed. The proposed hours of operation of the facility were substantially decreased, and the University agreed to a cap on the number of students, faculty, and staff who would be using the facility on a daily basis. The University also made a number of additional concessions designed to alleviate traffic and parking problems, and to provide a visual barrier between the campus and neighboring residential areas. According to testimony presented to the Board, the new law school would be further than the present Cassell Center from the University's property line, and thus from the Fort Gaines neighborhood. Moreover, the academic dean of the University explained that substantially fewer persons would be using the facility each day than the number who had in the past used the Cassell Center, when it housed a variety of activities. In choosing a proposed site for the law school, the University and representatives of its neighbors reviewed all potential locations on the campus and concluded that there were eight locations which at least merited consideration. Site evaluation criteria were developed to aid in determining which of the eight sites would be most beneficial both to the University and to the neighboring communities. At the conclusion of the site selection analysis, site 4 (the site of the existing Cassell Center) and a portion of site 3 (an undeveloped wooded area of land) were selected as the most suitable locations for the University's new law school; site 3 was to be used for a parking lot. The University's architect testified that the Cassell Center was the best site both for the University and for the residents; indeed, he described it as the only suitable site. The FGCA maintains that the evaluation criteria improperly focused, almost exclusively, on the University's needs, rather than on the community's. The record discloses, however, that the University considered not only its own concerns but also those of the affected neighbors. Specifically, the University and the representatives of the neighbors developed a sophisticated Site Evaluation Matrix which assessed each potential site in terms of a number of criteria. Among the criteria in the matrix were several Context Impacts, including Neighborhood Building Environment and Neighborhood Improvement Opportunities. These titles reflected a design on the part of those participating in the site selection process to allow for siting of the building in a way that it does not detract from existing environment and that the building should fit with the site. With respect to the amendment of the Campus Plan to eliminate Parcel B, the University developed a three-phased plan to address the concerns of affected neighbors. The University proposed to sell Parcel B, which it regarded as useless to it in carrying out University functions, and to create a new buffer zone to protect residential areas adjacent to Parcel B. [2] Phase I, which included the erection of a nine-foot wooden fence along the perimeter of the campus and the planting of a number of trees and shrubs, was scheduled to begin within one year after the BZA approved the Campus Plan. Phase II provided for the additional planting of trees on the perimeter, and was to be put into effect if any of six existing tulip poplar trees [3] were removed or destroyed in the development of Parcel B. Finally, Phase III provided for the planting of more trees and shrubs, but only if the University were to construct an addition to its Arts Center.