Hello West Dupont and 2B02 neighbors,
Thank you for reading my newsletter about happenings in West Dupont and 2B02.
Groundhogs Day in the Circle
Groundhog Day will be celebrated in Dupont Circle at 8:30AM on February 2nd. Groundhogs Day in Dupont Circle is a fantastic and longstanding annual community event held by Dupont Festival. Expect accordion music, Potomac Phil, and a wonderful celebration.
15 Dupont Circle - Board of Zoning Adjustment Special Exception Request
As I noted in my November newsletter, Ampeer at the Patterson Mansion on Dupont Circle has a pending special exception request to turn 31 of its 92 units into short-term rental units, defined in the District as stays of less than 30 days, rather than residential apartment units. Last week, the Office of Planning released a staff report (exhibit 40 in the zoning case file) supporting the special exception. After discussions with fellow neighbors and fellow commissioners I have consistently felt ambivalent regarding this application. It is important to recognize Ampeer is just two doors down from the Dupont Circle Hotel and, if this was across the Circle, the mixed use zoning would allow lodging by-right. At the same time, I am concerned with the continued loss of residential units within the neighborhood.
Ampeer itself is already an unique concept of furnished studio and one-bedroom rental apartments where the average length of stay was always anticipated to be less than a traditional 12-month lease apartment building. DC law, however, distinguishes between stays of 30 days or less as lodging and stays of 31 days or more as residential.
There is some history behind the request as well: before the ANC got the application, the applicant had discussions with the Office of Planning about changing the use of more than 31 units to lodging. The result of these conversations led to the current application the ANC is reviewing. The Office of Planning also ensured that the lodging units will not be located on the same floor as inclusionary zoning units. Finally, if this arrangement were proposed today, only five affordable units would have been created through inclusionary zoning rather than the seven units which were created by the initial development. This is because production of affordable housing through inclusionary zoning is based on a percentage of units rather than a fixed number of units based on lot size.
To address concerns related to the reduction in number of housing units and impact to housing affordability, the developer offered a $50,000 contribution to the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). The HPTF supports the development of affordable housing in the District and this offer turned my ambivalence into support of the special exception request.
This is a complicated case and I welcome continued thoughts on it. While an unique location and set of circumstances, I imagine this will not be the last request for conversion of residential units to lodging.
Comprehensive Plan Comment Period Extended
As I covered in much more detail through my December newsletter, the Comprehensive Plan is four years into its quinquennial update process. The public comment period was extended until January 10th. Should you have comments, please send them to the Office of Planning by this Friday, January 10th. ANC Comments are due February 14th which means the ANC can weigh in at our regularly scheduled February meeting rather than in January as was previously anticipated.
In Closing
For official meeting notices and a full list of what we’re reviewing each month, please sign up for the ANC’s newsletter. Hope to see you at a meeting soon. Our next meeting is Wednesday January 8th at 7PM.
Best,
Daniel
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