Politics & Government

Neighbors Conclude Testimony on GU Campus Plan

Monday, community members sat in panels providing testimony of their opposition to the Georgetown University Campus Plan.

The Zoning Commission wrapped up its final evening of hearing individual testimony on the proposed Georgetown University Campus Plan Monday evening. Neighbors speaking in opposition filled the roster on the final evening and then the University's attorney cross-examined citizens association representatives.

One resident, Nan Bell, described her efforts to engage the University's officials to work toward a solution to many of the problems the community faces. However, she said she was "discouraged by GU's lack of respect for legitimate concerns" continuing that the university either "did not care or did not care enough."

Brandel France de Bravo expressed her frustration at being told "repeatedly and patronizingly by students that the University has been here since 1789—as though I had settled next to a river that floods annually and should have known better."

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She later concluded saying "GU has had since 1789 to build its endowment and plan its expansion. It’s time that the university got it right."

Burleith resident, Leslie Kimball, testified that despite efforts to have conversations with neighboring students, she has had to sell her home and will be moving out of the neighborhood for the good of her young family.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Resident Walter Parrs said "I have just exhausted myself trying to work with Georgetown University to do something about this problem."

Parrs said he "I've got a young family, I love the neighborhood, I want to live there, but looking at the situation right now...it's just not tenable."

Parrs added that he and his wife have talked about whether they can continue to live in Georgetown given the proposed campus plan. "You can't reside in a neighborhood you can't sleep in" he added.

"These are fantastic neighborhoods. D.C. is going to lose if we lose these neighborhoods. Protect them, please," he concluded.

The cross examination between GU Attorney Maureen Dwyer and the citizens associations followed the conclusion of individual opponent testimony.

Dwyer pressed Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino on statements made in community newsletters that praised the University. For instance, in May 2009, a community newsletter stated that after a joint clean up effort "the neighborhood has never looked cleaner."

Dwyer pressed both Rubino and the Citizen Association of Georgetown's Jennifer Altemus on the numbers the two citizen associations had used in their evidence and testimony. From numbers of reported 911 calls to dates for police incidents in videos, Dwyer asked questions to try to draw out the sources for numbers referenced in community presentations; numbers that at times did not mesh with the University's own evidence.  

At one point Rubino responded to Dwyer's consistent questioning of her facts and figures saying, "this is a numbers game."

The sentiment describes exactly the task left before the Zoning Commission: to sift through the numbers.

Number of students living in the community, number of dollars the university would have to invest in new on-campus housing, number of students allowed to enroll at the university, number of 911 calls made by neighbors, number of student group houses, number of residents moving away and so on.

The Zoning Commission will reconvene June 20 at 6:30 p.m. to hear updated testimony from the .


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here