Who's Who of the GU Campus Plan Process

Maybe you have seen the yard signs, or attended a meeting, or read a blog post about the Georgetown University campus plan. Who are the players in the brewing neighborhood drama? How will their various roles play out over the next few months? In light of the scheduled special meeting of the ANC 2E Committee of the Whole tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the , we present the Georgetown Patch Primer on "Who's Who" of the GU Campus Plan:

Office of Planning

What: The Office of Planning received a copy of the GU plan Dec. 30, 2010. The OP reviews urban design, land use, and historic preservation aspects of projects, monitoring for effect on the surrounding community. OP will review that plan and submit a report to the Zoning Commission within 45 days. 

Who: An Office of Planning staff member (or a team) will review the plan and issue a statement on behalf of the agency.

Zoning Commission

What: This planning and zoning body will review the plan submitted by the University and hear testimony from architects, planners and neighborhood groups about the merits or negative impact of the plan. 

Who: The Zoning Commission (ZC) is a five-person body composed of three political appointees and two other members. Three members of the ZC must be District residents, are appointed by the Mayor and are approved by the Council. The fourth member of the ZC is the Architect of the Capitol (or his/her representative) and the fifth is the Director of the National Park Service (or his/her representative).

The current commission is composed of two members (Chairman Anthony Hood and Greg Selfridge) whose terms will expire come Feb. 3. It is up to the Gray administration to make new appointments and for the Council, now chaired by Kwame Brown, to approve those appointees. Gray, while still serving as Chairman of the council, previously blocked a Fenty appointee to the ZC arguing that there would be too many developers and real estate industry representatives on the commission. Hood, the current Chair, is widely viewed as a community representative on the ZC. Gray has yet to announce his appointees.

ANC2E

What: The Advisory Neighborhood Commission is the official voice of the neighborhood to other government agencies. ANC2E is expected to make a motion to oppose the campus plan at its Jan. 31 meeting and will submit a statement of "advisory views" to the Office of Planning and the Zoning Commission for consideration. The ANC statement, however, is not binding and the ZC is not required to follow the recommendations or preferences of the neighborhood body. The ZC is required to give "great weight" to ANC concerns and, generally, its five members do just that.

Who: ANC members are elected to two-year terms. The current Commission consists of two members newly elected in November 2010 (Jeff Jones and Jake* Sticka) and five returning members. (Ed Solomon, Ron Lewis, Bill Starrels, Tom Birch and Charles Eason, Jr.). Sticka is the only Georgetown University student on the ANC. He won a seat on the ANC with a total of nine* votes, one he cast himself.

District Council

What: The District Council does not have a direct say over the decisions of the Zoning Commission. It does, however, have the power to approve or reject appointees to the ZC and in this way could affect the outcome of the review of the campus plan.

Who: Jack Evans is the Councilmember for Georgetown and the rest of Ward 2. He is also a Georgetown resident. In the past, Evans has said he supports the community, but claimed his hands were tied in terms of influencing the opinions of the ZC. 

Georgetown University

What: Every 10 years, Georgetown University (GU) submits a new 10-year campus plan to D.C. zoning and planning authorities for review and approval. Prior to submitting the final plan on Dec. 30, 2010, University officials released a preliminary plan for public review. Part of the submission to the Zoning Commission is a long list of meetings held between the school and neighbors about the school's "modest proposals." The University seeks to increase its graduate school population, create several new development projects and carry over other projects from the last 10-year plan. 

Who: Georgetown University President Jack DeGioia has been the primary official signer of public statements and open letters to the community about the campus plan. 

Citizens Association of Georgetown (CAG)

What: The Citizens Association of Georgetown is a neighborhood organization with a good deal of clout in Georgetown affairs. The century-old group advocates on behalf of neighbors on issues ranging from historic preservation, development, safety and more. It also organizes events and raises funds to improve the quality of life for Georgetowners.

CAG members have met with University officials to seek concessions and try to work out compromises. The CAG, with the Burleith Citizens Association, has organized a group in stark opposition to the GU plan. The group will take its fight to the Zoning Commission through testimony, both written an in-person.

Who: Jennifer Altemus is the President of CAG and GU's most vocal opponent on the campus plan. Altemus penned the newsletter that laid out the neighborhood's opposition and represents the association in public hearings. She is not a publicly elected official.

Burleith Citizens Association (BCA)

What: The Burleith Citizens Association is a neighborhood group, much like the CAG, and represents the small area north of Georgetown, south of Glover Park. The wholly residential neighborhood is home to many Georgetown student renters and experiences similar levels of crowding, noise and other issues that affect Georgetown proper. 

The BCA has organized with CAG to form a group in stark opposition to the GU plan. The group will take its fight to the Zoning Commission through testimony, both written an in-person.

Who: Lenore Rubino is the President of the BCA and acts as the primary public spokesperson for the association. She is the chief emailer, writer, organizer and fundraiser for the organization's opposition efforts. She is not a publicly elected official.

*Correction: The name of the ANC Commissioner and Georgetown University student was misreported in an earlier version of this story.

*Correction: Jake Sticka received nine votes in the general election; the number originally reported was taken from the unofficial results published on election night rather than the final count later issued by the Board of Elections and Ethics.