Argued
November 13, 2018
Page 1268
Petition for Review of an Order of the District of Columbia
Zoning Commission (ZC-15-24A)
Aristotle Theresa, Washington, for petitioner.
Karl A.
Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Loren
L. AliKhan, Solicitor General, Stacy L. Anderson, Acting
Deputy Solicitor General, and Richard S. Love, Senior
Assistant Attorney General, filed a statement in lieu of
brief for respondent.
Philip
T. Feola, with whom Christine Roddy, Washington was on the
brief, for intervenors.
Before
Fisher, Thompson, and Easterly, Associate Judges.
OPINION
Fisher,
Associate Judge:
This
dispute arises out of the proposed development of four
parcels of land in the Union Market/Gallaudet University
neighborhood. The District of Columbia Zoning Commission
("Commission") approved intervenors first-stage
application for a planned unit development ("PUD")
of that property. Petitioner, a citizens association,
challenges the decision. Finding petitioners arguments
unpersuasive, we affirm.
I. Background
The
four parcels of land at issue are located in the northeast
quadrant of the District of Columbia, adjacent to Sixth
Street and bordered by Penn Street on the north and Florida
Avenue on the south. On October 15, 2015, Gallaudet
University and JBG/6th Street Associates submitted an
application for approval of a mixed-use development spanning
the 273,514 square foot property. The Office of Planning
("OP") reviewed the proposal and convened a meeting
with various agencies, including the Department of
Transportation ("DDOT"). On April 21, 2016, the
Commission published a notice in the D.C. Register —
and mailed notice to owners of all property within 200 feet
of the parcels — that it would hold a hearing to review
the proposal on June 23, 2016. Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 5D presented a letter supporting the project.
Union
Market Neighbors ("UMN") submitted a request for
party status to oppose the project. On the day of the
hearing, the organization supplemented its submission with
form letters filled out by eight individuals living in the
area and one person who worked there. A representative of UMN
notified the Commission that same day that he could not
attend the hearing; instead, he renewed the groups request
Page 1269
for party status and urged the Commissioners to ask the staff
of OP and DDOT a list of questions spanning three pages.
Nobody from the group appeared at the meeting, and the
Commission ...