from The Northwest Current, July 30, 2008 (p. 8)
Mayor Adrian Fenty has pushed an aggressive economic development agenda since taking office. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development now has a portfolio of more than $13 billion worth of projects, ranging from a $1.4 billion new waterfront neighborhood east of Capitol Hill to a solicitation for development partners for three Petworth sites on Georgia Avenue. It’s commendable that the projects, in the mayor’s words, are “back on track” and moving “as fast as possible.” But we worry that the desire for action is too often cutting out the opportunity for reasonable community input.
The proposed public-private partnership at the site of the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library and Janney Elementary School is a key example. The actions of the city’s economic development officials make it seem that they are not interested in listening to neighbors — a radical disconnect from the Adrian Fenty approach during his tenure on the D.C. Council and during his mayoral campaign.
Community leaders had to file Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain public documents. The city-sponsored meetings held ostensibly to vet proposals did not provide an opportunity for unfettered questions. Instead, city officials selected queries from among those submitted on note cards by audience members.
And when the mayor was ready to announce his administration’s choice of LCOR Inc. to develop an apartment building atop a new library, he did so at a hastily arranged outdoor news conference — held just a few hours after an early-morning announcement was distributed to the media. Even Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh — who had pressed for consideration of a public-private partnership at the site — was caught off-guard and ended up speaking without having had the opportunity to see the final proposal. The administration did not hold a community meeting to discuss the details in the days before the announcement, nor has it held one since.
This doesn’t seem sustainable. In contrast, the same office is pursuing the correct course in the West End — after initial missteps that led to such a public outcry that the D.C. Council rescinded legislation authorizing negotiations about a land sale. Since then, the deputy mayor’s office has allowed neighbors to take the lead in analyzing facilities needs. And now the office is holding its second public meeting on the community’s desires.
As the city continues its ambitious development pace, it should replicate its West End approach, not its many mistakes in Tenley.
