Neighbors of American University, which is slogging though zoning hearings over its 10-year campus plan, say they’re worried the institution’s planned growth will run unchecked and doesn’t adequately consider the needs of the surrounding community. “No one wants to tell the university to go away,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D Chairman Tom Smith. “But you don’t want it in your face, either.”
Meanwhile, supporters of the plan, which includes relocating its law school to the Tenleytown Metro station area and a new dorm in place of a parking lot at Ward Circle, say it will bring more students on campus and out of neighborhoods.
“It doesn’t appear that putting beds on what is now a parking lot would create ‘objectionable conditions,’ ” said political science major Matthew Lien, referring to a common neighborhood complaint.
The third zoning hearing on the plan lasted four hours. Most of the time was taken up by residents questioning city planning staff, whose report generally approved of American’s plan.
Residents took issue with heights on planned buildings adjacent to neighborhoods, potential retailers the university planned to woo, and what some called ambiguity in the plan.
Jonathan Bender, ANC 3E chairman, said after the meeting he was wary that the university would open only fast-food shops or student bookstores in the new development.
“[I’d like them to] work with the neighborhood and find retail that both the neighborhood and students would like to see,” he said. “Today they seem to be looking at just what their students want.”
Smith, who called the planning staff’s report “disappointing,” said he was worried about the university’s aggressive acquisition of commercial properties over the last decade.
“We have a real problem here where AU over last 10 years has bought up close to 1 million square feet of commercial retail property and is using that as a way to expand the footprint of campus,” he said. “What [the office of planning] said … is we’re just not going to look at that.”
