Lucye Rafferty/The Hoya The plans approved by the D.C. Zoning Commission called for the new Georgetown boathouse to be located upstream of the Washington Canoe Club (far left).
Years of negotiations and months of hearings came down to an hour-long meeting on Dec. 11 where city officials signed off on Georgetown University’s plans to build a boathouse on the Potomac River.
The university agreed to a land swap with the National Park Service in 1998 on the condition that the university would receive approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission to build on the site.
“We’re just happy that this part of the process is completed,” University Architect Alan Brangman said.
Tony Johnson, men’s crew head coach, said that the university hopes to begin construction on the facility by Jan. 2005 and occupy the building by March 2006.
The university was met with last-minute opposition from local rowing organizations and environmental groups that opposed the construction of the 33,000-square-foot structure because it would transfer public land for private use and obstruct views of the river.
Lengthy debates dominated three Zoning Commission public hearings in June and July and although the university received partial approval of the project at a July 31 meeting, the university could not submit permit applications until receiving final consent.
“In terms of the building completion, we’re looking forward to the next stages, the permit process and fundraising, among others, that have to happen before construction begins,” Brangman said.
The permit process will take between six and nine months, Brangman said, and cannot begin until the university receives a written order detailing the commission’s ruling.
Three commissioners reached consensus on the boathouse with little debate, angering opponents of the project who had hoped to see a scaled-down version of the facility. But the zoning commission attached several conditions on the facility including parking arrangements and right-of-way on the Potomac.
Johnson said he was unsure as to whether the university would face lawsuits from opponents of the facility at a Georgetown Waterfront Commission meeting on Wednesday, but said that he thought the Zoning Commission had done “such a thorough job in reviewing the case” that the ruling would be difficult to challenge.
Opponents argued that the university had exerted unfair political influence during the entire land swap process.
“It was a considerably done deal beforehand,” said Paul Pollinger, a member of the Washington Canoe Club, which is adjacent to the university’s site. “Georgetown is a one-thousand-pound giant.”
Georgetown has been in land swap discussions with the NPS since 1987, when the park service set aside riverfront land for recreational use.
Pollinger blamed the university for not being more open about their negotiations.
“I question Georgetown’s ethics on this,” he said.
Several opponents had argued that the transfer of public land for private development established a dangerous example, but Zoning Commission chair Carol Mitten said that this was out of the commission’s jurisdiction.
“When a property owner comes to take action, we are obliged to allow them to develop their land,” she said.
Opponents had also objected to the size of the building, but May said that the building’s attractive design would make for a welcome addition to the riverfront.
“There are a wide range of concerns, but I don’t view any single one as a showstopper,” he said.
The Zoning Commission expressed concerns regarding public access to the riverfront, but nonetheless agreed to the university’s request to a special exemption on a zoning variance that requires all boathouses to be at least 20 feet from the waterfront.
The facility will sit 15 feet from the waterfront with an overhead balcony that leaves seven feet between the river and the top of the structure.
“There is an inherent need to be close to the water [for a boathouse],” Commissioner Peter May said, arguing that a 15-foot setback would still ensure unobstructed access to the waterfront.
The National Capital Planning Commission had said that the proposed 54-foot height of the boathouse exceeded a 1995 agreement with the NPS that kept the height at 40 feet.
May said that the design complied with this agreement, however, because the Zoning Commission measures buildings by the height of the top floor’s ceiling and not by the peak of the roof.
Commissioner Anthony Hood remained concerned that the zoning commission’s stipulations on the approval would be overlooked.
“One of the things we need to grapple with is its enforceability,” he said.
The university currently shares space at Thompson’s Boathouse with the George Washington University crew team and various high school teams, rowing clubs and individual rowers.
“The high school community played a large role,” in supporting the project, Johnson said.
Frederick Mopsik, co-chair of the C&O Canal Association’s environmental committee, said that the commission had overlooked the concerns of the surrounding facilities, including the possibility of additional riverfront development.
“It’s a concern that this could start a precedent of construction along the river,” Mopsik said.
At Wednesday’s waterfront commission meeting, representatives from George Washington University said that they have begun moving forward with land swap talks in order to trade two riverfront properties on K St. for land in the W-0 zone.
The university has raised nearly two-thirds of the $15 million required for the facility, a two-story building with two adjoining wings fashioned in a traditional, wood-shingled design.
Staff writer Daniel Gourvitch contributed to this report.