Zoning officials described a "gulf" between GW and its Foggy Bottom neighbors Thursday night at the second public hearing on the 20-year Campus Plan.
The Zoning Commission is in the process of considering GW's 20-year Campus Plan, filed with the city in February. If approved, the plan would allow GW to build additional floors on buildings in the center of campus in exchange for restrictions on which properties can be developed.
"I don't see any commonality between the two groups," said Zoning Commissioner Gregory Jeffries, referring to the disagreement between GW and neighborhood organizations about development.
The hearing included testimony from D.C. Office of Planning, the District Department of Transportation and the Foggy Bottom/West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, a group of residents who brief the Zoning Commission on neighborhood concerns.
At the end of the hearing, Zoning Commissioner Anthony Hood advised both sides to try to make progress toward a compromise before the end of the hearings.
"We're going to have to make the hard decisions, and we don't mind doing that," Hood said. "But we don't have to live in the neighborhood; we're not going to be feeling the impact."
The current Campus Plan, passed in 1999, is a 10-year agreement between the University and the Foggy Bottom community. It restricts GW's development on campus but allows the University the freedom to choose which sites to develop.
The current plan did not officially take effect until this fall because of a Court of Appeals decision saying GW wouldn't be in compliance with the plan until this point. The University became involved in litigation over the conditions of the plan in 2001.
ANC Commissioner Michael Thomas warned zoning officials that they were misguided in thinking that the new Campus Plan would develop GW into a more prestigious institution.
"I think (the Zoning Commission) should guard against buying into an ambitious vision," he said.
The Zoning Commission is in the process of considering GW's 20-year Campus Plan, filed with the city in February. If approved, the plan would allow GW to build additional floors on buildings in the center of campus in exchange for restrictions on which properties can be developed.
"I don't see any commonality between the two groups," said Zoning Commissioner Gregory Jeffries, referring to the disagreement between GW and neighborhood organizations about development.
The hearing included testimony from D.C. Office of Planning, the District Department of Transportation and the Foggy Bottom/West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, a group of residents who brief the Zoning Commission on neighborhood concerns.
At the end of the hearing, Zoning Commissioner Anthony Hood advised both sides to try to make progress toward a compromise before the end of the hearings.
"We're going to have to make the hard decisions, and we don't mind doing that," Hood said. "But we don't have to live in the neighborhood; we're not going to be feeling the impact."
The current Campus Plan, passed in 1999, is a 10-year agreement between the University and the Foggy Bottom community. It restricts GW's development on campus but allows the University the freedom to choose which sites to develop.
The current plan did not officially take effect until this fall because of a Court of Appeals decision saying GW wouldn't be in compliance with the plan until this point. The University became involved in litigation over the conditions of the plan in 2001.
ANC Commissioner Michael Thomas warned zoning officials that they were misguided in thinking that the new Campus Plan would develop GW into a more prestigious institution.
"I think (the Zoning Commission) should guard against buying into an ambitious vision," he said.
