• By Stephen Staudigl
• April 06, 2020

NCPC Approves Consent Calendar by Notational Vote

Washington, DC—While there was no April 2, 2020 National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) meeting due to the COVID-19 guidance on gatherings, Commissioners did vote by email to approve the Consent Calendar items listed below and a proposed by-law amendment to expressly allow online Commission meetings. While NCPC’s office is closed, the agency is open for business through online services, including digital project submissions.

Some items listed in the tentative agenda, including the information presentations and review of the modification of the general development plan for the Meadowbrook Stables riding ring pavilion, were deferred to a future meeting.

Consent Calendar Items (Commission approved by notational email vote). Brief project details follow:
• Rock Creek National Park Signage Guidelines (final site development plans)
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - Exterior Building Repairs (preliminary and final building plans)
• Amendments to the Square 491 Guidelines, Parcel B, at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (approval of square guidelines and preliminary and final site and building plans)
• 11th Street Bridge Park (preliminary site development plans)
• Naval Support Facility Suitland Master Plan (final master plan)

The final signage design guidelines submitted by the National Park Service for the 1,754 acre Rock Creek National Park seek to achieve a unified design for all signs in the park by using a simple, concise, and clear graphic identity. This will help reduce visual clutter and redundancy, and make the signs easier for people to read and understand.

After 45 years, the Hirshhorn Museum façade and roof is need of repair due to aging, weather, and deficiencies in its original design. Plans submitted by the Smithsonian Institution call for replacement of the building’s exterior façade panels, which will be replaced in-kind with new, visually similar panels. They will be situated three inches further out from the building to provide better waterproofing and insulation.

The Square 491 Square Guidelines of the Pennsylvania Avenue Plan and related preliminary and final site and building plans for 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW submitted by the General Services Administration were also approved. Johns Hopkins University can continue to move forward with its plan to transform the former Newseum into a state-of-the-art educational facility. The building will house Johns Hopkins’ consolidated Washington, DC center for advanced academic programs.

Preliminary site development plans for the 11th Street Bridge Park, submitted by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), were approved and included a note about how the project will better connect the communities on both sides of the Anacostia River and provide welcoming and vibrant spaces for visitors in the new destination and park. Department of Navy concerns about visibility and access to the Washington Navy Yard, located just north of the bridge park, were addressed. The park structure will reuse the existing piers from the old 11th Street Bridge crossing at the Anacostia River. The approved comments request that DDOT provide several additional details in the final submission. These include more information on bicycle and pedestrian signage and shared path materials; and a lighting plan, which should include illumination levels and renderings that demonstrate the project’s cumulative lighting impacts,

The final master plan for the Naval Support Facility Suitland (Maryland) submitted by the Department of the Navy responded to all previous November 2019 Commission comments, including a requested defined parking reduction plan with a long-term goal of one parking space per three employees that is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital’s parking goals. The master plan has a timeframe of 20 years with no population growth or change in mission, and an emphasis on maintaining installation operations through renovation projects and construction of a new 40,000 square foot building addition, visitor screening center, and employee parking garage.

The Executive Director approved five items under authority delegated by the Commission:
1. Final site and building plans for a vehicle and pedestrian access control point at the Pentagon North Village, Arlington, VA. (7958)
2. Preliminary and final building plans for a new salt and sand shed at the National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland (8154)
3. Preliminary and final site and building plans for the renovation of Buildings 46 and 67 at the Washington Navy Yard, 1314 Harwood Street, SE. (8157)
4. Final site and building plans for a visitors center at the Herbert R. Temple Jr. Army National Guard Readiness Center, 111 South George Mason Drive, Arlington, Virginia. (8135)
5. Report to the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia regarding a Map Amendment at Square 982, 1101-1125 H Street, NE. (ZC 19-25)