Really, it's not all that large. (Stanton/Eastbanc)

All the judgments are in on preliminary designs for the former Hine Jr. High School, as interested parties ready themselves for its hearing before the Historic Preservation Review Board next week. They all have various issues with the architectural quality of the designs, which will be refined over the coming months. But the most fundamental question is one of size: How big is too big for such a prominent site across from a metro station and the historic Eastern Market?

At the moment, Stanton/Eastbanc's plans call for an office building on 7th and Pennsylvania that would rise to seven floors, or 88 feet. According to the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, that's "simply too tall and too large to blend gracefully with its Capitol Hill neighbors." The Eastern Market Metro Community Association agreed, insisting that the developers stick to a height limit of 60 feet, as endorsed by ANC 6B two years ago. 

The staff of the Historic Preservation Office, however, wasn't so worried. "Given the breadth of the wide avenue, the relative hierarchical importance of this building in the totality of the project, and the site's frontage on a L'Enfant square and adjacency to a Metro station, additional height in this location is not inappropriate provided that the building is otherwise designed to 'enhance the character of the district and respect its context,'" reviewers wrote, recommending only mild setbacks on the top of the building.

I'm inclined to trust the HPO on this one. This isn't 1850. Metro stations are only as useful as the things that exist there to go to. And from everything I've heard, Barracks Row and Eastern Market retail could really use daytime traffic from the number of office workers this building would house.

But putting height aside, the mentality that everything should stay the same as it's always been–and that if there must be new things, that they blend perfectly in with their surroundings–is even more egregiously on display in EMMCA's demand that developers scrap plans for retail on 8th Street based on their psychoanalysis of what Pierre L'Enfant would have wanted (italics in the original).

L'Enfant probably envisioned, on his first visit to what was to become Washington, this 8th Street SE carrying commerce north from the river, then turning left at Pennsylvania Avenue SE and continuing to carry this neighborhood's commercial district to the U.S. Capitol. Logically, that meant L'Enfant intended residential on D Street north of Pennsylvania Avenue. We can stand at the intersection where L'Enfant stood today, and see what he had in mind. If ANC 6B and HPRB does not act, however, that historic opportunity will be gone forever, as the relationship between commerce and residence, the commercial and public ties between the U.S. Capitol and this busy commercial street, the intersection where the residential neighborhood meets Capitol Hill's main commercial district, will be clouded and blurred by this incursion of commercial along the 700 block of D Street.

That, dear readers, is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. The L'Enfant plan is valuable, to be sure, but if it were so sacrosanct as EMMCA suggests, the entire city would be frozen in amber–certainly not the thriving metropolis it's starting to become.

Find all the above referenced documents here.

The proposed new boundaries of the West Dupont Moratorium Zone.

In a refreshing and heartening display of flexibility, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B voted last night to lift the prohibition on new restaurant-class liquor licenses in the moratorium zone west of Dupont Circle.

After a series of meetings, a committee of the ANC produced a report evaluating the current moratorium, which expires later this month. While the report's drafters rejected the idea of opening the zone up to more bars–reacting in particular to "one actor" within the zone, belly-dancing spot Marrakesh Palace–they found that the neighborhood would be strengthened by the addition of more restaurants. To that end, the ANC's resolution to extend the moratorium for another three years includes a modification that would get rid of the cap on CR/DR licenses, currently set at 21, altogether.

In addition, they want to shrink the zone to exclude One Dupont Circle, the American Council on Education-owned building where Ping Pong Dim Sum has been planning to open for months (they also had to dispatch with another antiquated rule against filling in arcades).

Of course, this doesn't mean that ANC 2B is declaring open season for serving booze–commissioners will still demand that restaurants sign voluntary agreements that will confine their hours of operation. But it is at least a recognition that absolutely limiting the number of liquor licenses can squelch neighborhood vibrance, and even be counterproductive, by jacking up the price of entry so high that only large chain restaurants can enter.

Also encouraging: Down on Barracks Row, the ANC's Retail Mix Task Force decided not to move towards a moratorium, but instead work with more flexible techniques to control noise and parking problems.

Huzzah for rational and progressive hyperlocal governance!

In ANC 1A, Park View blogger Kent Boese is now a commissioner, while neither Jim Graham staffer Calvin Woodland nor Graham foe William Jordan ran for reelection.

In ANC 1B, Aaron Spencer topples ABRA committee chairman Peter Raia, who was moving out of the single member district anyway (new bars, look out for a new ANC contact). Raia foe Brianne Nadeau bows out.

In ANC 1C, Mindy Moretti, former Ward 1 Council candidates Bryan Weaver and Nancy Shia, library activist Chris Otten all gone.

In ANC 1D, chairman Gregg Edwards keeps his seat (defeating Mount Pleasant Main Streets' Phil Greiner) as does pal Jack McKay; D.C. bicycle ambassador Ben West, Laura Phelan, and Tommy Wells staffer China Terrell join the fun.

In the only contested race in ANC 2B, Ramon Estrada–scourge of noisy bars everywhere–fends off smart growth insurgent Sunit Talapatra.

In ANC 2C, Kevin Chapple cruises to victory over challenger Leroy Thorpe, which must be some consolation to Convention Center Community Association president Martin Moulton, who failed to take out Doris Brooks in her run for reelection against Rickey Williams (UPDATE, Thursday 6:45 a.m.: See Moulton's account of the event here.)

In ANC 3E, Greater Greater Washington and Ward 3 Vision favorite Tom Quinn beats Sally Greenberg.

In ANC 5C, Tim Clark squeaks out a win over Denise Wright, James Fournier ousts Barrie "The Commish" Daneker, and Jioni Palmer replaces Marshall Phillips. This ANC could see some change.

In ANC 6B, Kirsten Oldenburg survives a challenge from transparency crusader Larry Janezich, as does Neil Glick from Laura McSorley–by nine votes!–but another reformer, Brian Pate, defeats Ken Jarboe.

In ANC 6D, David "DG-Rad" Garber knocks off Robert Siegel, and chairman Ron McBee survives a challenge from Mary Williams.

In ANC 8E, Sandra Seegars had no challenger, but Kay Armstead–who has led Highland Dwellings residents in their resistance to the Housing Authority's relocation efforts–was defeated, 53 percent to 44 percent.

The future memorial? (www.bannekermemorial.com)

At an ANC 6D meeting Tuesday night, commissioners considered a request by the Washington Interdependence Council to endorse the addition of "Banneker Memorial" to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station. It would be only fair, WIC's Peggy Seats argued: The southern end of the promenade over which the station sits was designated in 1971 as Benjamin Banneker Park, and Congress authorized the building of a memorial to Banneker–somewhere, not necessarily there–in 1998.

But raising the $25 million it would take to build the memorial has proven difficult. The authorization has since expired, and although Senator Roland Burris has introduced new legislation, it's unlikely to pass this session. Currently, there is still no memorial in "Banneker Park," and few people even realize it's there–hence the Metro request.

"There's no reference to it until you get there, and that's part of the problem," Seats told the commissioners.

Commission chairman Ron McBee, while expressing support for the memorial, wasn't interested in the name change–with no physical destination, it's not relevant to the Metro system, he argued.

"This is a wayfinding issue," McBee said.

In explaining his rationale for opposing the change, McBee also quoted extensively from a letter sent to the commission by Peter May, Associate Regional Director for Lands, Resources and Planning at the National Park Service, who said that nothing was happening on that parcel anytime soon. Furthermore, he wrote, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission had recommended that the memorial be placed within the L'Enfant Promenade, rather than on the Overlook.

"Therefore, in our view, a proposal to add a Banneker Memorial designation to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro would be inappropriate at this time," the letter reads.

Seats, needless to say, was not happy. The memorial's supporters, she wrote afterwards in an email, were "very disturbed at this biased position which certainly does not reflect the notion of working towards a more inclusive composition of monuments in the nation's capitol, not to mention the discrediting of our civic agency as the administrators of the commemorative effort."

So, still no recognition for America's first black man of science–and all hopes ride on Senator Burris.

It's probable that I will be writing more about this in the coming week. As usual, information welcome: ldepillis@washingtoncitypaper.com.

Incoming: Noodles and kabobs. (Lydia DePillis)

Some Capitol Hill residents have watched with alarm as more restaurants and bars have flocked to vibrant 8th Street SE, replacing long-time retail establishments. Most recently, the darling pet shop Chateau Animaux announced it would sell its building to not one but two restaurants: A Moby Dick House of Kabob, and a noodle place called Nooshi.

For the last several months, a "retail mix committee" of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B has been thinking about the problem: How to retain neighborhood services like pet shops and dry cleaners, when bars and restaurants can pay much higher rents? The Barracks Row zoning overlay limiting eating and drinking establishments to 50 percent of street frontage only covers the blocks south of the expressway; most of the core commercial zone can have as many liquor licenses as it can hold.

Last night, Commissioner Norm Metzger laid out next steps. Starting in December, a series of public meetings will contemplate various potential remedies. First up: A moratorium, which would set a cap on the total number of licenses allowed. It's the most blunt instrument neighborhoods have at their disposal to limit the impact of alcohol, and many have taken that step; Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, and Glover Park all have caps in place. Councilmember Jim Graham recently raised the idea of slapping a moratorium on U Street.

It's not a done deal, of course. "The take-home message from this is not that we are advocating for a moratorium on Capitol Hill," Metzger cautioned. But there will be loud voices in favor. In fact, two people at last night's meeting rose in support of a temporary freeze on new licenses while the Commission decides whether it wanted to endorse a full moratorium (which can only be imposed by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration).

"We didn't choose to live in an Adams Morgan-like environment," said one woman, "which I think we can all agree is a bad thing."

Last night, Capitol Hillers testified before ANC 6B about the various development proposals—promoting hotels, retail, housing, and subsidized non-profit office space—for the Hine Junior High School site, an important parcel between Pennsylvania Avenue and Eastern Market on Capitol Hill.

The ANC had planned to pick out a favorite and pass their choice onto the city. That didn't happen though.

Two clear front-runners emerged, according to Ken Jarboe, ANC vice chair. Those testifying seemed divided into three groups:

"One third was in favor of Stanton, the other in StreetSense, and the other didn’t specify a preference but had specific concerns and criteria," says Jarboe.

Ultimately, the ANC decided to just write up a list of twelve criteria—regarding building heights, the size of proposed hotels, etc.—that would be submitted to the city.

(I'll post that when I receive it.)

"From my point of view, I can’t support any of the proposals at this point. There are a number of good things...I think all the proposals are going to have to juggle to stay within what we want," says Jarboe.

The city will be inviting some of the developers to submit revised plans, according to ANC chair Dave Garrison, though he didn't think they'd be presented to the public for comment.

Here's more information on all the plans:

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Plan 1:The Looks Familiar Plan, The Bozzutto Group/Scallan Properties/Lehr Jackson Associates/E.R. Bacon Development, LLC/Blue Skye Development/CityStrategy, LLC

Plan 2:The Plan Without a Plan:National Leadership Campus/Western Development Group

Plan 3:The Fancy Stuff Plan: StreetSense/DSF/Menkiti Group

Plan 4: The All-Knowing Plan: Stanton Development Corporation/Eastbanc Inc./Autopark Inc./The Jarvis Companies/Dantes Partners