Whayne's World
Whayne Quin and his partners at Wilkes, Artis, Hedrick & Lane make developers' dreams--and neighborhoods' nightmares--come true.
Cover Story
Whayne Quin, president of the law firm Wilkes, Artis, Hedrick & Lane, expected the D.C. Zoning Commission hearing on July 28, 1994, to be “a piece of cake.”
The five-member body was debating an obscure, technical amendment to the zoning regulations, and the discussion promised to be as riveting as, well, a Zoning Commission meeting. Quin, a 29-year veteran of such hearings and the leading land-use lawyer in the city, figured the commissioners would race through the testimony and vote in his favor. He spoke first, petitioning the board to allow “tolling” of zoning permits, a procedural change that would protect developers from lawsuits.
Quin may have expected a piece of cake. What he got was a pie in the face. When he completed his dry, legalistic presentation, an army of community activists rose to rebut him. These witnesses—nearly 20 in all—condemned the tolling provision, but that wasn't the only reason many of them had come. They also wanted to attack Wilkes, Artis.
Barbara Kahlow, vice president of the Foggy Bottom Association, complained that “communities are powerless against [the] arrogance” of Wilkes, Artis and its wealthy clients.
Marie Drissel, head of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) in Sheridan/Kalorama, blasted the tolling measure as a scheme to help Quin and his partners. “The sole purpose of this regulation is to...provide a defense to the law firm of Wilkes, Artis, Hedrick & Lane for any claims its client may have against it,” declaimed Drissel.... Continued
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