Residents in two neighborhoods of the city’s toniest ward filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop the construction of a 50-unit shelter for homeless families.
The lawsuit says the D.C. Council did not give advanced notice to those living near the proposed site in Ward 3, behind the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District station on Idaho Avenue Northwest. It also says residents weren’t allowed to weigh in on the site when lawmakers hastily approved the plan in May.
It’s the latest wrinkle in city officials’ multimillion-dollar plans to shutter the run-down, 270-room homeless shelter at the former D.C. General Hospital and open seven smaller facilities around the city. Residents have criticized the site selection process for not including their consideration or input but have expressed support for closing D.C. General and building smaller shelters.
Nearly two-dozen residents in the McLean Gardens and Cathedral Heights neighborhoods in Ward 3, which hosts fewer city-owned homeless shelter units than any other ward, have signed onto the lawsuit. They filed as a group called Neighbors for Responsive Government, and their lawsuit was first reported by The Northwest Current.
The residents claim in the lawsuit that the area’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission must have time to approve the site.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on pending legislation, a spokesperson said, adding that the mayor is reviewing the lawsuit and has passed it on to Attorney General Karl Racine. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, also declined to comment on pending litigation.
Council member Mary Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat, said the residents’ claims are flat-out wrong.
“From the beginning, nearby residents who oppose the Idaho Avenue shelter have claimed that the ANC had to approve the legislation the council voted on. However, this misunderstands the process,” Ms. Cheh said in a statement Wednesday.
The basis for the lawsuit, Ms. Cheh said, rests on a law that applies only to a change in the use of a city-owned property. The council has approved the funds to build the shelter, not to change the property’s use — an action that can be taken only by the city’s zoning commission, she said.
“Once the application for zoning relief is made, the ANC will be asked to provide its view. And, of course, the zoning commission will give that view great weight,” said Ms. Cheh, a lawyer. “But we have not yet come to that point. The fact that the council voted for an appropriation for a shelter site on Idaho Avenue does not eliminate, in any way, the ANC or community’s involvement.”
In June, Ms. Cheh sent a letter to Human Services Director Laura Zeilinger requesting the formation of a community advisory committee to give residents the opportunity to engage with the city as the shelter plan moves forward.
The site, at 3320 Idaho Ave. NW, is set back from the road and abuts the Newark Street Community Garden. The shelter is to be built behind the 2nd District police station in a relatively residential neighborhood with large houses lining Idaho Avenue and Newark Street.
Across Idaho Avenue stands Cathedral Commons — a large retail development that includes a Giant supermarket, a CVS drugstore, a Starbucks and several eateries. It is serviced by the 30, 31 and 33 Metro bus lines that run along Wisconsin Avenue. The nearest Metro station is Cleveland Park, about a mile east of the shelter site.
The lawsuit marks the second time this year that residents have opposed a proposed shelter site in Ward 3. The original site — 2619 Wisconsin Ave. NW in the Massachusetts Heights neighborhood — drew criticism when Ms. Bowser announced the plan in February.
“It was sprung on people by the mayor: ’Take it or leave it. There will be no community input,’” Massachusetts Heights resident Anita Crabtree said of the city’s homeless plan in March. “It was a done deal. At a minimum, the ANCs should have been involved.”
Residents in other neighborhoods around the city pushed back against Ms. Bowser’s original homeless shelter plan, citing a lack of transparency and high costs. The mayor’s plan would have leased several properties from private developers, leaving the city without future ownership of the facilities.
Under Mr. Mendelson’s supervision, the council overhauled the mayor’s plan, pushing the District to build shelters on city-owned properties instead of leasing sites from developers. The city already owns two of the proposed shelter sites in Wards 7 and 8 and will buy property or move other shelters to city-owned land.
The Mendelson plan moved several of the proposed sites, including the original Ward 3 site on Wisconsin Avenue. The city-owned Idaho Avenue Northwest site has garnered unanimous council approval.
Mr. Mendelson has said his revision dramatically lowers costs for the city.
An independent assessment showed that the city would overpay by more than $23 million to lease the five sites under the Bowser plan, which would have cost about $27 million per year in leases and more than $800 million over the next 30 years.
The Mendelson plan calls for the District to move three of the proposed sites to city-owned land and obtain the land for the other two sites through purchase or eminent domain. The new plan would cost about $100 million upfront for land and construction. The council analysis says it would save the District about $165 million total over the terms of the proposed leases — from 20 to 30 years, depending on the site.
• Ryan M. McDermott can be reached at rmcdermott@washingtontimes.com.
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