Clarification added
Advisory Neighborhood Commission District 3E supports the construction of North Hall and additions to Mary Graydon Center and Nebraska Hall but not Washington College of Law’s move to Tenley Campus.
The ANC announced its decision at the D.C. Zoning Commission hearing Oct. 6, the fifth of six hearings on the AU Campus Plan.
ANC 3E supported the proposed addition of 120 beds to Nebraska Hall.
“Neighbors agreed to doubling the size of Nebraska Hall and are fine with it,” ANC 3E Vice Chair Beverly Sklover said.
AU also proposes to add to North Hall with 360 beds across from McDowell Hall, The Eagle previously reported. If approved, the hall will open fall 2013.
MGC will increase by 20,000 square feet for more dining and student activity space if D.C. Zoning Commission approves the expansion.
ANC 3E does not support WCL move
Sklover said the district did not support WCL’s move to Tenley Campus.
“ANC 3E wants to support the law school, but cannot at this time,” she said.
Sklover said residents are concerned about the increase of parking and traffic in Tenleytown since many children attend school in this area.
“Things will only get worse,” she said.
Sklover suggested an underground parking garage and a policy requiring students to purchase parking permits upon registration. She said this will place a cap on the number of vehicles registered and will solve the current parking issues.
“AU’s Good Neighbor Policy does not stop kids from parking in the neighborhood,” Sklover said.
Contention over East Campus
The construction of East Campus is still a contentious issue for residents due to the increase of students that will live in the area.
East Campus will be composed of four residence halls with 590 beds and two academic buildings.
ANC 3E Commissioner Matthew Frumin said the residents want a final plan of the East Campus.
“We were asked to accept a sign amount of student density, and now it’s changing,” Frumin said.
East Campus is large enough to fit 900 beds if it is constructed to a similar layout in Nebraska Hall, according to Frumin.
Students living off campus an issue for ANC 3E
ANC 3E supports the expansion of residence halls to prevent students from living off campus.
“If you build more housing, fewer kids will be living in our neighborhood,” Frumin said.
Resident Elisabeth Leamy said she refuses to support the Campus Plan due to her experience with AU students.
Two AU students and four graduates live in the house next to Leamy. She said the occupants are consistently loud and throw loud parties into the early morning hours.
“My daughter now wears earmuffs to bed to block out the noise,” Leamy said.
Leamy said she has discussed this problem multiple times with AU administration and saw little change over the past two years.
The house occupants even sent a copious amount of food to her house at 3 a.m. after she called the police the previous night, she said.
D.C. Zoning Commissioner Peter May asked how Leamy handled this issue.
“Did you and your husband ever think of reciprocating?” May said. “As in sending 100 pizzas to the president’s house or something?”
A previous version of this article was headlined "ANC 3E opposes Washington College of Law move, approves North Hall and MGC expansion." The headline may have been confusing as the commissioners "did not support" the move rather than "opposed" the move.
