Library News

Ward Three Democratic Committee Calls For More Public Participation

NEWS RELEASE

For Additional Information, Contact:
Thomas M. Smith, Chair
Ward Three Democratic Committee
(202) 364-7130
(202) 363-4452 (Fax)
(202) 276-4635 (Wireless)
tmfsmith@starpower.net (E-mail)

September 27, 2007

Ward Three Democratic Committee Calls For More Public Participation, Including By ANCs, And City-Wide Principles Before Sale Or Transfer Of Public Land To Private Developers
For Public-Private Partnerships

By unanimous voice vote, the Ward Three Democratic Committee approved a resolution at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 25 calling on the DC government to identify and develop a formal set of standards and procedures for how the city will designate public land as surplus and establish criteria for how proposals to sell or transfer public land to developers are to be evaluated.

Moreover, the resolution states that the city should enter into a public-private partnership only if the documented benefits of such a partnership cannot be achieved other than through the disposition of valuable public land.? The resolution also called on the Council and Mayor to comply with current law mandating that affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) be consulted in advance and their views given great weight, including by the Office of Planning, prior to initiating a process on any project that may involve the sale or transfer of city-owned land.

The resolution was approved after presentations to the Committee by Neil Albert, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; Harriet Tregoning, the Director of the Office of Planning; and Sue Hemberger, a local neighborhood activist who addressed a proposed public-private partnership in Tenleytown involving Janney School and the Tenley Library.

150 people attended the meeting of the Ward Three Democratic Committee to hear the speakers address issues about economic development, growth, and public-private partnerships.? Many participants attending the meeting expressed concern that the Tenley community was not consulted formally in advance of a decision by the Office of the Deputy Mayor to develop an RFP soliciting proposals from developers for a public-private partnership at the sites of the Janney School and Tenley Library.

-- end --