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Here come two Pro se Petitioners, Daniel Wolkoff and Chris Otten, with a reply in
support of the Joint Emergency Motion for an Injunction as filed by Daniel Wolkoff on August
30, 2019.
Vision McMillan Partners, LLC, intervened and filed a Response to the Joint Emergency
Motion on September 9, 2019, supporting by reference responses from other parties, including
the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) and the District of
Columbia Mayor's Agent on Historic Preservation (DCMA), both which filed responses on
September 6, 2019.
1
Pursuant to Court Rules 26 & 27, Petitioners Wolkoff and Otten file this timely reply to
challenge the baseless positions of all parties in opposition to an immediate injunction of the
demolition activities at the subject site in question -- the nationally registered historic McMillan
As shown by the Wolkoff Declaration dated August 29, 2019, and attached to the August
30, 2019, Joint Emergency Motion for Injunction, there are demolition activities underway at
McMillan Park and they have been exceedingly ramped up since the Court ordered a briefing
2
DMPED responds to Petitioner's claims stating, "None of the filter beds or other
historical structures on the Site have been demolished pursuant to permit No. D1600814, nor is
such activity anticipated for at least four months," referencing a declaration from a DMPED
staffer. See, Opposition of Intervenor The Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic
It is within the ken of laypeople to understand that indeed the historically protected
topography at McMillan Park is being permanently altered. The open plains of the site are being
torn up and out. With these adverse activities, heavy demolition trucks are scraping the tops of
the historically protected water filter cells below. The manhole portals on top of the cells have
been moved off their foundations in some instances and those remaining in place have been
clawed at and damaged. This Court can see how far along these demolition activities have come
since the photos attached in Wolkoff's Declaration dated August 29, 2019.
Despite the obvious damage to the historic site and its assets now, DMPED expects the
Court and public to believe the current activities at McMillan Park, "... includes removing topsoil
from the concrete tops of the filter beds, which are made of unreinforced concrete, to determine
The extent of the damage underway is bad, very bad. This damage however is largely, if
not completely, the direct result of the current illegal activities at the site at the hands of a
overzealous agency seeking to prematurely and permanently demolish these historic assets.
Without a doubt, as shown in the photos and any visit to the site, the historic characteristics and
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assets -- the open green plains, filter beds, and water cells -- are being severely altered and
Laughably, DMPED staff says, "The current on-site activity, and any activity planned for
the coming months, involves testing the means and methods of anticipated construction to ensure
the historic structures on the McMillan Site are protected." DMPED.Opp at page 7.
Further, DMPED states, "... the Deputy Mayor will provide updates to community
groups, including the affected ANC and the McMillan Advisory Group, before demolition of
Despite these bold yet meaningless statements by DMPED, no one in the community was
made aware of when the very large machinery and trucks and substantial work at McMillan Park
now underway would begin. No one anticipated this current premature alteration and demolition
activities because it wasn't announced, and indeed was only ramped up after the Court issued a
briefing calendar on August 26, 2019, in DCCA Case Nos. 18-AA-500 & 501.
DMPED is an agency of the District of Columbia and its taxpayers. DMPED admits the
current activities are born out of their office. DMPED.Opp at page 8. ('Moreover, no demolition
of the underground filter beds will take place at the Deputy Mayor’s behest under permit No.
D1600814 until several additional steps have been completed . . . The 2013 WASA
proceedings are not and have never been part of the present appeal, and that work was not
Wolkoff has not argued that he is likely to prevail on the merits, and the merits
were decided in the Deputy Mayor’s favor in FOMP II – WRONG!
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Petitioners are not sure what part of pending claims before the Court in DCCA Case Nos.
18-AA-500 and 501, DMPED can't understand. Petitioners survived a Motion to Dismiss
exactly because we argued that our pending claims are quite different and distinct from those
adjudicated in FOMP II. Those merits will be argued in briefing and a status quo posture to
enjoin permanent irreversible damage to the existing McMillan Park historic assets is critical
until this Court can hear those claims. We will remind DMPED that the DC Office of Planning
has demonstrated on the record that indeed many of the water filtration cells at McMillan Park
can be restored for a price, but not if they are purposefully altered, damaged, and ultimately
Moreover, the "topsoil" DMPED references was deliberately filled more than 100 years
ago at the direction of Olmsted Jr, the designer of McMillan Park. DMPED wants to argue that
the historically protected plains of the site that which this topsoil largely consists of is some kind
of basic turf and lawn (as if in front of one's condo building) and thus has no merit in the
historically protected topography and aesthetic of the site. That couldn't be further from the truth
and the alteration and removal of this topography is a direct injury to the assets and characteristic
of the site.
In 1907, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to design the park, which resulted in a
picturesque drive and walking paths around the reservoir, landscaped grounds at the
filtration plant, and a recreation area at the southern end of the site, culminating at a high
point with a fountain, designed by architect Charles Platt and sculptor Henry Adams, in
honor of James McMillan.
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The designation of the reservoir and sand filtration site as a publicly accessible park was
a testament to his efforts to beautify the nation's capital by enlarging and enhancing its
system of public open spaces as part of the City Beautiful Movement at the turn of the
century.
The underground filter beds were covered with topsoil to form an extensive flat lawn,
while the linear courts were planted with allees of cork trees to either side of the sand
bins, sand washers and regulator houses which aligned the central axis of the courts.
The grassy open space of the site actually corresponds with the roofs of the twenty,
below-grade concrete filter beds that have been covered by a layer of fill. To construct
these filter beds, the site's topography was re-graded, and an extensive campaign of cut
and fill created an artificial topography that rises approximately sixteen feet above the
level of Channing Street to the south and is depressed approximately ten feet from the
level of Michigan Avenue to the north.
Excerpts from the approved 2013 Nomination Application registering McMillan Park as a
national historic landmark per the Historic Preservation Act.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/13000022.htm
Wolkoff, Otten, and the other Petitioners are found throughout the various agency records
across numerous years as testifying in opposition to DMPED’s McMillan Town Center project,
and along with it the demolition of most of the site's historic resources including nearly all of the
McMillan Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture, The McMillan Conservancy, and Friends of
Lincoln's Cottage -- all organizations that have a direct organizational mission to protect
McMillan Park and a clear nexus with the outcomes at McMillan Park.
The alteration and demolition activities presently underway -- no matter if DMPED calls
its "testing" of the site -- is actually testing the bar of irreversible damage of a protected site as
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under the Historic Preservation Act and the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic
Preservation (attached).
Joint Petitioners all have a definable aesthetic, financial, and personal stake in the
preservation of the site according to the standards found in the law and in the preservation
covenants permanently running with the McMillan Park deed. Again, as demonstrated
thoroughly throughout the record and as will be further demonstrated in briefing of the pending
claims.
McMillan Park is a public historic site. Its owned by the public, including Petitioners, its
upkeep is being funded by taxpayers, its loved by the Petitioners for many reasons, its visited by
Petitioners regularly no matter the allegations of DMPED, and its value in benefit to the
environment -- air, water, noise -- cannot be underestimated for Petitioners well being. These
extent qualities and existing aesthetic of the site are undoubtedly providing value and enjoyed by
Petitioners now. There are no equities in favor of DMPED that support the breaking of the law
"Thus, as long as legal obstacles to the completion of the entire project remain,
demolition of historic structures on the Filtration Complex will not be consistent with the
purposes of the Historic Preservation Act. One remaining legal obstacle is the on-going
appeal of the Zoning Commission’s approval of the PUD application for the project. Until
that appeal and any other obstacles to the applicant's ability to complete the project are
resolved, the applicants may not commence demolition.”
Page 52 of DCCA decision on Friends of McMillan Park vs Mayor's Agent Peter Byrne
(DMPED) petition for review of appeal stated:
https://www.dccourts.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/18-AA-357.pdf
7
The Court has said any legal obstacles prevents the demolition of the site. Conveniently,
DMPED forgets that on August 26, 2019, this Court ordered briefing as to pending claims by the
Pro se Petitioners. Instead DMPED wants to deflect away from this fact and point to
administrative appeals of the Demolition Permit, which only provides further demonstration of
"obstacles" to starting and finishing DMPED's alteration and demolition of this historic national
landmark.
Purposefully bringing permanent damage to any historic sites, let alone one that has not
had all administrative and judicial reviews exhausted is anathema to the Historic Preservation
Act. The equities as such favor the Petitioners who seek to protect and preserve McMillan Park
and its historic characteristics, topography, and assets according to the Secretary of Interior
Speculation provided by DMPED of what could happen at the site in the future is far
different than preserving the public interest in this national historic landmark at McMillan Park
now. It is within the public interest, namely that DC for Reasonable Development, McMillan
Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture, The McMillan Conservancy, and Friends of Lincoln
Cottage – as Pro se Petitioners are members and all of whom have contested DMPED's proposed
project since day one. None of the officials -- City Council, Mayor, Advisory Neighborhood
Commission -- are above the law or supersede the directives of this Court.
DMPED is lying to the public and the Court, saying, "The current activities on the Site
consist primarily of topsoil removal and structural testing—that is, preparation work that does
8
not affect historical structures." DMPED.Opp at 12. Clearly they are damaging the historic
The public interest is to keep the status quo until all pending claims before agencies and
CONCLUSION
For the reasons above, Petitioners ask the court grant the Joint Motion for Emergency
Signed,
Daniel Wolkoff
Chris Otten
9
ATTACHMENTS
Secretary of Interior’s Standards and guidelines for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings
and McMillan restrictive Covenants GSA assigned in the deed upon sale to DC 1987
“any and all rehabilitation and renovation work at the parcel, will be undertaken in
accordance with the “Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines
for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings” (Standards) --substitute for Section 106
The following Standards for Rehabilitation are the criteria used to determine if a rehabilitation
project qualifies as a certified rehabilitation. The intent of the Standards is to assist the long-term
preservation of a property’s significance through the preservation of historic materials and
features. The Standards pertain to historic buildings of all materials, construction types, sizes,
and occupancy and encompass the exterior and the interior of historic buildings. The Standards
also encompass related landscape features and the building’s site and environment, as well as
attached, adjacent, or related new construction. To be certified, a rehabilitation project must be
determined by the Secretary to be consistent with the historic character of the structure(s) and,
where applicable, the district in which it is located. The following Standards are to be applied to
specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and
technical feasibility. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use
that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and
environment.
The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic
materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.
1. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use.
Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural
features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.
2. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance
in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
3. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship
that characterize a historic property shall be preserved.
4. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of
deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the
old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials.
Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or
pictorial evidence.
5. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic
materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be
undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
6. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved.
If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
7. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy
historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated
from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural
features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
8. new additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a
manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic
property and its environment would be unimpaired.
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
Summary of Recommendations
for Site Revitalization
February, 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Community Goals 6
Site Conditions 12
Acknowledgements 40
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
3
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
HISTORIC PRESERVATION PARAMETERS
Historic Overview Collage
4
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
HISTORIC PRESERVATION PARAMETERS
Built structures
above and below
ground on 25-acre
site are historic
On the DC
Inventory of
Historic Sites
Listing of site on
National Register is
pending
Ongoing
consultation
process
established by
MOA w/ US
Advisory Council
on Historic
N Preservation
(allowed sale to
District)
5
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
SITE CONDITIONS
Stabilization of the site will
require a combination of
structural interventions:
Preservation – Reinforcing
the cell structure to
prevent future cracking
and to allow for re-use
either above or below
grade.
Demolition – Removing a
portion or all of a cells
structure, particularly the
deck where there is
cracking and collapse.
Demolition costs include
amount for compacting the
land to make it suitable for
new development.
13
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
CELL DESIGNATION
DESCRIPTION Built on fill, active Built in cut areas, Interior cells, built in
cracking, some active cracking cut areas, no signs
failures, add’l observed around of new cracking in
failures likely perimeter last 30 yrs.
OPEN SPACE
PRESERVE CELLS Not Feasible $2.02M per cell $1.79M per cell
DEMOLISH CELLS $860K per cell $860K per cell $860K per cell
FILL CELLS $440K per cell $440K per cell $440K per cell
FOUR STORY
BUILDING
PRESERVE CELLS Not Feasible $2.56M per cell $2.33M per cell
DEMOLISH CELLS $2M per cell $1.37M per cell $1.37M per cell
(Also Includes Site
Compacting Costs)
FILL CELLS $1.61M per cell $920K per cell $920K per cell
14
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
COST RANGES BY CELL CONDITION
15
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT SITE CONDITIONS
3. The 4 TYPE III Cells are the most stable and should be
preserved and adaptively re-used as well as the 2 courts. These
cells are in the best location and in the best condition to
accommodate a central community open space.
16
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
REVITALIZATION NEEDS & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
The site is an
important
cultural
landscape in the
history of the
District of
Columbia. The
site is also one
of the few large
scale, District-
owned
revitalization
sites in Ward 5
and in the city.
Revitalization of
McMillan must
balance historic
PLANNED PROJECTS
ACRES OWNER preservation,
McMillan Sand Filtration Site 25 District community
2. Soldiers Home East Campus 49 Federal
impacts and
3. Soldiers Home West Campus (pending) 65 Federal
4. Rhode Island Metro/Brentwood Kmart 27.5 WMATA
economic
5. Proposed Conference Center / Hotel 5.48 District sufficiency.
6. Georgia Avenue / HU Town Center n/a Multiple
7. Brookland Metro Site + CUA Site 7.2 WMATA
8. Future New York Avenue Metro Area n/a Multiple
9. North Capitol Street Retail n/a Multiple
Also … Fort Totten Metro WMATA
17
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
REVITALIZATION NEEDS & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Total Residents 16,048 (as of 1999)
Total # of Patients Served (annually) 560,000 (visitors also represent potential market)
Preferred Uses for Employees For sale housing, restaurants, dry cleaner, book store,
full service bank, post office, job training center, grocer,
fitness center, hotel/conference center, recreation
Townhomes
Condos Apts Retail Office Hotel
PLANNED PROJECTS
2. Soldiers Home East Campus x x x x x x
3. Soldiers Home West Campus x x
4. Rhode Island Metro/Brentwood Kmart x x x
5. Proposed Conference Center / Hotel x x
6. Georgia Avenue / HU Town Center x x x x x x
7. Brookland Metro Site + CUA Site x x x x
8. Future New York Ave Metro Area x x x x
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McMillan Sand Filtration Site
REVITALIZATION NEEDS & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Open Space Analysis
There is essentially no publicly accessible open space within the Study Area.
19
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
REVITALIZATION NEEDS & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Traffic Analysis & Intersections Performance
LOCATION LOS
1 – North Capital Street at Michigan Avenue D
2 – Michigan Avenue at First Street C
3 – Bryant Street at First Street C
4 – Harvard Street at 5th Street B
5 – Irving Street at North Capitol Street GSI
6 – Rhode Island Avenue at North Capitol GSI
20
McMillan Sand Filtration Site
REVITALIZATION NEEDS & CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Traffic Analysis & Intersections Performance
EXISTING AVERAGE DELAY/LEVELS OF SERVICE
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Jenifer Simpson
48 Adams Street NW
Washington, 20001
Signed,
Daniel Wolkoff
1231 Randolph Street NW
Washington DC 20017