Zoning Commission sets down Living Classrooms Foundation text amendment for SEFC-4 (24-18)

The Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to set down Z.C. Case No. 24-18, a petition from the Living Classrooms Foundation to amend Subtitle A §301.3(h) and several Subtitle K sections to permit Living Classrooms to locate its headquarters on Parcel P3 in the Southeast Federal Center (SEFC-4) zone.

Shepherd Beeman of the Office of Planning presented the report and said the petition would add educational, institutional and eating-and-drinking-establishment uses to the SEFC-4 zone, expand the SEFC-4 development area to include Parcel P3 (an undeveloped parcel described as an extension of Yards Park), amend subdivision requirements for non-record lots, and clarify floor-area-ratio rules for aggregated density. OP said the proposal would not be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan maps and other adopted policies and that mandatory design review would apply to any new development.

Commissioners welcomed the proposal but asked for more detail at hearing. Commissioner Moore asked whether OP was aware of any opposition; OP said none was on record. Commissioners said they wanted to hear more about the applicant's community outreach and how Living Classrooms' water-dependent and workforce/educational programming would function on the waterfront site. One commissioner noted Living Classrooms had previously occupied space at the pump house and asked how that use would tie to the proposed headquarters on Parcel P3.

Office of Zoning legal staff clarified procedural standards: review will be under Subtitle K (SEFC criteria, including §§ 241–242) along with comprehensive-plan consistency; design review standards in Subtitle X, Chapter 6, will apply. The commission voted to set the petition down as a rulemaking case and will schedule hearing-level review where the applicant will be expected to provide design and community engagement details.