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| FOR THE RECORD | |
Gotts Court Parking Garage: Guest Column In recent weeks there have been several references in The Capital to the position of the Murray Hill Residents Association on the proposed 45-foot Gotts Court garage. I would like to fully state and explain our position. At a meeting of the association on Feb. 1, it was decided that every reasonable effort must be made to build this garage within the existing 32-foot height limitation. The association is not convinced that this has been done. However, if such efforts are made and do not succeed, we would, as a last resort, support an increase in the height limitation to 45 feet for the garage alone. This position was taken after members of the association had an opportunity to hear an informative presentation by city officials and representatives of Historic Annapolis. There was also an opportunity to ask questions. The association's position reflects an attempt to reconcile two objectives: preservation of the Historic District and revitalization of West Street. As part of Murray Hill is within the Historic District, the association is strongly committed to maintaining the integrity of this unique civic treasure. An essential element of the Historic District is its scale, and the various height limitations are important to preserving this scale. As Historic Annapolis has suggested, the focus must be on how the garage would affect the historic building, in the area not on the fact that some of the modern buildings in the vicinity are already taller. As Murray Hill is bordered by West Street the association is also strongly committed to the revitalization of this commercial corridor. In the past several years, we have actively participated in discussions with the city officials and the business community on how to revitalize this area. These discussions led to the development and adoption of the city's West Street Revitalization Plan, which we endorsed. This plan calls for building a 700-car parking garage on the Gotts Court sate. The issue, as far as we are concerned, is not whether the garage is to be built but its height. The city is, of course, to be commended for agreeing to reduce the height of the proposed garage from 55 to 45 feet. However, it must be demonstrated on the public record that every reasonable effort has been made to build the garage within the existing 32-foot garage limitation. This means putting more of the garage below ground, and this is expensive. As the Historic District is important to the entire community and to future generations, the city must be willing to use some of its $6 million surplus and its authority to issue general obligation bonds to finance this project. However, the city can not he expected to bear the entire financial burden. As the Arundel Center and the state income tax building are adjacent to the site of the garage, it is obvious that persons doing business at these offices will use the garage. Clearly. the county and state have an obligation to assist with the financing of this project. Finally, there has been no public discussion of whether the Gotts Court project could benefit from settlement of the dispute over the failure of the developers of the Attman-Glazer building to provide required on-site parking. In conclusion, much has been done to harmonize the building of this vital project with the scale of the Historic District. However, this is a structure which will be is lasting as any in the city. While this garage is much needed and will be much used, it will certainly not contribute to the unique architectural heritage of Annapolis. Consequently. every reasonable effort must be made to ensure that it does not significantly detract from this heritage. (Richard E. Israel is president of the Murray Hill Residents Association) THE CAPITAL, Annapolis, MD Friday. March 4, 1988 ::TOP:: |
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