D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 2016
2016.1 The McMillan Sand Filtration site occupies 25 acres at the corner of North Capitol Street NW and Michigan Avenue NW. Once used to filter drinking water from the Potomac River, the plant was closed and sold by the federal government to the District for community development purposes in 1987. The site currently appears as an open area of grass and trees with two rows of enigmatic concrete towers covered with ivy. Beneath the surface are 20 unreinforced concrete filter cells, each one acre in size and in various states of disrepair. When the filtration system was created in 1905, it was considered an engineering marvel and a model for other plants nationwide. The entire site is a designated historic landmark.
2016.2 The McMillan Sand Filtration site has been the subject of community forums for several decades. Many residents have advocated for a park on the site, noting its historic significance. In fact, the filtration site and the adjacent McMillan reservoir were part of the Emerald Necklace of parks conceived in the 1901 McMillan Plan, and the site itself was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Past proposals for the site have been the subject of lawsuits, and the former Comprehensive Plan designation of the site for mixed-use development was itself the subject of a lawsuit from 1989-1992.
2016.3 Several basic objectives should be pursued in the development and reuse of the McMillan Sand Filtration site. These are outlined in the policies below.
Encourage development and reuse plans for the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration site to dedicate a substantial contiguous portion of the site for recreation and open space. The open space should allow for both active and passive recreational uses and should adhere to high standards of landscape design, accessibility, and security.
Restore key above-ground elements of the site and explore the preservation or adaptive reuse of some of the underground cells as part of the historic record of the site. Preservation poses a challenge given the collapse of most cells. The cultural significance of this site and its importance to Washington, DC’s history should be recognized as it is developed, reopened to the public, and reused. Consideration should be given to interpretive features as part of the site design.
Ensure that any development on the site is designed to reduce parking, traffic, and noise impacts on the community; be architecturally compatible with the surrounding community; and improve transportation options to the site and
surrounding neighborhood. The new Planned Unit Development (PUD) calls for 290,650 square feet of medical use. Any change in use on the site should increase connectivity between northwest and northeast neighborhoods, as well as the Washington Hospital Center and Armed Forces Retirement Home to the north.
2016.7 Policy MC-2.6.4: Community Involvement in Development and Reuse Planning Be responsive to community needs and concerns in development and reuse planning for the site. Amenities that are accessible to the community and respond to neighborhood needs should be included.
2016.8 Policy MC-2.6.5: Scale and Mix of New Uses Recognize the substantial potential of the McMillan Sand Filtration site to address multiple planning and development priorities and that development of the site is necessary to stabilize the site and provide the desired open space and amenities. Development of the site should consist of residential, retail, office, and recreational uses. Residential development should include a mix of units and housing types for persons of various incomes; new buildings should be planned and designed in a manner that is informed by the height, mass, scale, and uses of existing and planned buildings in the surrounding area, as appropriate. Other uses may include health care facilities that provide connectivity to the Washington Hospital Center. Compatible with the rules governing PUDs, the density for the McMillan Sand Filtration Site shall be calculated for the site as a whole. Individual buildings may have greater height than is typically associated within a specific land use designation. New buildings should be planned and designed in a manner that is informed by the height, mass, scale, and uses of the surrounding context, as appropriate.
2016.9 Action MC-2.6.A: McMillan Reservoir Development Continue working with adjacent communities in the development and implementation of reuse plans for the McMillan Reservoir site.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effe
ctive April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).