The Morning News: D.C. Council Is No Lame Duck

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Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post

AS THE 109th CONGRESS' lame-duck session plods along — the Republican leadership did not, as was anticipated, bring bipartisan D.C. voting rights legislation to the floor of the House — don't accuse the current lame-duck D.C. Council of being unproductive. There's pressing development legislation that needs attention.

First up, a plan to turn the Capital City Market, pictured above, into the mixed-use "New Town" development has gotten preliminary approval. The wholesalers market district, located on 4th, 5th and 6th streets NE between Florida and New York avenues, would be replaced by condos and retail, along with an amphitheater, a YMCA, an ice skating rink and a luxury hotel site. Parking would be built above a wholesalers' facility. The problem? The plan, championed by Ward 5 council member Vincent Orange was pushed through over the objections of outgoing Ward 6 council member Sharon Ambrose, whose economic development committee had jurisdiction. While New Town would accommodate a market function at the site, the big question is how many of the smaller vendors operating out of the district now — there's a coalition of them opposed to the plan — would survive the New Town transformation. The Post's Nikita Stewart and Elissa Silverman have more.

Second, according to another article by Stewart, the council gave preliminary approval to a plan to use tobacco settlement funds for health facilities in Wards 7 and 8 and a "major 24-hour healthplex" on the site of the old D.C. General hospital on Capitol Hill.

The council rejected plans to move forward on a proposal pushed by outgoing Mayor Anthony Williams, at left, to build a new central public library. Pay raises for the new mayor, council chairman and council members, however, were green-lighted for a final reading Dec. 19.

And then, perhaps most interestingly, the council passed progressive green building requirements for all new construction, including structures built by private developers. The new environmental guidelines are the most sweeping of their kind in any major U.S. city, the AP reports.

» "GOP Leaders Choose Not to Bring D.C. Voting Rights Bill to Floor" [WaPo]
» "Pay Raise Measure Advances" [WaPo]
» "D.C. Passes Green Building Legislation" [AP via WJLA/ABC7]

So what else is making news this Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006? Let's get to it.

» CONSTRUCTION BAN: Development pressures aren't just a District concern — suburban counties are seeking action to curb traffic and sprawl. For instance, Prince William County officials approved a housing construction moratorium yesterday, while officials in neighboring Loudoun County moved to restrict growth in a portion of the county's rural west. Montgomery County's council president is pushing a freeze on most new large development, too. The Post's Alec MacGillis writes that "the actions underscore that the pendulum of public sentiment has swung strongly against development in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country." [WaPo]

» NEW CHIEF: Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty's pick for Metropolitan Police Department chief, Cathy Lanier, tells WTOP that she faced instances of sexual harassment on her path to become not only one of the nation's only female police chiefs. [WTOP]

MORE NEWS AND VIEWS, as always, are available at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.