Tudor Place
Since January 2010 Tudor Place, a small group representing neighbors (Neighbors of Tudor Place/NTP), the CAG President and two ANC2e commissioners have spent hours discussing the Draft Preservation Master Plan for Tudor Place. Late in the year Tudor Place presented the plan to ANC2e and to the Old Georgetown Board for concept review This is an ongoing process, and we believe the plan will be strengthened by it.
In September CAG passed the following resolution -
CITIZENS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGETOWN RESOLUTION
TUDOR PLACE PRESERVATION MASTER PLAN
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
The Citizens Association of Georgetown (CAG) has as its mission to preserve the historic character of Georgetown, to develop the aesthetic values of Georgetown as a place in which the Nation’s Capitol was planned, to protect the interests of the residents and homeowners and to assist in making Georgetown a pleasant place in which to live.
As CAG seeks to achieve this mission, it values the important national heritage sites, landmarks and properties within its boundaries. CAG believes Tudor Place is a valuable cultural resource within our community through its National Historic Landmark building, its archive, book collection, object collection and historic setting.
It is CAG’s understanding that communications between Tudor Place leadership, nearby neighbors, several CAG members and some ANC commissioners recently produced a revised draft Preservation Plan. CAG cannot support the revised plan in its current form as it does not alleviate the proposal’s significant negative impacts on the neighborhood and loss of integrity to the historic setting of the National Historic Landmark building within the Georgetown National Historic Landmark District.
CAG looks forward to continuing its dialogue with Tudor Place and interested parties on this issue.
In October ANC2e passed the resolution below -
RESOLVED, by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E:
- The Commission applauds the Tudor Place Foundation, its Board of Directors, staff and consultants, for their commitment to fulfilling their fiduciary duties to preserve and secure the National Historic Landmark Tudor Place house and site, and the archival materials and rare books, objects and furnishings collections. Tudor Place is a national treasure with local significance, which the Draft Master Preservation Plan appropriately addresses.
- The Commission recognizes that any activity on the property, especially new construction, will have impacts on nearby residents. One of the goals in the process of developing a Master Preservation Plan is to attempt to minimize adverse impacts of the community while meeting the programmatic needs of Tudor Place.
- The Commission recognizes the very substantial efforts by members of the community, organized as “Neighbors of Tudor Place,” to offer alternate viewpoints on how best to accomplish the goals stated above. A number of such suggestions have been accepted by Tudor Place and incorporated into the current version of the draft Master Preservation Plan.
- Tudor Place is now seeking input on the latest version of their draft Master Preservation Plan from a wider group of stakeholders, including the Commission, the Old Georgetown Board, and the National Park Service. Tudor Place is not seeking formal approval of their draft Plan, nor any permit. Indeed, the draft Plan does not include any design details which would be a prerequisite to issuance of any building permit.
- The Commission thanks Tudor Place for providing us with a briefing on the current state of its planning, and the Neighbors of Tudor Place and others for their views thereon. We endorse the goals set forth in the draft Plan, and we encourage continued dialog between all stakeholders as the planning process moves forward.
- Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Old Georgetown Board, the Historic Preservation Review Board, and the National Park Service.
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