How Historic Is Chevy Chase D.C.? Residents Split on Designation for Area of Eclectic Architecture

By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007; DZ01

Chevy Chase residents recognize that they live in one of the District's oldest planned suburbs, a place founded a century ago as a bucolic escape from the bustle of downtown.
But whether "old" is synonymous with "historic" is a question that has provoked contentious debate in a neighborhood otherwise known for peaceful streets, charming homes and civil discourse.

Fearful of developers razing houses and replacing them with mansions, preservationists are lobbying the city to designate Chevy Chase D.C. as a historic district, thereby regulating how property owners can alter the exteriors of their homes.

But their campaign has provoked heated opposition among residents who worry that new regulations would create additional bureaucratic review and financial burdens if they seek to replace roofs or windows or build additions.

"In the last five years, it is the most controversial proposal we have faced," said Jerry Levine, chairman of the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission that encompasses most of the area. "On this one, every home is affected."

David Maloney, the District's state historic preservation officer, said that because of the neighborhood's history and reputation, "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it has a good chance of meeting the designation criteria."

"The sense I get is that most people are not contesting that," Maloney said. "They agree it's a wonderful suburb. What they are contesting is whether it's something they want to deal with in their daily lives. And that is an issue for us."

The District has designated 26 neighborhoods as historic districts, including Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Shaw, Cleveland Park and Anacostia. In many cases, residents have nominated their neighborhoods, a nomination ultimately decided by the District's Historic Preservation Review Board.

When a neighborhood is deemed historic, property owners seeking to demolish buildings or make exterior alterations first must obtain permission from the D.C. Planning Department's Historic Preservation Office, which subjects proposed construction to a design review.
Historic Chevy Chase D.C., a community group, initiated the campaign to designate the neighborhood, an area of more than 900 residential and commercial properties, roughly bounded by Western Avenue to the north, Harrison Street to the south, Reno Road to the west and Chevy Chase Parkway to the east.

In recent years, as real estate values have soared, property owners have built additions or torn down homes and replaced them with mansions that loom over neighboring properties, particularly in the portion of Chevy Chase that is in Montgomery County.

Although preservationists acknowledge that far fewer homes have been razed in Chevy Chase D.C., they say the neighborhood needs legal protections to ensure the future of its eclectic mix of Tudor and Colonial Revival houses homes, many of them built in the early 1900s.

"We're seeing McMansions, in considerable numbers, in Maryland, and in Arlington, and every close-in residential neighborhood is at risk," said Richard Teare, acting president of Historic Chevy Chase D.C. "We would like to forestall it here. We like what we have, we value it, and we want to see it preserved."

But opponents of the designation say that landmark status would saddle them with additional government oversight and costs if they seek to renovate their homes. In historic areas, for example, the District can require that homeowners use wooden windows, which cost more than vinyl replacements.

Allen Seeber, a neighborhood resident who opposes the historic designation, said that Chevy Chase's architectural styles are too varied to draft a set of design regulations. "There's no consistency here," he said. "How do you make rules about an eclectic collection of structures?"
Furthermore, he added, the encroachment of McMansions "is a threat, not a reality. There are some, but I'm not going to faint when I walk by them."

Although community meetings devoted to the issue have drawn large turnouts, neighborhood leaders want to ensure that all Chevy Chase property owners get the chance to express their views. The two Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that include Chevy Chase plan to poll residents on whether they support or oppose historic designation.

The commissions had planned their survey for September. But District officials asked for a six-month delay so they can study the neighborhood's housing styles and issue broad design guidelines, which they hope will answer questions about how property owners can alter their buildings.

Although a historic designation is primarily based on architecture, the District government also takes into account the views of neighborhood residents. In Brookland, for example, the District rejected an application for landmark status after residents raised objections.

"We don't impose them on neighborhoods that don't want them," Maloney said.

Referring to Chevy Chase, he said, "We need to make sure that there is broad community support. The question is, 'How do you know?' My stock answer is I know it when I see it. It's usually pretty obvious. In Chevy Chase, it's not clear yet."