Without Debate

From Jacqueline Dupree, Near Southeast Washington:

Council Passes Stadium Parking Plan Without Debate
(7/11 8:12 PM) More to come when news stories are posted, but I can report that the city council today passed without debate PR 16-852, the resolution to sell some of the stadium property right along N Street to developer Herb Miller, so that he can build not only the 925 parking spaces required by MLB but also a mix of residential, retail, and hotel offerings. (Without debate! Will wonders never cease!) Now the real fun begins, seeing whether he can actually pull this off on schedule and on budget. While it's quite a gamble, I don't think there's many residents who would have preferred two aboveground parking garage-boxes rather than mixed-use offerings in this location. Now we'll just see whether the gamble pays off. Batter up, Herb. UPDATE: here's the Post story, including that news that Miller "intends to produce the first $5 million or $6 million [of financing] in September to start excavation of the land, and the bulk of the financing would come by Dec. 1." UPDATE, 9:48 am: And here's the WashTimes story. UPDATE, 7:39 pm: And a late addition, this Examiner story says what I've suspected all along: "In its unanimous support of developer Herb Miller's project, to be built on two city-owned parcels adjacent to the ballpark's north end, the council sent a message, members said: Major League Baseball has long had the city over a barrel, but not in this case. " 'It's the first time the council has stood up and said, "This is ours," said Ward 5 Council Member Vincent Orange. "These are our development rights." ' "

Alas this is has been hardly uncommon with the planning for the South Capitol Street corridor itself, with no evident open debate or even an explicit discussion about the deletions of proposed linear parkland, the existing residential neighborhoods to the west, and the role or impact regarding St. Vincent de Paul Church at the northeast corner of the intersection of South Capitol and M Streets.