2201 P Street: Child Care Center with Three Applicants for Every Space Seeks to Expand

At its regularly-scheduled meeting on February 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle unanimously endorsed a request by the School for Friends at Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P Street NW) to expand from 50 to 74 students. The school enrolls children from age 12 months to six years.

Church of the Pilgrims in June 2014 (Google Street View)

To expand, the school will need a special exception from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). 

The church has been operating a pre-school group since 1964 and has been operating on church property since 1984.  The church property, however, is still zoned residential.

The BZA has given the School for Friends a special exception seven times since 1964, most recently in 2011. The 2011 approval was for a term of ten years, and allowed the school 50 students and 12 staff. In addition to expanding to 74 students, the school also seeks permission to expand the size of its staff from 12 to 18. The school will operate Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm.

A representative of the School for Friends told the ANC the expansion would cause "limited increase in drop-offs", and therefore more traffic around the school at opening and closing. Documents submitted by the school to the BZA say the school already has 18 parking spaces which can be used by caregivers picking up or dropping off.

BZA documents also say the school will have "4 to 6 month construction phase to enlarge and reconfigure the space for the School’s increased use", during which the School proposes to relocate to "alternative space within the existing Church facilities".

There was "no other place for expansion", the School for Friends representative told the ANC.

In response to ANC questioning, he also said the school currently had three applicants for every available space.

See the text of the resolution supporting this request at the February 2014 installment of ANC2B's "Votes of the ANC" blog here.

More information about this request for a special exception is available by going to the Office of Zoning's Interactive Zoning Information System and entering case number 18926 in the search bar.

The school and the church are actually located in ANC 2D/Kalorama, which has already endorsed the request, but abuts ANC2B on the east side of the property of the school.