University administrators held the first of five November meetings with neighbors about their new draft of the 2010 Campus Plan last week. There seemed to be a fair amount for neighbors to be excited about at the meeting (whcich covered enrollment, student housing and off-campus life), such as the University not increasing undergraduate enrollment and the creation of “Community Advisers” to live in West Georgetown and Burleith.

But it seems the Burleith Citizens Association is less than enthused by the plan.  Yesterday BCA President Lenore Rubino sent an e-mail out to the Burleith listserv detailing the organization’s objections, which mostly focus on the proposed increase of graduate student enrollment:

There is no proposed new housing planned except for possible a small dorm for grad students on the “1789″ block which is opposed by the Georgetown community.

The possible 58% increase in grad students could have a significant effect on housing, parking, traffic and transportation.

The e-mail exhorts Burleith residents to attend the rest of the meetings (the next of which, incidentally, is tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Georgetown Visitation) and “go on the public record” about the plan.

During the last ten-year plan process, neighbors caused trouble for GU by raising objections with the Board of Zoning and Adjustment, the body that reviews campus plans, and the e-mail hints that the BCA will be going down the same route again this time around.

While the BCA is working to formulate a plan of action, please make best efforts to attend the GU upcoming meetings as we need to go on public record that we oppose their plan.

GU’s campus plan is subject to review by the Board of Zoning and there will be a period of public comment and testimony. This process will most likely take us well into 2010.

You can read the full e-mail after the jump.  Make sure you check back later today for Vox’s reporting on tonight’s 2010 Campus Plan, which will deal with transportation.

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The ultimate controversy causer!

There are a few issues that really get debate going on local listservs—political partisanship, newspaper-nabbing students, et cetra—but few topics are as controversial as the question of whether or not sidewalks should be paved with brick.

The issue recently raised its head when a Burleith listserv participant asked Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino if there were any plans to replace Burleith sidewalks with brick.

Rubino responded saying she didn’t know of any such plans, but asking if the community had any feelings about brick sidewalks.  Boy, do they!

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Messages on the Burleith listserv are generally constrained to the topics of handy men, lost pets, and yard sales, one member, Paul Diego Craney, has decided it’s his duty to up his neighbors’ political awareness.

Craney, the Executive Director of the D.C. Republican Committee (a.k.a. the saddest committee in the whole city), has posted threads like “RNC Chairman and DC native Michel Steele Challenges Obama” and “DC Council Passes New $9.5 Million Dollar Bag Tax.”

When he posted a rant about D.C. Councilmembers salaries being too high this Monday, a fellow listserver had had enough, and replied:

My suggestion Mr. Craney is that you consider using a more approriate forum than our local community list serve to advance the ill-conceived notions of the Republican Party, which, thankfully, enjoy little traction in D.C ….

We agree that there are serious financial challenges facing the District — this is not unlike other cities and states in America — but I’m confident the Republican Party’s tedious rant that all politicians are paid too much and all taxes are bad … are not the reasoned, responsible and long-term solutions we need.

This prompted a flurry of other responses, some chiming in with their own political views, but most were just angry that the listserv was devolving into a poor impression of the Huffington Post comments thread.

Luckily, things seem to be dying down. Earlier today someone else on the listserv replied with this discussion-ender:

Would the adversaries please get a room?  … Can anyone report a lost dog, to get back to normal?

Amen to that.

Image from Sangrea.net.