A rendering of the proposed facility in Ward 3. See the whole presentation here.

Hearing concerns from her constituents about the city’s plan to replace D.C. General with smaller homeless shelters, Councilmember Mary Cheh asked the Bowser administration last month to consider three alternative sites for the proposed shelter in Ward 3. The Department of General Service’s response, she says, is “flimsy and disappointing.”

“After weeks of waiting, I’m deeply disappointed by the superficial and inadequate assessment conducted by DGS. Not only does the report appear to lack proper analysis and effort, but it features the earmarks of an agency intent on saying ‘no’ without any intention of serious consideration,” Cheh said in a release.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has been on the defensive about the ambitious and expensive plan, but she has steadfastly refused to publicly consider any changes.

That hasn’t stopped politicians, neighbors, and social justice groups from asking, both for alternatives and additional information about why the city made the choices it did.

Residents have been outspoken about “how horrendous” the location in Ward 5 would be. A letter from a coalition of nearly sixty groups questions the decision to lease so much of the land and revives the debate about individual bathrooms. A splashy video from an anonymous group raises eyebrows at the costs of the plan, and even supporters say they wish they had more details about why the figures are so high.

In Ward 3, the currently vacant grassy plot of land at 2619 Wisconsin Avenue is zoned for three houses. Bowser’s plan requests zoning relief to build the 38-unit facility, drawing neighbors’ ire.

Cheh initially expressed support for the proposal when it was unveiled in February and she remains in favor of the citywide effort, but requested that DGS analyze three additional sites in Ward 3: the former Polish ambassador’s residence, the site of the City Church, and part of the land where the Second District Police Department sits.

In a short letter, DGS director Christopher Weaver dismissed the first because of a failed negotiation, the second because it wasn’t offered during the open solicitation, and the third because it would entail moving the police station. Cheh called that assessment “empty and erroneous,” noting that there is 48,000 square feet of additional land on the second district site and that other explanations provide little additional detail about the process.

“I had hoped that an honest evaluation of additional sites by DGS would provide greater clarity and assurance—however that was not the case,” Cheh said. “Perhaps the Wisconsin Avenue site will remain the most viable option, but it would seem this can’t be confidently known without greater analysis and comparative evaluation.”