Tuesday evening’s design review meeting was held in the basement of City Hall. The meeting lasted over two and a half hours. No food. No water. No bathroom breaks. It kind of felt like the land use equivalent of Luis Buñuel‘s The Exterminating Angel. Why are all these fancy people trapped in this room and will they ever get to leave? I would guess that even the most seasoned land use hobbyist rarely attends design review meetings. This was my second.
It began with a “pitch” by the architect and design firm, then a public comment period, next a walk-through of models of the project, and then concluded with a detailed discussion of design elements by the review board. Spoiler alert: the review board did not grant approval for Project No. 3019699, Douglaston MUP Application for the building at corner of Fifth Avenue and Virginia Street. The review board asked for targeted changes to be presented at a future meeting.
The tone and pacing of design review reminded me of watching golf on television, with hushed tones and lots of inside jargon. Of all city processes and meetings that I have attended throughout my life, design review is where I feel the least qualified, like I barely belong there. To my untrained ear, critiques of the building were akin to pretentious appraisals of art by experts on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow.
Now is the time where the design board gets to touch the models; materials #wonktastic #50shadesofstupid #escala pic.twitter.com/YDG7VhpTHT
— More Housing, More Parks (@HousingAndParks) June 29, 2016
