Neighbors and Duke Ellington School Agree on Rooftop Rules


Another agreement between a big school and its neighbors was signed Aug. 1 on the lawn of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts with Mayor Vincent Gray in attendance.

“A creative, collegial agreement has been reached between the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the neighboring community toward harmonizing the needs and uses of a renovated school with the legitimate interests of the surrounding residential neighborhood,” reported the Mayor’s office.

The agreement, which creates a new Ellington Community Partnership, addresses uses of a proposed rooftop space at the renovated Ellington High School and other issues of mutual concern for the community and the school.

Parties to the agreement are the school, through its board of directors; the D.C. government, through the D.C. Department of General Services; the Burleith Citizens Association; the Citizens Association of Georgetown; the two homeowners associations at the Cloisters townhouses on Reservoir Road near the school; and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.

The agreement covers use of a designated rooftop space to be constructed as part of Ellington’s renovation for some teaching and possibly other activities, under agreed-upon conditions including sound limitations (no audible sound beyond the Ellington property line) and the maximum number of participants (45 students plus teachers for rooftop teaching).

By creating the Ellington Community Partnership, the agreement provides a forum to address rooftop and other possible issues, such as parking during performances. The ECP members will be from Duke Ellington and the neighboring community. The co-chairs will be the head of school and a community member selected by ANC 2E. The agreement is available on the dgs.dc.gov website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *