facilities renewal master plan - National Zoo - Smithsonian Institution

FACILITIES MASTER PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Impacts to Land Use and Zoning
No-Action Alternative
Under the No-Action Alternative, small scale site improvements would continue for site
improvements, building rehabilitation, and facilities updates related to safety, health, and
maintenance. There would be no changes to existing land use or zoning under the No-
Action Alternative; therefore, there would be no impact.
Alternatives A, B and C
Under Alternatives A, B, and C, there would be only minor internal changes to the use of
land within the Zoo. For instance, parking lots would be reclaimed and use for animal
exhibits. Alternatives A, B, and C would have no effect on Washington, DC designated
land uses or zoning. Alternatives A, B, and C would have no impacts to land use or
zoning because development activities are consistent with the present use and zoning for
the site.
C.3 Demographics
Information regarding the current population data for the project area was gathered from
the 2000 Census. Census numbers do not reflect National Zoo population, as there is no
residing human population; however, the National Zoo is located within Census Tract
5.01. Adjacent neighborhoods relevant to the project area include Woodland-
Normanstone Terrace, Woodland Park, Cleveland Park, Forest Hills, Crestwood, Mt.
Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Lanier Heights, Adams Morgan, and Kalorama Heights. As
of the 2000 Census, The National Zoo and surrounding Census Tracts had a collective
population of 35,648 people, (NeighborhoodInfoDC, 2000).
As shown on Table 4, the predominant race in the census tracts surrounding and
including the National Zoo is white, with percentages in many tracts much higher than
that of the rest of Washington, DC. There are a few excepted neighborhoods from this
trend. One of these is Crestwood, located to the north of the National Zoo. Crestwood
more closely reflects the racial population make-up of the rest of Washington, DC with
approximately 64 percent black, 30 percent white, 1.6 percent Hispanic, and four percent
other races. It may also be noted that Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Lanier
Heights hold a significant concentration of the Hispanic population. Their Hispanic
populations are approximately 28 percent, 34 percent, and 19 percent, respectively.
These numbers are comparative to Washington, DC’s racial composition of
approximately 61 percent black, 27 percent white, 7.9 percent Hispanic, and 3.5 percent
other races, (NeighborhoodInfoDC, 2000).
The median household income for Washington, DC is $78,192. This number is much
lower than the majority of the project area for The National Zoo, which maintains a
median income of $145,646.33. However, it is significant to note that the neighborhoods
of Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Lanier Heights have median incomes of $64,261,
$74,170 and $70,573 respectively. With regards to the poverty rate, all neighborhoods
within our project area maintain percentages below that of Washington, DC’s median of
20 percent. Though, reflecting median incomes, Mt. Pleasant has a poverty rate of 17
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