Perfect Pitch From Owners of 1315 22nd Street

A primer on how to get your renovation project enthusiastically approved by the ANC.

Wednesday September 9 2015 ANC 2B

The homeowners of 1315 22nd Street NW presented their renovation project with such detail, clarity and charm that the Commission not only approved 6-0-0, Chair Noah Smith complimented the couple on their writing and presentation skills. Watch and Learn:

[Video Clip]

Planning to present your own renovation project to the ANC? Take notes!

16th Street Bus Study: Dedicated Lane a Possibility

REVISED to add quote by former ANC Commissioner Kishan Putta -- see comments.

A new transit study that could result in dedicated bus lanes on 16th Street NW kicked off on March 31 at the Mt. Pleasant Library (3160 16th Street). Megan Kanagy of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) addressed about 100 people who overflowed into the hallway outside the stuffy library meeting room.

Blow-up map of 16th Street at meeting

Kanagy said DDOT would first diagnose bus problems and then consider a number of solutions, including the following:

• all-door bus boarding 
• a pilot program of "off-board fare collection"
• equipping buses with equipment for "signal optimization", meaning, computer chips that will signal traffic lights so they will stay green longer when a bus is approaching and turn green faster when a bus is waiting
• a dedicated bus lane for 16th Street

About dedicated bus lanes, Kanagy said: "We want to make sure it's really enforced."

To emphasize the problem, she had a photograph of a open moving truck parked in a clearly-labelled bus lane. 

"Just painting it [the lane] white isn't enough," she said.

Kanagy said the level of public outreach on this study was going to be greater than it was on DDOT's 2013 and 2009 studies on the same subject. She also said the study would "drill down block by block" to address causes of bus delays.

The objectives of any changes, she said, would be to improve reliability and travels, to maintain operations, and to accommodate unmet demand.

Before Kanagy's presentation, and again after, attendees could go to a series of easels and displays and add their comments, often by writing on sticky notes or by putting colored dots in various categories to indicate perferences. In one case, there was a three-panel blow-up map of 16th Street (see photo) from the White House to Alaska Avenue and beyond. Participants were encouraged to put tabs on the problem intersections and bus stops. The tabs were color-coded to categories of transit problem -- orange for bunching of buses, blue for overcrowding on buses, and so on.

See the DDOT web page for the 16th Street NW Transit Priority Planning Study here. On this page, those interested can leave comments or sign up to receive additional information.

There is also a shortened URL to the same page: bit.ly/16thStreetBus

While campaigning for Mayor last year, Bowser said she was "not sure" about dedicated 16th Street bus lanes because, during rush hour, there was "not a lot of space to add buses" -- see SALM blog post of January 17, 2014. See a video of Bowser answering the question on bus lanes here.

The possibility of future public meetings about the 16th Street Bus study was mentioned, but no meetings are scheduled now -- perhaps in "early fall". The study was scheduled for completion in January 2016.

St. Thomas Parish Church Gets Conditional Endorsement from Dupont ANC

"That was a little more civil than I've become accustomed to," said a supporter of St. Thomas Parish Episcopal Church (1772 Church Street NW) on the way out of the last regularly monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on March 11.

Proposed church design as seen from across 18th Street

The ANC had just passed a conditional endorsement of a design for both a proposed new church at the corner of 18th and Church Streets as well as multi-unit residential buildings next door. (A 39-page .pdf of the endorsed design is available for download here.) A series of SALM posts explaining the progress of the proposal since last February --  against stiff community opposition -- is available here.

Many of the points of disagreement about the project seemed to have been resolved -- as much as possible -- in numerous previous meetings between the interested parties, including, most recently, a meeting of ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee the previous week.

Presentation at the meeting

ANC2B Chair Noah Smith (Commissioner for district 09) opened the section of the meeting devoted to St. Thomas by asking for a shorter presentation that the one presented at the ZPD Committee meeting, with an emphasis on the outside of the structure.

Architect Laurence Caudle of Hickok Cole Architects seemed to think that it was necessary to see the inside to understand the outside. The ANC and roughly 80 members of the community in attendance saw some renderings for the inside as well the outside, all projected on a wall on the side of the auditorium at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue) where the meeting took place. Caudle explained the rationale behind both components (i.e., the church and the residential) of the project.

"We've really scaled down the building," Caudle said.

Commissioner Justine Underhill (district 07) then put forward the formal motion to approve the resolution as drafted and distributed at the meeting. (ANC Chair Smith apologized that the 75 paper copies of the resolution he had printed were slightly less than the amount needed for everyone at the meeting to have a copy.) St. Thomas is in Underhill's ANC district.

About the resolution, Underhill said: "This is something we have worked hard to craft."

"It is not a rubber stamp," she said.

"We're saying that [the project] does not necessarily echo the neighborhood," said Smith.

The resolution

The resolution states the ANC supports the proposal "if and only if" conditions stated in eight separate bullet-pointed paragraphs are met, including:

• Alterations to "the corrugation of the Church Street buildings' facades", "the rhythm of the Church Street buildings' roof lines", "the church and residential exterior", "the articulation of the residential bays", "the small, dark window panes", and "the horizontal terra cotta panels"
• the residential building should not appear to be taller than 59 feet, meaning, tests should be done to make sure any roof structure over this height is not visible from the street
• a setback or other solution to offset anticipated addition congestion caused by traffic coming and going to 33 additional parking spaces in a proposed underground parking garage with an entrance in an alley off 18th Street
• continued consultation with the community about zoning, "quality-of-life", and traffic

The text of the resolution is available about half-way down this page.

Commissioner and community discussion

Not everyone loved the newest compromise. Commissioner Mike Feldstein (District 01) called the design of the church "ugly" -- at which several members of the audience shouted "here here!" in approval. A member of the community, while supporting the ANC resolution, commented sarcastically on the church design: "If you google Best Buy, I'm concerned there will be copyright infrigement."

Another community member said: "This does not fit in."

A representative of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA) said the residential component was "incompatable" with the area and "wholly inappropriate in the Dupont area or anywhere in the L'Enfant city". The DCCA asked the ANC reject the design completely.

Other commenters said the problems of the alley space were not yet addressed. Another commenter objected to "lack of green setback at the pedestrian level".

But more frequently the comments were summed up by one Church Street resident: "I don't like this resolution but I can live with it. That is the essence of the democratic process. I wish there were something more we could do with the church design."

Other former categorical opponents to the project came to the microphone and said they could live, however reluctantly, with the ANCs resolution on the design. Some thanked the newly-elected Underhill for her work.

The leadership and advocates of the church sat silently through the entire process. Finally, as the ANC was gearing up for a final vote, Smith asked if anyone from the church wanted to say anything. A man identifying himself as the chair of the church's building committee asked the ANC to support the resolution as written and thanked Underhill.

The vote

Commissioner Feldstein felt that two sentences recommending specific changes to the design and materials went into "too much detail". The ANC considered two separate motions by Feldstein, each to delete a sentence. His motion to delete the first of the two died for lack of a second. His motion to delete the second of the two sentences failed, two votes to seven.

After that, a motion to pass the resolution granting conditional endorsement to St. Thomas Project passed by a vote of seven to zero, with two abstentions. The abstentions were Feldstein and Commissioner Stephanie Maltz (district 03).

This endorsement now moves to DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for consideration. Assuming the historic preservation aspects of the project are eventually agreed on, the project will be back before the ANC, probably more than once. The ANC has agreed to help negotiate a memorandum of understanding about details of the construction project, like hours during which construction work will be permitted. In addition, the project will almost certainly require zoning relief, which will give the community and the ANC another opportunity to examine the project.

(photo credit: detail from documents presented to ANC2B by developer CAS Reigler)

Dupont ANC Holds the Line on 14th and U Pedestrian Space

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle has voted to protect the crowded sidewalk space near 14th and U Streets NW. At its regular monthly meeting March 11, ANC2B voted to recommend that The Wydown Coffee Bar (1924 14th Street) be required to array proposed sidewalk tables to allow a gap ten feet wide for pedestrians on the 14th Street sidewalk, just south of U Street. Wydown had made a request at the meeting for an eight-foot gap, scaled back from its original proposal of a six-foot gap.

ANC2B Chair Noah Smith (Commissioner for district 09) said, "While we
normally ask for ten feet, we are instructed to consider requests on a case-by-case basis."

Wydown is in Smith's ANC district.

There is currently a gap of 13.5 feet between the front of Wydown and the planter boxes that border 14th Street (see photo). Wydown's owners said the planter boxes were not in the design for the space when they agreed to occupy the property.

The ANC publicly reviewed the precedents. Last summer, ANC2B voted to dramatically scale back a sidewalk space request from the nearby branch of Taylor Gourmet (1908 14th Street NW) for outdoor serving space -- see SALM blog post of July 15, 2014. Smith also noted the case of Doi Moi restaurant (1800 14th Street) -- most of their tables create a ten-foot gap but they were allowed a few tables at eight feet.

Members of local community organizations spoke against reducing the gap.

"I think with that precedent you are going to have to be very conservative," said Ramon Estrada, President of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association.

"Fourteenth Street is almost impossible to traverse without going Indian-file," said Tom Bauer of the Dupont Circle Conservancy. (Bauer made it clear that, in this case, he was speaking for himself only, not for the organization.)

The commissioners were split. Commissioner Daniel Warwick (district 02) said he would vote in favor of more sidewalk space for Wydown, i.e., in favor of a smaller gap.

Commissioner Nicole Mann (district 08) agreed: "I don't think it's a huge issue."

Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06) thought the density of the location required special consideration: "This is about as busy as area as can be. I'm not sure whether I'm comfortable with eight feet."

Smith's original resolution supported an eight-foot gap. Silverstein made a motion to change the eight-foot gap to a ten-foot gap. Silverstein's motion to amend the original proposal passed, six votes to three. Then a motion to pass the entire resolution as amended passed, eight votes to one, with one abstention. Warwick was the vote against both the amendment and the entire resolution as amended.

ANC2B's recommendation will now go to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which has final authority over the commercial use of public space.

2201 P Street: Child Care Center with Three Applicants for Every Space Seeks to Expand

At its regularly-scheduled meeting on February 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle unanimously endorsed a request by the School for Friends at Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P Street NW) to expand from 50 to 74 students. The school enrolls children from age 12 months to six years.

Church of the Pilgrims in June 2014 (Google Street View)

To expand, the school will need a special exception from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). 

The church has been operating a pre-school group since 1964 and has been operating on church property since 1984.  The church property, however, is still zoned residential.

The BZA has given the School for Friends a special exception seven times since 1964, most recently in 2011. The 2011 approval was for a term of ten years, and allowed the school 50 students and 12 staff. In addition to expanding to 74 students, the school also seeks permission to expand the size of its staff from 12 to 18. The school will operate Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm.

A representative of the School for Friends told the ANC the expansion would cause "limited increase in drop-offs", and therefore more traffic around the school at opening and closing. Documents submitted by the school to the BZA say the school already has 18 parking spaces which can be used by caregivers picking up or dropping off.

BZA documents also say the school will have "4 to 6 month construction phase to enlarge and reconfigure the space for the School’s increased use", during which the School proposes to relocate to "alternative space within the existing Church facilities".

There was "no other place for expansion", the School for Friends representative told the ANC.

In response to ANC questioning, he also said the school currently had three applicants for every available space.

See the text of the resolution supporting this request at the February 2014 installment of ANC2B's "Votes of the ANC" blog here.

More information about this request for a special exception is available by going to the Office of Zoning's Interactive Zoning Information System and entering case number 18926 in the search bar.

The school and the church are actually located in ANC 2D/Kalorama, which has already endorsed the request, but abuts ANC2B on the east side of the property of the school.

Intervention by Bar Operator's Mother Fails to Prevent ANC2B from Protesting Extended Operating Hours

At its regularly-scheduled meeting on February 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted to protest the application of the owners of Parlay (1827 M Street NW) to extend their hours of alcoholic beverage sales and live entertainment. All the Commissioners present voted in favor of the protest.

Parlay now in the former Malaysia Kopitam space

Currently, Parlay is allowed to service alcohol and live entertainment until 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 11pm on Friday and Saturday. The establishment seeks permission to serve alcohol until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 2:45am Friday and Saturday, and to have live entertainment until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 2:30am Friday and Saturday.

The space was formerly occupied by the restaurant Malaysia Kopitam, but the new establishment has a "much bigger bar aspect".

The ANC asked the proprietor what sort of live entertainment he was planning. He said he had "no specific plans -- just thought the restaurant would ask".

There was some confused talk about what hours the old Malaysia Kopitam had on its license when it closed and the license was purchased, compared to what hours the same liquor license bore when it was re-issued to Parlay. The bar owner and the ANC had been discussing this issue for a few minutes when a woman in the audience stood up and strode past the proprietor standing at a microphone to testify to the ANC. Without being officially recognized by the ANC Chair, the woman stood before the ANC and set it straight on the hours of service attached to the liquor license in the past and now.

"This is my mom," the proprietor said sheepishly.

Noting that there were "trash and noise concerns generally", the ANC expressed a wish for a "clear and strong settlement agreement". The motion to protest included a provision that the protest would be dropped if a settlement agreement was signed.

Malaysia Kopitam did not have a settlement agreement with ANC2B.

According to information on the website of DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), a preliminary hearing on Parlay's request for longer operating hours will take place on March 23 at 10am at ABRA's offices at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

(photo credit: August 2011 image from Google Street View)

West Dupont Liquor License Moratorium: ANC Recommends 120 Day Extention, Seeks Public Comment

At its regular monthly meeting on February 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to recommend that the prohibition on new liquor licenses in the West Dupont Moratorium Zone be extended for 120 days. This will allow the ANC to provide input on the extention of the zone to DC's liquor-licensing authorities.

On the same day, ANC2B announced on its web site that it would be holding two public meetings later this month to collect community input on continuing the liquor licence moratorium in the zone, which extends roughly 600 feet from the corner of 21st and P Streets NW (see map).

As of now, the moratorium zone is set to expire on May 17. If the extension is not granted, ANC2B ill not be able to hold hearings and submit a recommendation to DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) in time for its opinion to make a difference.

Commissioner Daniel Warwick (district 02)  announced there would be two public hearings about the liquor license moratorium. They will take place on Saturday, February 21st, from 2 - 4pm, and on Wednesday, February 25, from 7 - 9pm, at the Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P Street). 

Warwick also said a page had been set up on the ANC's website had been set up to solicit community input. The page includes a link to an online questionnaire about the liquor license moratorium.

The West Dupont Moratorium Zone is in Warwick's ANC district. ANC2B appointed him chair of a working group on the moratorium at its January meeting -- see SALM blog post of January 15.

The liquor-licence moratorium does NOT forbid liquor licenses in the area, but it does limit the number and category of licenses -- see a description of the moratorium zone on ABRA's website here.

Patterson Mansion: Should Cars Be Able to Cross a Busy Dupont Circle Sidewalk?

The development of the Patterson Mansion (15 Dupont Circle) was back before Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle again at its last regular meeting on February 11.

The Patterson Mansion in October 2013

Brook Katzen, Vice-President of Development at SB-Urban, and attorney David Avitabile of Goulston & Storrs, came before the ANC to explain the handful of public space changes it wishes to make to the busy sidewalk area on the sides of the Patterson Mansion that face Dupont Circle and P Street. Public space management is the responsibility of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), who will make the final decision. The ANC's role is advisory.

The building will require two new Pepco transformers, which will live in large metal boxes next to the renovated building on the P Street side, somewhat camouflaged from the street by shrubs. As everything stands now, this will cause a pedestrian choke point on the sidewalk between the transformers and their green camouflage on the building side and the existing bus stop on the street side. So the developers are asking for permission to move the bus stop a short distance down the sidewalk to the east, toward 18th Street. The distance of the move is small, so buses can still stop on the existing concrete bus pad on P Street.

If the request is approved, the developers will pay the expense of moving the bus stop.

In the space vacated by the bus stop, the developers propose adding "four spaces" of bike racks. The ANC asked the developers to consider more than four.

Katzen also told the ANC that the DDOT wants to close one of the curb cuts that allow access to a shallow circular driveway to the front door of the building. He explained that DDOT has a standard of one and only one curb cut per new building. The resulting plan is to allow DDOT to close the curb cut on the right side of the front driveway as you look at the building.

The ANC tried to thrash out whether this was really a good idea. If two curb cuts remained, then the circular driveway could be used to pick up and drop up tenants and visitors, to allow deliveries, etc., assuming the cars and trucks could navigate the circular drive, which is somewhat narrow by modern standards. The vehicles would be crossing a very heavily-travelled section of sidewalk -- a potentially dangerous situation.

On the other hand, if the curb cut was blocked, then pick ups, drop off, deliveries, et al., would have to take place on-street in Dupont Circle. Vehicles would sit in the street while passengers fumbled for change or drivers (disregarding street signs) delivered packages -- also potentially dangerous and likely to increase congestion as well.

Katzen told the ANC that SB-Urban had made a pitch for the curb cuts to remain, but DDOT seemed to be married to its "one building, one curb cut" rule. Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06) added language to a proposed letter supporting the "historic curb cut", and asking DDOT to examine the issue again.

The motion to send a letter to DDOT supporting the proposed changes, with the added language, passed by a vote of 7 in favor, one against, one abstention.

Commissioner Daniel Warwick (district 02), the vote against, and Nicole Mann (district 08), the abstention, told the meeting that they supported closing the curb cut for reasons of pedestrian safety.

SB-Urban paid $20 million for the Patterson Mansion in June 2014 after receiving a tentative go-ahead to turn the historic home into 90 "micro-units" of suitcase-ready apartments with no parking.

Comment Period for ANC2B Goals Extended

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle has extended the deadline for comment on its draft goals until February 5. Community members wishing to read and comment on the goals can find them here.

"Many Commissioners and neighbors are frustrated that the ANC is not as proactive as it could be," said ANC2B Chair Noah Smith (Commissioner for district 09) in an email. "One way to address that is to define actionable goals for the community and then establish committees and workgroups around those goals."

Among the issues addressed in the draft goals are parking, historic preservation, vermin control, emergency response, and education. Specific issues mentioned were the development of the land next to St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church (1772 Church Street NW) and the West Dupont Liquor License Moratorium.

Several of the comments on the draft goals indicate that members of the community are concerned about homelessness and wish to see the ANC address this issue.

Those wishing to comment on the goals can leave a comment on the page where the goals are published on the ANC2B web site here, or email the ANC at commissioners@dupontcircleanc.net

1508 Caroline Street: If Visible from Street, Then No

On January 29, DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) rejected for a second time a proposed renovation of a brick duplex at 1508 Caroline Street NW in the U Street Historic District.

The property in November 2014

Caroline Street, just south of U Street between 15th and 16th Streets, is a row of identical duplex houses built around 1880. The group of houses have remained largely unmodified. The exception to this is the duplex home connected to 1508 Caroline Street, which got a third-story addition in 1888. The owner of this adjoining home bought 1508 Caroline Street and hoped to be able to add a pop-up to match the third story addition on the existing home (on the left of the photo).

The pop-up addition was endorsed by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle (see SALM blog post of November 19, 2014). The HPRB rejected the plan as represented to the ANC in November. Last week's rejection was of a modified version of the plan, somewhat less visible from the street.

"Even this amount of visibility is not compatible," said HPRB member Nancy Metzger.

The original design called for a two-story rear addition, a one-story side addition, and a basement entrance, as well as the third-story pop-up. HPRB staff accepted all elements except the pop-up -- see November 2014 staff report here. The Board accepted the staff report in a 4-3 decision, reported on page two of a four-page document here.

The owner and designer tried once again to get some addition to the height of the building approved. The new version of the design was set back 21 feet from the front and 4 feet from the side of the building. However, because this building (and all of the buildings on Caroline Street) are detached from their neighbors, the addition will still be visible from the street in front of the house. This did not seem to bother the architect designer.

"I think this won't really effect the aesthetic of the neighborhood," he told the board.

The HPRB asked the architect designer if he had conducted a "flag test" (see description on page three of document here), in which the applicant for HPRB approval sets up flags on the top of a building to demonstrate the dimensions of a proposed expansion and then invites HPRB staff to view the flags. The architect designer had not.

The board voted unanimously to accept a new staff report, which (like the November 2014 staff report) found the project to be "incompatible with the historic district". The Board told the owner and his architect designer that, should they decide to come back again, they were more likely to receive approval if they performed a flag test which demonstrated that planned modifications of the house would not be visible from the street.

I did not attend this meeting. I gathered the information for this report by watching a portion of the archived video of the January 29 meeting at the HPRB web site here. The portion of the meeting dealing with this property starts at time 1:41:23.

Heritage India/The Zanzibar: DC "Will Permanently Ban" Entertainment, Promoters

DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board "will permanently ban" entertainment, including DJs, from the establishment known as the restaurant Heritage India during the day and at night as The Zanzibar or The New Zanizbar (1901 Pennsylvania Avenue NW), the Board said in an announcement on Friday, January 16. As part of the ban, the establishment will be forbidden from charging a cover, having live music, or engaging promoters.

The latest word from DC government

However, the establishment may still be able to re-gain its liquor license pending further deliberations by the ABC Board, the announcement said. This might allow the establishment to continue functioning as a conventional restaurant.

The decision to ban entertainment came in the wake of a January 3 incident where a patron was stabbed in a late-night melee.

At its regular monthly meeting on January 14, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to send a letter to the ABC Board which urged the establishment be permanently shuttered.

"ANC2B believes this event indicates an emerging pattern of violence at this establishment," the letter said.

The letter recalls that, in November 2011, the establishment, operating at a different location in Dupont Circle, was the sight of a gunfight in which one man was killed and five wounded. The next month, the ABC Board cancelled the entertainment endorsement on the establishment's liquor license, ordered the establishment to close by midnight, and ordered a security plan.

The letter continues:

In the Spring of 2014, Heritage India approached ANC2B and requested changes to their negotiated settlement agreement to allow for entertainment and other late-night activities at the Pennsylvania Ave location. The ANC was willing to negotiate a new agreement with the owners and one was reached in May to allow for entertainment and promotion activities.

At the January 14 meeting, ANC2B Commissioner Stephanie Maltz recalled: "I spent a lot of time on this. They brought a very detailed security plan and hired a firm with a proven record in DC."

However, according to information given at the ANC meeting (citing a police report on the January 3 incident), when push came to shove, the staff did not follow the security plan. A Washington Post article on the melee said there were only four staff members on duty for "250 to 275" patrons, in violation of the security plan which mandated one guard for every 50 patrons. The Post article also says security camera footage shows club employees mopping up blood before the police had a chance to investigate, in spite of efforts of one of the victim's friends to wrestle the mop away to preserve the crime scene.

"They clearly didn't care," said Commissioner Patrick Kennedy, visiting ANC2B from neighboring ANC 2A/Foggy Bottom. "There is no remedy short of revocation."

In its announcement, the ABC Board said it had referred the case to the DC Attorney General's office to bring formal charges against Heritage India. If charges are brought, it may generate the need for further ABC Board hearings. The Board promised to announce any future hearings on its web site.

ANC2B Officers Elected, Liquor License Moratorium Working Group Created

At its regular monthly meeting last night (January 14), Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle had its newly-elected membership sworn in by City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two). The ANC then elected its leadership and created a working group for the West Dupont Moratorium Zone.

Evans speaks after swearing in the new ANC

Commissioner Noah Smith (district 09) was re-elected Chair of ANC2B. Smith was first elected Chair in September 2014 when former Commissioner Will Stephens stepped down.

The ANC also elected the following officers:

• Vice Chair: Stephanie Maltz (03)
• Treasurer: Michael Upright (04)
• Secretary: Nicole Mann (08)

The four officers were nominated as a slate and elected unanimously. Upright and Mann are newly-elected Commissioners.

ANC2B will select Chairs for its committees at its regular February meeting. As of this writing, ANC2B has the following standing committees: Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), Community Involvement, Public Safety Liaison, Transportation and Public Infrastructure, and Zoning, Preservation and Development.

The ANC also set up a working group to deal with the upcoming expiration of the West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone. The West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone has been in effect since 1994, and has been renewed at least four times. The last renewal was in 2012. It extends approximately six hundred feet in all directions from the intersection of 21st and P Streets NW. In its current form, it forbids the issuance of nightclub licenses in the zone area and limits the number of possible license in some other categories (e.g, liquor stores, grocery stores, taverns, and "multi-purpose facilities"). At its last renewal, the limit on the number of liquor licenses for restaurants in the zone was dropped.

The West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone will expire on May 17, 2015. The working group will hold public meetings and make a final recommendation to the full ANC at its regularly-scheduled April meeting.

There was some discussion about whether the ANC might have to request a 120-day extension of the zone in order to give the ANC and DC liquor-licensing authorities to make the decisions and generate the documents necessary, no matter what the decision is. Commissioner Mike Silverstein (06) suggested that an extension might be necessary. Newly-elected ANC Daniel Warwick (02) said he had been in contact with a staff member of the appropriate DC government department and had been assured that a decision in April would be timely.

Warwick was elected chair of the West Dupont Moratorium Zone Working Group. The moratorium zone falls completely with his ANC district. Warwick's election was unanimous.

There are five liquor license moratorium zones in DC (Adams Morgan, East Dupont, Georgetown, Glover Park, West Dupont). Once created, no liquor license moratorium zone in DC has ever been completely abolished.

See an explanation of DC liquor license categories here.

A .pdf copy of the official regulations concerning the West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone is available here.

1504 Swann Street: Residence Expansion Domino Effect

On December 1st, a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted to support the expansion of 1504 Swann Street NW. Architect Julian Hunt, Founder and Chairman of Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground, is supervising the renovation and expansion of this home, which he has owned since 1998 and lives in. In a publicly-available zoning document, Hunt has said that one of the purposes of the renovation is "to adapt the house by going up to recapture the light and air."

Second floor to go on top of 1504 Swann Street

In the same document explains Hunt and his wife Lucretia Laudi (also an architect) had been living in the house for 14 years when "the adjacent house to the south was sold and an enormous addition (pop-back) was built in 2012 and completely closed off all the air and light..." for Hunt's property. Ironically, this expansion was made possible after the adjoining home had been downzoned, a process that is supposed to make expansion of homes more difficult. However, in this case, Hunt explained, downzoning removed Floor-to-Area Ratio (FAR) restrictions, which enabled the neighbor to expand the footprint of the structure on his property, and, as Hunt put it, erect a "monster" expansion.

The Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee of ANC1B heard the case on December 1. They voted to support both the historic preservation and the zoning aspects of the expansion of the house. I was not present for this portion of the meeting. In an email, ANC2B Chair Noah Smith (also Commissioner for district 09, where this property is located) gave the following reasons for ANC endorsement:

The support is based on the unique circumstances created by a neighbor's previous addition, which eliminated light and air for this property to the south. Swann Street is a beautiful and well-maintained historic street and this project will enhance it while adding an interesting, but not out of place, façade.

The proposed addition will add two additional stories, or about 20 feet, over  the structure in the picture above. On top will be a roof deck. According to drawings submitted to zoning authorities, the completed structure will be roughly as tall and as large as the neighbor's expansion. The new structure will contain a rental apartment, which the owners plan to use for income. This, they said in zoning documents, would allow them to "age in place" with "the security of a small income from the rental".

The expansion requires zoning relief because the building, built around 1870, is not in compliance with 1958 zoning regulations. It covers 100% of its lot, but zoning allows only 60%. In addition, zoning requires a rear yard, which is clearly not possible since the house covers the whole lot.

The historic preservation aspects will have to be reviewed by DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) because the house is located in the U Street Historic District.

Endorsement of historic preservation and zoning aspects of this renovation is on the agenda for the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled for Wednesday, December 10, at 7pm, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue).

The plans for the expansion of 1504 Swann Street, along with other documents, are available from DC Interactive Zoning Information System here -- put in case number 18897 into the search bar.

Hunt's initial appearance in June before ANC2B in support of this project was the subject of the SALM blog post of July 1.

St. Thomas' Parish Church Tries Again

St. Thomas Parish Episcopal Church (1772 Church Street NW) was back before a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on December 1. Their representatives presented a revised design for a controversial plan to expand the church and construct multi-story residential units at the site on the corner of 18th and Church Streets.  The revised plan dropped more than 1000 square feet from the previous iteration of the building.

It would not look as tall from the street (photo credit below)

Some neighbors attending the meeting of ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee complimented the new design, but there were also attendees who were determined to object to any construction on the site. A representative of developers CAS Reigler called these objectors "the elephant in the room".

Laurence Caudle of Hickok Cole Architects presented the new plan. He said Hickok Cole had "taken over" the project. Previously, the project had two architects -- one for the residential portion, another for the church. Hickok Cole had been in charge of the residential portion of the project and MTFA Architecture had been in charge of the church portion. It seemed like MTFA Architecture had left the project -- but the name of the firm was never mentioned at this meeting, and did not appear on the latest plans for the project.

"We switched design teams in midstream," said Kevin Reigler of CAS Reigler.

Size is the issue

Laurance Caudle, presenting the revised plans, said the new design was "less of a block". The total area of the residential building is between 1,000 and 1,200 square feet less than before. The upper stories were set back further from the street, so that a person standing on the sidewalk on the far side of Church Street would not see any stories above the fifth story (see example in photo above).

"This breaks it down to essentially a five-story building," Caudle said.

"We've effectively lowered the mass of the building one story," Caudle said at another point.

However, the rear side of building, facing an alley, still looks like a seven-story building, as the neighbors were quick to point out. One Church Street resident said that DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) had recommended a larger church and a smaller residential component, but this revised design did not follow this recommendation.

"You say that it's 50 feet [tall] when it's really 80 feet," the neighbor said.

Ramon Estrada, President of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, said: "The project still looks too big, too massive, too tall."

"If the HPRB says shave this further, you're prepared to come back?" Estrada asked.

The presenters answered that they were.

The plans are a "moving target"

The presenters said they met with a committee of neighbors three times in the last month, and had sent to the interested neighbors a set of revised plans shortly before Thanksgiving, i.e., about 4-5 days before the meeting, as they had promised. The neighbors came to the meeting prepared to comment on these plans. However, the plans that were presented to the ZPD Committee were further revised, that is, they were not the same as the pre-Thanksgiving plans sent to the neighbors. There seemed to be suspicions that somebody was trying to get away with something.

"I am becoming less and less sympathetic to this concept of evolving plans. We were presented with a different set of plans," said Noah Smith, ANC2B Chair and Commissioner for district 09.

"We're simply trying to respond to comments," said Kevin Reigler.

"I'm very concerned with this moving target," said Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06).

The presenters' goal, they said, was to get an agreement on the "massing" of the building (meaning, the general shape and size) before moving on to matters like the materials used on the exterior, the design of the rear loading area, traffic patterns, shape and size of the windows, and so on. The presenters said that massing was the only issue the neighbors wanted to talk about so far.

After a lot of discussion, the ZPD Committee decided they would review the newer version of the plans, and said ANC2B would publicly post them. This promise has already been kept -- see a 39-page .pdf file of this version of these plans here.

Members of the committee will review the documents and prepare a draft resolution ready for the next full meeting of ANC2B, scheduled for December 10, at 7pm, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue). The resolution would address the concept and massing of the building only. It would be worded to make clear that any approval of the concept and massing should not be construed as approval of other aspects of the design, e.g. the materials or colors.

See the full agenda for the December 10 meeting of ANC2B here.

(photo credit: detail from a drawing presented by Hickok Cole to the ZPD Committee)

Two Leads in ANC Races Remain in Single Digits as "Final" Count of Ballots Released

The DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) released a "final" but not yet official tabulation of votes at a few minutes after 2pm yesterday (November 20).

Board of Elections tweet from yesterday

In district 06 of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street, the number of votes won by each candidate remained unchanged from the previous release of ballot count information -- see SALM blog post of November 19. This means that incumbent Dyana Forester retained her single-vote (205 to 204) lead over challenger David Gilliland.

In district 05 of ANC 2B/Dupont Circle, challenger Jonathan Jagoda again shaved a few votes off the lead of incumbent Abigail Nichols. After the last release of absentee and special ballots, Jagoda was behind by six votes -- 231 to 225. Now, he is behind by four votes -- 233 to 229.

In a tweet yesterday, Jagoda noted that DCBOEE rules mandate a recount when the margin of victory is less than 10 votes. In a separate tweet, Jagoda said he was "going to a recount".

There are two write-in-candidate only races in ANC 2F/Logan Circle. A tweet from DCBOEE yesterday said the write-in winners "will be notified by letter and posted to the web" today, Friday, November 21.

In a press release yesterday, DCBOEE said some precincts will be randomly chosen for manual audits. The drawing to determine which precincts will be audited will take place today, and the audit itself will be conducted on Monday, November 24, in Room 1117 at 441 4th Street NW (a.k.a. One Judiciary Square).

The final results will be certified by the DCBOEE at its next regularly-scheduled meeting on December 3.

1508 Caroline Street: ANC Says Popup OK, Just This Once

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to endorse a request to add two additional stories on a residence on Caroline Street NW, one of which will be visible from the street. The unanimous endorsement occurred at the ANC's regular monthly meeting on November 12.

The aim is to make it symmetrical-looking from the street.

At the meeting, and in the resolution subsequently approved by the ANC (see text halfway down the page here), it was emphasized that this property had a unique situation and the approval of additional stories should in no way be construed as setting a precedent for the neighborhood.

Caroline Street is runs one block from 15th Street to 16th Street, just south of U Street. With the exception of 1508 Caroline Street, it is made of matching pairs of two-story houses, constructed at the same time in the 1880s.

A third story was added on 1508 Caroline Street sometime before 1900. This makes it the only three-story building on the block, and the only building on the block which does not match its next-door neighbor.

The new owner of 1508 Caroline Street has also owned 1506 Caroline Street next door since 1989. He told the ANC he had meet with neighbors two weeks ago to brief them on his plans for the renovation and expansion. It includes a complete interior renovation and the removal of the chain link fence in front of the house, which the owner believed was the last chain link fence in the neighborhood.

HRPB placarding on the property

The owner said the basement will also be excavated to create a basement apartment. The apartment will have a side entrance which will not be visible from the street.

On top of the new third floor, built to match its neighbor, there will be a fourth floor, set back nine feet two inches from the front of the third floor.

Tom Bauer, President of the Dupont Circle Conservancy, testified that his group intended to endorse the "unique semidetached" project. The renovation would make the pair of buildings look more consistent and historic.

"This third story should not set a precedent," Bauer said.

The owner of neighboring 1510 Caroline Street asked about the time of day when construction would take place. The owner said construction work would generally take place during normal working hours with "rare" weekend work.

Since the building is in the U Street Historic District, the renovation and expansion must get the approval of the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). Consideration of the project on the HPRB's agenda for its next pair of meetings, the first of which is on November 20.

However, the proposed matching third-story popup on the front of 1508 Caroline Street has not been viewed favorably by HPRB staff -- see report here. The rest of the project, including the two-story rear addition and the basement alterations, raised no objections.

Online records show this building was last sold in July 2014 for $725,000.

Lead in ANC1B Race Changes Hand as Incumbent Gains One Vote Lead

The DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) did a fresh release of ballot counts last night, November 18, at about 5:30pm, including a fresh batch of special and absentee ballots to the total, according to information posted on its website.

A tweet from DCBOEE yesterday said there was at least one more update to come -- "we hope to have more tomorrow or Thursday".

As a result, the lead in one Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street race has changed hands. Incumbent Dyana Forester now leads challenger David Gilliland by a single vote, 204 votes to 203, for the position of Commissioner from District 06.

The first release of preliminary results directly after the November 4 election gave Gilliland a three-vote lead. A updated results including some special and absentee ballots last Friday (November 14) increased Gilliland's lead to six.

Meanwhile, Abigail Nichols held onto her single-digit lead over challenger Jonathan Jagoda in the race to retain her seat as Commissioner for district 05 of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle. Nichols initially had an 11-vote lead. The first release of special and absentee ballots closed the gap to 6 votes, 221 for Nichols to 215 for Jagoda. After this latest update, the difference remains 6 votes -- 231 to 225.

See the latest results for all DC contests at the DCBOEE website here.

A Few ANC Races Still Cliffhangers as DCBOEE Inches Toward Final Election Results

The margin of victory in one race for Commissioner in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle slipped from 11 votes to 6, while the margin of victory in one race in ANC 1B/U Street increased from 3 votes to 6, as DC's Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) released revised vote counts late Friday afternoon, November 14.

There are still ballots to be counted.

Updated numbers from DCBOEE

Incumbent Abigail Nichols now has 221 votes to 215 votes for Jonathan Jagoda in the race in ANC2B district 05. In ANC1B district 06, David Gillliland increased his lead slightly, winning 194
votes to incumbent Dyana Forester's 188.

Numbers of votes changed in every ANC district covered by SALM. The districts mentioned above were the only ones where the margin of victory is in the single digits.

In a press statement Friday, DCBOEE said it had processed 5,400, or 27 percent, of the approximately 20,000 special ballots cast in the election November 4. In addition, last Thursday, November 13, was the last day to receive absentee ballots postmarked on or before election day. DCBOEE had processed 6,000 absentee ballots as of November 13.

According to a tweet by WAMU's Martin Austermuhle, the counting of special ballots should be done by tomorrow, November 18. A separate tweet by Austermuhle said that the winners in races where all of the candidates were write-ins could be revealed at that time.

The final results will be certified by the DCBOEE at its next regularly-scheduled meeting on December 3.

DCBOEE updated the information at 5pm Friday afternoon. A tweet from DCBOEE seemed to indicate that there would be an additional update on Saturday, but as of this writing there are no further updates to the vote count.

Two Longtime Dupont Restaurants Seek Change to Tavern Licenses

At the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on November 12, two liquor licensees asked to have their liquor license category changed from CR (restaurant) to CT (tavern).

The two establishments are Recessions (1823 L Street NW) and Selam Restaurant (1524 U Street), both of which have been operating for more than 15 years.

Restaurant licenses are cheaper than tavern licenses, but in order to maintain a restaurant license, the licensee must meet several requirements. They include: the licensee must keep the kitchen open until at least two hours prior to closing, the licensee must meet certain minimum standards of revenue from food sales, and the licensee must emphasize food in its advertising. In addition, the licensee must apply separately if it wishes to have dancing or entertainment. See a summary of DC liquor license categories and endorsements from the blog Barred in DC here.

At the November 12 meeting, owner Mohammed Haji appeared on behalf of Recessions, which has been operating on L Street for 18 years. Haji told the ANC that, in recent years, the appearance of food trucks have taken a significant bite out of the revenue he gets from food sales. Haji seeks a tavern license so he will be freed from the obligation of minimum revenue from food sales.

Since the establishment is in the downtown business district, there seemed to be no residential neighbors who might object to the possibility of increased late-night noise or drunkenness. The ANC decided to take no action, meaning, it will neither endorse or oppose the application to change liquor license category. Barring other objecting parties, the change will probably be granted.

Recessions' application for a license category change will get an initial hearing before DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) at 10am on December 1, at ABRA's offices at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets), 4th floor.

Selam Restaurant is at the other end of ANC2B and has been operating since 1997. It backs onto Caroline Street, which is residential. It has good relations with their residential neighbors.

(From Borderstan.com, used with permission)

"Their close neighbors seem to love them," said ANC2B Chair Noah Smith
(Commissioner for district 09). Selam Restaurant is in Smith's ANC district.

However, Smith said he could not support the license change yet because he had not completed consultations with neighbors. He moved that the ANC protest the proposed change on the grounds of "peace, order, and quiet", with the provision that the protest would be withdrawn if the ANC's concerns were resolved. Smith emphasized that he hoped the ANC would withdraw its protest, barring an unexpected appearance of unhappy neighbors who up until now had been silent.

"We don't want you to move," Smith told the owners of Selam Restaurant.

The motion was passed unanimously.

See a copy of a 2008 settlement agreement Selam has with ANC2B and a group of neighbors here.

Election Results for Contested ANC Races in Dupont, U Street, Columbia Heights, Foggy Bottom

A reader writes: "... absentee and special ballot votes have not yet been counted.  That process is likely to unfold over the next two weeks, and I was told [by the DC election authorities] that the numbers will likely change."

This is absolutely true. More votes can arrive, and existing ballots are subject to review. The numbers below therefore are not final. I did not mean to imply that they were -- perhaps I should have written "preliminary results".

As of 6am today, Wednesday, November 5, with all precincts reporting, here are the results of contested ANC races that have recently appeared on this blog. The candidates' names are followed by the number of votes they received. Winners in bold, incumbents underlined.

ANC1A - Columbia Heights

District 01: Lester Cuffie 56, Marvin Johnson 153
District 12: Colleen Costello 101, Margaret Hundley 162

ANC1B - U Street

District 02: Jennie Nevin (withdrew from race) 391, Ellen Nedrow Sullivan 334
District 03: Sedrick Muhammed 189, Patrick Nelson 161
District 06: Dyana Forester 183, David Gilliland 186
District 07: Juan Lopez 92, Jessica Laura Smith 131
District 10: Allyson Carpenter 64, Paul Glicksman (withdrew from race) 28
District 12: Matt Abbruzzese 106, John Green 164

ANC2A - Foggy Bottom

District 04: Thomas B Martin 172, William K Smith 222

ANC2B - Dupont

District 02: Jonathan Padget 110, Daniel Warwick 151
District 06: Jonathan Jagoda 198, Abigail Nichols 209
District 08: Nicole Mann 251, Robert Sinners 173
District 09: Ed Hanlon 183, Noah Smith 347

ANC2F - Logan Circle

District 06: Charlie Bengel 284, Danielle Pierce 178

A final thanks to all candidates who responded to my requests for interviews.

Tonight, November 5, ANC2F will have its regular monthly meeting at 7pm at  the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle NW). Tomorrow, November 6, ANC1B will have its regular monthly meeting at 7pm at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).