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.

Temporary Liquor License for New Dupont Custom Fuel Pizza

At its regular monthly meeting on June 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle approved a stipulated liquor license for a new branch of Custom Fuel Pizza. Custom Fuel Pizza advertises that it makes individual pizzas to order in a few minutes.

The store will be located at 1635 Connecticut Avenue NW, near the corner of R Street, the former site of a Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The owners could not tell the ANC when they expected the new store to be open.

Not quite ready to open as of last week

Granting a stipulated liquor license is one of the few actions an ANC can take that is not only advisory in nature. If an ANC votes to grant a stipulated license and there are no other protesting parties, a liquor licensee can start to serve alcohol while the permanent liquor license application is processed through the DC bureaucracy.

DC shadow senator Paul Strauss, in his paying job as an attorney, represented Custom Fuel Pizza before the ANC.

"They are seeking a full [liquor] license although they probably won't use it," Strauss said.

Strauss told the ANC Custom Fuel was seeking a restaurant liquor license, but they planned to serve "mostly beer and wine". They also planned to serve frozen margaritas and a drink that sounded something like an iced rum punch, but no other forms of hard liquor.

The license will allow Custom Fuel to stay open until 2am weekdays and 3am weekends. It will have no outdoor space.

Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07) asked about trash pickup. It will be daily. Dwyer noted the restaurant has several neighbors that are also restaurants. He urged Custom Fuel to join together with its neighbors to obtain a trash compactor, which might help with vermin control.

Another commissioner said, "A close neighbor of yours is the dirtiest restaurant and never shovels their sidewalks when it snows."

"I hope you will set a good example," he said.

The commissioner received some prodding, but refused to name the restaurant outright. He said, however, that it was "to the left of yours" and "on the corner".

Custom Fuel will have to appear again before the ANC with its permanent liquor license application.

"See you again in July or August," ANC2B Chair Will Stephens (Commissioner for district 08) said.

The motion to approve was unanimous except for Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06). Silverstein recuses himself from all liquor license matters because of potential conflict of interest with his day job. His day job is as a member of DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.

Custom Fuel has four other DC locations as well as seven locations in or near Charlotte, NC, and one in New York City.

See the letter ANC2B wrote in support of Custom Fuel's stipulated liquor license here.

Dupont Underground: "If You Don't Have a Prominent Public Entry, It Just Won't Work"

The committee on design review for Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle took a field trip to the tunnels under Dupont Circle on April 2. Down below, partisans of a redeveloped Dupont Underground told the Zoning, Preservation, and Development (ZPD) Committee their vision for the space. There was also a bonus tour of the urban caverns for attendees.

Julian Hunt presenting Dupont, underground

The project is a complex and ambitious operation with a lot of moving parts, involving numerous reports to and permissions from a bewildering variety of D.C. and federal government entities. The space will be renovated in stages, in the hope that revenue and experience from the first stage can help advance a second and third.

"Dupont Circle is not living up to its potential," said lead presenter Julian Hunt, Chairman of the Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground. Hunt is also an architect and founding Principal of Hunt Laudi Studio.

One of the many challenges facing the developers will be constructing and maintaining an entry to the proposed underground development. The current multiple narrow staircases to the space scattered around Dupont Circle are, at best, "very uninviting", to quote a characterization made by D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) at the last ANC2B meeting.

"Every developer said: if you don't have a prominent public entry, people won't see you. It just won't work," Hunt said.

Hunt and allies have ambitious plans, but they'll have to move bureaucratic heaven and earth to make them happen. One example: the case of pie-shaped piece of land bordered by P Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and 20th Street NW, just west of Dupont Circle. The triangular east-pointing tip of this land, now containing a boarded-up entry to the underground tunnel, is owned by the D.C. government. A square-ish chunk of land on the western side, now containing a tiny brick building called the Dupont Resource Center (9 Dupont Circle), is owned by the National Park Service.

Proposed entryway to Dupont Underground

Hunt showed the committee a proposed design for the space (see photo). In order to make this design a reality, Hunt must have the cooperation of both parties, including permission from the National Park Service to demolish the building. The developer's task will not be made any easier by the fact that this building is used during the day as the offices of the Dupont Circle Citizen's Association, a group often objects to new construction in the neighborhood.

This is not the only highly-visible part of the Circle that the group wishes to transform. Another slide in Hunt's presentation depicted a "cap park" on a wide median between Dupont Circle and Q Street, created by covering over the Connecticut Avenue underpass. Yet another replaced the magnolia trees which bloom in concrete boxes on the center median of Connecticut Avenue just south of Dupont Circle with a long, gradual pedestrian ramp into Dupont Underground from the N Street intersection.

Hunt talked some about the unique difficulties mounting a project of this size in the district.

"This is something that would be kind of normal in a normal city," he said. "If we had a Senator who would say 'it's my project', it would happen automatically."

This project's above-ground problems are only a few of the many problems it will face. Hunt's subterranean talk to the ZPD Committee covered many, many other topics related to this ambitious development. Read a good report summarizing them (with great pictures) from District Source here.

More coverage of the development can be found on page one of the latest edition of The Dupont Current -- available as a 32-page .pdf here (click on "No. 14 April 02, 2014").

Assisting the presentation were Braulio Agnese, Managing Director of the Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground, and Patrick Smith, a developer who is seeking to bring a 41-unit "pod" hotel (rooms 180 square feet each) to the first phase of the project.

Also attending were ANC2B Commissioners Kevin O'Connor (district 02) and Leo Dwyer (district 07). Dwyer is also Chair of the ZPD Committee meeting.

15 Dupont Circle Sets the Bar Higher for Car-free Buildings

"This is fantastic," said Noah Smith, representing district 09 on Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle. "This is an overwhelming amount of accommodation."

The developers of 15 Dupont Circle NW (also known as the Patterson Mansion) have set a new standard for assisting with car-free living. They presented a list of benefits they will give to their future car-free tenants as a part of their presentation to ANC2B at its last monthly meeting on March 12. The developers, led by Mary Katherine Lanzillotta of Hartman-Cox Architects, received ANC2B endorsement for a handful of zoning variances necessary to convert the historic mansion into 92 small apartments.

Among the variances requested will be relief from the obligation to have parking spaces, which in this case might mean the developers would have to find space for 23 parking spaces or more. As is often the case, the developers promised to remove the property from D.C.'s list of those eligible for on-street resident parking and provide "convenient and covered secure bike parking facilities".

More unusual are the promises to do the following:

• designate a transportation management coordinator
• provide a screen in a public area showing transit options
• have a bicycle repair facility
• provide free Capital Bikeshare memberships for non-bike-owners "for the initial term of the lease for the first five years the building is open"
• have a minimum of 10 bicycle helmets on hand for resident use
• give free membership to car-share services "for the initial term of the lease for the first five years the building is open".

Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05) asked about the legality of excluding residents from the residential permit parking program. A parking consultant with the team assured her that doing so is legal.

If this building goes through as planned, it will create more demand for Capital Bikeshare in the Dupont Circle area. Commissioner Noah Smith thought a nearby area on New Hampshire Avenue near Books-a-Million would be a good spot for a new station. He requested the presenters lobby for an additional Bikeshare station. However, the ANC's endorsement of the zoning variance was unconditional. The developers are not obligated to get a new Bikeshare station.

Other zoning variances concern the mechanical penthouse structures on top of the building. They are in part taller (13 feet in one area vs. 8 feet allowed) and insufficiently set back (5 feet vs. 8 feet required) according to the provisions of D.C. zoning ordinances. A representative of the Dupont Circle Conservancy said the Conservancy would recommend to D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) that the mechanical penthouses be reduced.

The vote was 7-0 in favor of endorsing all zoning variance request. Two Commissioners, although present at the meeting, were not in the room at the time of the vote.

Read a report about the same vote in the blog Urban Turf here.

Jack Evans to Assist Dupont Underground Developer (Video)

D.C. Councilmember and mayoral candidate Jack Evans engaged in some constitutent services at the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on March 12.

During a short question-and-answer session at the beginning of the meeting, Evans fielded a question from Patrick Smith, a Cleveland Park resident and real estate consultant, who has been pitching the idea of turning the former trolley car storage space tunnel under Dupont Circle into a $26-million-dollar mixed use project called Dupont Circle Artwerks.

According to the Washington Business Journal, the complex would include a 21-room micro-hotel with rooms as small as 180 square feet. In addition, there would be space for cafes, restaurants, a theater, and an art gallery.

Smith said there has been a lot of media interest in the space recently but the city has been resistant to letting media into the space.

"Is there any way of getting the media down there so they could start generating buzz about what might happen?" Smith asked.

"Sure," Evans replied, before asking Smith to give the details to his constituent services assistant.

Evans then recounted briefly his experiences with the same space many years ago when Evans was a Dupont Circle ANC Commissioner. The space has had several failed proposals for redevelopment. The most spectacular failure was Dupont Down Under, a food court that failed within a year in the mid-1990s. The developer Gary Simon was later found to have multiple convictions for fraud and to have spent much of the prior 20 years in jail.

"It would be wonderful, to be honest with you, to get something down there that really worked," Evans said.

Below is a video of Evans responding to the question. Apologies for the sound quality, and also for my fumbling with the camera. If you cannot view it below, watch it on YouTube here.

Read an article about the Dupont Circle Artwerks project published yesterday (March 13) by the blog District Source here.

15 Dupont Circle: ANC2B Supports Hotel Developers

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted on October 9 to support the architects Studio 3877 and hotel developers French Quarter Hospitality in their first step toward acquiring the Patterson Mansion (15 Dupont Circle NW) and turning it into a luxury hotel. The vote was 7 for, 2 against. The proposal will now be considered by DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on October 23.

ANC2B's previous deliberations on this proposal were the subject of an October 7 SALM blog post.

The Patterson Manson

A shorter presentation

Architect David Shove-Brown of Studio 3877 made a shorter version of his presentation to the full ANC. Some details are unchanged: the annex building next door to the mansion will be demolished, and a new six-story building will be built on the space. The new building will connected to the renovated mansion on the inside.

As a result of some comments from the ANC and the Dupont Circle Conservancy, changes were made to the design. The facade is now a darker color, matching more closely with the neighboring building on P Street, which is the Consular Section of the Embassy of Iraq. In addition, the mechanical penthouse is a different shape, and the loading dock will be moved to the back of the building.

The Dupont Circle Conservancy had met the previous evening to consider the proposal, a representative at the ANC meeting reported. They voted to support the massing of the proposed design generally, and endorse the use of darker materials. However, they asked that the size of the mechanic penthouse be minimized and that there be no roof deck.

"Massing" is a term of art meaning the extent to which a building's facade is in harmony with the facades of the nearby structures.

Commissioner comment

This annex will be demolished

"Some of you may think we're rushing this. This building is iconic. It's precious
to all of us. There are things in terms of the adjacent building [i.e., the new structure] we may have to give up. This is being protected at all costs," said Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06).

Silverstein also mentioned the case of Toutorsky Mansion, a building at 1720 16th Street that now houses the Embassy of the Republic of the Congo. Local objections made it impossible for a commercial enterprise to operate in the location, so it was sold to the Republic of the Congo. In 2011, the Embassy disregarded commitments it had made to preservation groups about  preserving the character of the property.

"You can't always control what you get," Silverstein said.

Other Commissioners felt they couldn't support the project.

"I feel like this is being rushed," said Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05).

"My great great great grandchildren are going to be looking at this. You won't be able to change it. Once it's there, it's there," said Commissioner Mike Feldstein (district 01).

Nichols and Feldstein were the votes against endorsing the project.

15 Dupont Circle: Move Fast or No Deal

"We are under pressure from the seller. If I don't move fast, they will sell it to someone else," said a presenter to a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on October 1.

"Everything inside me says go slow on this," said ANC2B Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06). "We have to walk a very fine line."

The Patterson House

The property is 15 Dupont Circle NW. This Italian neoclassical mansion, known as the "Patterson House", is on the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by Stanford White in 1903 and for many years was the home of the Washington Club. The asking price on the property is $26 million.

The proposal

The development proposal, presented by architect David Shove-Brown of Studio 3877 and Ronnie Ben-Zur, CEO of French Quarter Hospitality of Atlanta, Georgia, is to turn 15 Dupont into the front part of a hotel. An adjoining two-story annex building on P Street will be demolished. In its place, a new six-story  building in a completely dissimilar modern architectural style will be constructed. The plan is that the new building will connect in its interior to the old building.

But first the concept must be approved by DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) in October and a handful of special exceptions, waivers, and zoning variances must be obtained from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) on December 3. If the developers don't have all the approvals they need after the December 3 meeting, the sale is off.

An ANC does not have the authority to stop or accelerate proposals of this type on its own, but an ANC endorsement is given "great weight" by the HPRB and BZA. A statement of opposition can be enough to delay or even derail a project. A statement of support makes the going easier.

This annex would be demolished

The presenters said the Patterson house would be "restored to its original glory". The first floor would contain hotel reception, a bar, a library, and lounges. The second floor would have three banquet rooms and a ballroom. There would be a total of forty guest rooms in both the historic building and the new building, plus a roof-top patio and a green roof.

Overall, 75 percent of the interior of the old building would be preserved, the presenters said. Ninety percent of the interior would be preserved on the first two floors.

Criticism from the committee

There were many aspects of the proposal for the new glass-and-steel building that the committee did not like. This generated a long discussion.

"This proposal puts so much glass on P Street," one committee member said. "It will have a negative impact."

There was a suggestion to take two levels off the front (i.e., the P Street) side of the building and make the building taller in back.

"Pushing it two floors back is not practical," a presenter said. "We are not likely to get a height variance."

An abutting neighbor in attendance said, "We would oppose a height variance."

Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07) continued to advocate for a height variance, and offered to lobby on the presenters' behalf if it became necessary. The presenters expressed no enthusiasm for the proposal.

Dwyer is the chair of ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation, and Development Committee (ZPD), which held the meeting where the proposal was made.

Dwyer and others had serious criticism for another part of the project. As currently planned, a mechanical penthouse, would protrude from the top of the new building and over the old building. It would be clearly visible behind the old building from all over Dupont Circle, according to illustrations provided by the presenters to the ZPD Committee.

"Get rid of the obvious penthouse on the west side," Dwyer said.

The presenters said this would be impossible, because the building could not be made any taller and because the mechanical penthouse could not be moved.

Wanted: a hotel everyone can live with

Toward the end of the discussion, the presenters said, "The intent is not to anger the neighborhood. The intent is to have a working dialog with the community."

All parties were conscious that a hotel -- as compared to a private club or an embassy -- would be the only way that the general public would be able to see and enjoy the interior of the building.

"An embassy, we lose nearly all control," said Commissioner Silverstein.

There was no motion at the ZPD committee to either support or oppose the proposal before any DC government body.

The next stop for the prospective buyers is the HPRB on October 23. The subject of the HPRB will be the proposed new building's "massing". Massing, explained on page 7 of an HPRB .pdf document here, is the extent to which a building's facade is in harmony with the facades of the nearby structures.

"The massing of a new building should be compatible with the massing of existing buildings," the HPRB document, titled "New Construction in Historic Districts", says.

If that hurdle is cleared, then the prospective buyers will make a separate request for ANC2B support of their BZA application. Details of the exceptions, waivers, and variances being requested are available on page one of a BZA word processing document available here.

Dupont Car Break-in Artist Soon to be Back on Streets

A man with more than 50 arrests and a history of breaking into cars, often in the Dupont Circle area, will be released from a short jail term soon. That was the word at the meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont on September 11.

Lt. Jesse Porter speaks to ANC2B

The man was named by an ANC2B Commissioner at the meeting. I am not publishing his name, nor the name of the ANC Commissioner, because I can find no corroborating information on the Internet about the alleged break-in artist.

The same ANC Commissioner also said the man never commits crimes of violence against people, only property crimes. His multiple jail terms have all been of short duration. He will soon complete a 90-day stint in prison.

The discussion occurred after Lt. Jesse Porter of Police Service Area (PSA) 208 briefed the ANC about the recent crime situation in the area. Crime has generally dropped, with a few exceptions like car break-ins. Lt. Porter asked people not to leave anything valuable in cars parked on the streets, or even in garages. Handbags, coats, and GPS devices have functioned as inviting reasons to smash a car window.

Porter said one man recently reported $60,000 in cash stolen from a car parked on the street. Another man said his "family jewels" had been stolen from a parked car, according to Porter. There was no further explanation of either theft.

A resident attending the meeting said most people who are residents in the area already know about car break-ins and are probably not the most frequent victims. The resident went on to speculate that many of the victims may be visitors to the area's nightclubs and bars.

Lt. Porter neither agreed nor disagreed.

The resident asked about more effectively alerting the section of the population that does not attend ANC meetings to this unfortunate trend in crime. For example, signs, placards, and other advertising might be used to alert visitors to auto break-ins. Porter speculated such a campaign might be a tough sell to the local merchant and business community.

A map of the area covered by PSA 208 is available here.

A similar rise in "smash and grab" thefts from cars was also reported at the meeting of neighboring ANC2F (Logan Circle) two days earlier by Master Patrol Officer Jermaine Wilson and Officer Christopher Brown of PSA 307.

"Female-Friendly Steakhouse" Gets Liquor License Endorsement

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont put its approval on a request for a liquor license for STK restaurant at 1250 Connecticut Avenue. The vote occurred at ANC2B's regular monthly meeting on September 11.

The Connecticut Avenue location will be the DC outpost of a high-end chain of steakhouses with branches in Atlanta, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. STK steakhouses advertise themselves as "female-friendly". 

"Not your daddy's steakhouse," states a poster on the future site of the restaurant.

STK CEO testifies

Jonathan Segal (second from right) testifies

CEO Jonathan Segal of The ONE Group, operator of the STK chain as well as hotels and other restaurants, appeared before the ANC to ask for a restaurant-category liquor license with an entertainment endorsement. The restaurant will have a DJ to pay recorded background music (from the 70s and 80s, Segal said) while people dine. There will be no dancing and no cover. The full restaurant menu will be on offer until closing time, which will be 2am Sunday-Thursday, and 3am Friday-Saturday.

"We are a full-on restaurant," Segal said.

The capacity of the restaurant will be higher than that of the previous occupant due to the addition of four private dining rooms.

Much of the discussion at the meeting focused on noise from the restaurant. Segal said that there would be no speakers onto the planned sidewalk cafe, no windows opening onto the street, and a single revolving door. Under further questioning, Segal gave further details about the plans for controlling sound in the restaurant. He said the restaurant ensures that speakers are not near columns or on floors, and that they face away from windows.

Segal also said he was concerned about the effects of prolonged exposure to loud music on the hearing of his employees.

"We are focused on these types of issues," he said.

Reason to protest?

Commissioner Stephanie Maltz (district 03) pointed out that ANC2B's policy guidelines required that it protest any new request for a liquor license in this area (called "Club Central") on the grounds of neighborhood peace, order, and quiet. However, STK's application was not, technically, new, since there was a liquor license holder previously in operation on the same spot. Therefore, the ANC was not obligated to protest.

Detail from STK web site

Maltz then told Commissioner Kevin O'Connor (district 02) she perceived some reluctance on O'Connor's part about this application. After some coaxing, O'Connor said he found the concept of a "female-friendly" establishment sexist. It was explained that "female-friendly" referred to solely to certain accommodations the restaurant made to well-established preferences of female diners, especially toward that of smaller portion size.

Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07) said this was not relevant to STK's liquor license request.

The motion passed 7-0. One Commissioner was absent on a business trip, and another recused himself.

The liquor license application moves to DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board. A hearing is scheduled for October 21. 

New Dupont Pickup for Washington Deluxe Bus Advances

Washington Deluxe Bus may have a new pickup point in Dupont Circle soon. But the pickup point for the DC2NY bus will stay where it is.

Site of the proposed new pickup point

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont sent forward a request by Washington Deluxe Bus to move its pickup point. The proposed new pickup point will be on the Connecticut Avenue side of the triangular park just across from the north exit of Dupont Circle metro. The other two sides of the triangular park are bordered by Q and 20th Streets NW.

Current location unsatisfactory

The pickup point for Washington Deluxe Bus is currently 1320 19th Street, in front of Levante's, a Mediterranean restaurant. The waiting passengers and fumes from idling buses were not raising the popularity of the restaurant's sidewalk seating. Another pickup point was sought.

Lyle Blanchard, presenting for Washington Deluxe Bus, said that the pickup point will be at the north end of the block, near the corner of Connecticut and 20th Streets. Blanchard is a former ANC2B Commissioner.

Effect on Farmers' Market

The Commission Vice-chair Mike Feldstein (district 01) asked about the effect on the nearby Sunday morning farmers' market in Dupont Circle.

There are normally only 4-5 vendors north of Q Street, Blanchard said. (Most of the vendors set up below Q Street.). There will be three buses on Sunday mornings, he explained: one before the market opened, and two while the market is open -- at 10:30 and 11. The buses will stop, pickup, and go. They will not linger at the pickup point. 

Blanchard said he had talked with market coordinator Maddy Beckwith of FRESHFARM Markets.

"She was not wild about it," Blanchard said.

Commissioner Vice-chair Mike Feldstein urged Blanchard to contact the market again about the proposal.

Funds to Maintain Park

Assuming the application goes through, Washington Deluxe Bus has pledged funds to Historic Dupont Main Streets to renovate and maintain the small triangular park.

Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06) remarked that it sometimes snows in Washington. When that happens, the sidewalks around triangular parks often remain icy for weeks. However, if this money is in place, the sidewalks around the triangular park will be shovelled regularly.

The public space application of Washington Deluxe Bus now moves to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for approval. DDOT has informally indicated that they find this arrangement acceptable.

The vote was unanimous, 8-0. Commissioner Noah Smith (district 09) was absent from the entire meeting due to work obligations.

DC2NY stays put

The ANC voted to support the renewal application for a DDOT public space permit for DC2NY bus company. For several years, the company has been picking up passengers along Massachusetts Avenue next to 9 Dupont Circle, and seeks to continue this arrangement. There seemed to be no problems or complaints about DC2NY.

The vote was unanimous, 6-0. Two Commissioners were out of the room at the time of the vote.