How Many People Can Live in a Logan Circle Row House?

At its regular monthly meeting March 4, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle heard from Logan Circle residents who believe a neighboring row house at 1517 12th Street NW was about to a used as a rooming house. The neighbor asked ANC2F to pass a resolution asking DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to deny the owner a rooming house permit, should one be applied for. The ANC did not vote on the matter as requested, but passed a resolution asking DCRA to give the matter "special attention".

The property last Saturday

A neighbor reported that the property had been advertised as a shared house for eight people on Radpad and Craigslist, with leases beginning March 1. These ads (which no longer appear) advertised an open house on February 18. According to the neighbor's written statement to the ANC:

...I and three other neighbors in the area went to an open house on the property. That is when we discovered that the new owner had converted the single family row house into a shared house with 9 or 10 bedrooms -- 2 bedrooms on the first floor (where the dining and living room were), 3 bedrooms on the second floor, 3 bedrooms on the 3rd floor and another unit in the basement, which they decribed as for 2 people. There is one kitchen on the first floor and one in the basement and 3.5 bathrooms (1 is attached to a room). Each room was being rented from $995-$1095/mo. (Each room had a piece of paper taped to it with a dollar amount written on it.)

Neighbors take action

The neighbors did some research on DCRA regulations with the help of the ANC and the office of DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two). They discovered the legal occupancy limit for a two-unit single family house is eight -- six in main unit, two in the basement -- but could not operate as a rooming house without a business license and an inspection. Furthermore, the owner had a license that would have allowed him to rent the house to a single family only. On February 23, he applied for a two-family rental license, the neighbor's written statement says. DCRA records also show that the first recent permit for electrical work on the property was issued on February 27.

The neighbors lobbied DCRA who issued a Compliance Notice to the owner, also on February 27. DCRA also monitored a March 1 open house and passed out copies of the Compliance Notice to people coming to view the house by appointment.

"It's not a legal unit at this point," said a neighbor.

"We're very concerned about the safety and integrity of the house," said another.

An abutting neighbor reported that the fireplace in the house had recently been used, and smoke had come into the neighbor's house -- indicating that the fireplace was not adequately vented. There was some question whether the owner had gotten the necessary permits for improving the house.

"[W]e are very concerned that the excessive occupancy and density of a 1870s rowhouse presents issues that must be closely examined, such as the burden on public utilites, sanitation, parking, etc.," the neighbors statement to the ANC says.

"I don't think we're doing anybody a favor putting nine to twelve people in there," Sherri Kimbel told the ANC at the meeting. Kimbel is a Logan Circle resident who is also Director of Constituent Services at Councilmember Evans' office.

ANC not quite sure what to do

"It's sort of a bad message if we take action," said ANC2F Chair John Fanning (Commissioner for district 04). Fanning worried about the precedent such an action would set.

"I think that the precedent we are setting is that we are insisting that people follow the rules," said Commissioner Pepin Tuma (district 03).

A motion to send a letter as requested by the neighbors -- that is, to ask for the denial of a rooming house license -- was not made by any Commissioner or voted on. Instead, the ANC unanimously voted to send a letter to DCRA asking them to give the matter their "special attention". Chair John Fanning also promised to follow up personally with phone calls.

1517 12th Street is in Fanning's ANC district.

The house seemed unoccupied as of last Saturday, March 7.

Gompers Park to Improve Using Community Benefit Funds from Developer

Brad Reichard of the Friends of Gompers Park told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle on February 4 that developer-financed renovation of the park is proceeding. However, he noted some difficulties in getting the promised funds from the developer.

Statue of Gompers in the park (photo credit below)

Gompers Park is located at intersection of 10th Street, L Street, and Massachusetts Avenue, in front of the Morrison-Clark Inn (1015 L Street NW).

Friends of Gompers Park should receive a one-time payment of $20,000 from the developer Quadrangle Development according to the terms of a community benefits package -- see SALM blog post of January 8. This payment is part of the terms of a Planned Unit Development (PUD), in which Quadrangle Development agreed to make payments to local development groups in return for relief from certain DC zoning requirements. The zoning relief will allow Quadrangle to build hotels and housing at the corner of 9th and L Streets, one block from the park.

The Friends of Gompers Park had been in discussion with the National Park Service, Reichard said, about beginning work on an "aggressive planting program", as well as thinning out existing trees, removing garbage cans, and improving street lighting on the L Street side of the park.

Although the $20,000 payment is supposed to be ready to access, Reichard indicated he was having difficulty doing so. ANC2F Chair John Fanning (Commissioner for district 04) and Sherri Kimbel, Director of Constituent Services in the office of DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward One), told Reichard that, under the terms of the PUD, Quadrangle Development cannot dictate where money is supposed to go or demand documents like invoices. Fanning and Kimbel also told Reichard that, if he continued to have trouble accessing the PUD money, they would be happy to help in their dealings with Quadrangle Development.

The discussion of the park improvement is mentioned in the summary of February 4 meeting on ANC2F's website here.

A diagram showing the proposed improvements is available here.

(photo credit: 2008 photo by AgnosticPreachersKid/Wikipedia)

Return of Ward Two Parking Permits for Ward Six Residents in Shaw

DC City Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward Six) has introduced legislation that will enable certain Ward Six residents in Shaw to get Ward Two parking passes. Allen told a meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw last night he was "working with" DC City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) on this matter.

Charles Allen at last night's meeting

This action fulfills a promise Allen made during last year's campaign -- see SALM blog post of June 6, 2014. Allen's promise to re-introduce the legislation came after a similar bill introduced by Allen's predecessor, Tommy Wells, went down to defeat against unified opposition in the DC Council.

Allen told the meeting he "wanted to make sure the neighborhood was connected" with Ward Two parking.

As far as parking elsewhere in Ward Six goes, Allen said: "Other parts of Ward Six doesn't do as much good."

Commissioner Rachelle Nigro (district 04) gave Allen some advice on how to get the legislation passed in the face of probable opposition from Evans.

"Don't work with Jack [Evans]. Work with the rest of the council."

Allen backed away from any suggestion he would not be fully cooperating with Evans.

"He is my colleague," Allen said.

"I need to respect that he is the Ward Two Councilmember," Allen said later.

Residents here want to park in Ward Two

Ward Two parking permits for Ward Six residents first became an issue in 2011, when a large section of Shaw was re-districted from Ward Two to Ward Six. The area is in question is bordered by New York Avenue NW in the south and (mostly) by New Jersey Avenue in the east. At some points, it extends as far as Florida Avenue in the north and 11th Street in the west -- see map.

Shaw residents fought a successful rear guard action for several years before action to change the street signs and residential parking requirements started last year. At the meeting last night, one audience member said the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) managed to miss one block near his home, which still enjoyed Ward Two parking privileges.

"DDOT has not done the greatest job," Allen said. "I've found them to make mistakes."

Other SALM blog posts on Ward Two parking for Shaw residents were published on May 14 and June 2, 2014.

At last night's meeting, Allen spoke on a number of other issues of concern to the neighborhood, and took questions from the audience. Allen emphasized his new "Books from Birth" initiative, and got several questions and comments from audience members who were eager to participate.

1420-1422 12th Street: ANC Asks for Sanctions on Logan Circle Renovation

UPDATE: There is a stop work order on this house while the DC government does an investigation. See details here.

"We formally request that the owner of 1420 & 1422 12th St NW be investigated and, if the ... facts are confirmed, sanctioned for illegal construction and be required to submit the proper documents ..."

Was the renovation here legal?

The above is from a letter that Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle is sending to Rabbiah "Robbie" Sabbakham, Director of DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) is cc'ed on the letter.

The ANC voted unanimously at its regular monthly meeting on November 5 to send this letter to "address concerns about unpermitted and illegal construction" at the address, "as well as DCRA's lack of enforcement." The matter was brought to the attention of the ANC by Joel Heisey and Helen Kramer, community members who also are on the ANC's Community Development Committee, according to an account of the November 5 meeting on ANC2F's web site.

1420 and 1422 12th Street are adjoining row houses which previously had the same owners and were sold together as one property last year.

The ANC's letter says the two properties "have undergone complete gut renovations without the proper permits". A permit was issued for 1420, but the permit was for replacement of existing electrical fixtures only. There seems to be no permit at all for 1422 -- the permit in the window of 1422 is the permit for electrical work on 1420. According to a supporting document to the letter, 1420 also has an unauthorized rear carport with studio and deck. The property, the document claims, is also in violation of zoning regulations in that the footprint of the house is more than permitted.

"A resident has repeatedly tried to get DCRA's illegal construction division to investigate with little success," the letter says.

"Two calls to the Supervisor of Illegal Construction have gone unreturned," the letter also says.

"It's like the bad old days over there," said Helen Kramer at the November 5 ANC meeting, referring to DCRA's lack of responsiveness.

"One has to wonder whether they can be so oblivious or whether money has changed hands," she also said.

I could find no records for either property in the Interactive Zoning Information System of DC's Office of Planning.

Online records show the building was built in 1889 and sold for $1.1 million in May 2014.

Logan Circle ANC Endorses Raze of Building on "Most Endangered Places" List

At its regular monthly meeting on October 1, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle voted unanimously to endorse the raze of two historically-protected buildings at 911-913 L Street NW. On October 8, the DC Preservation League included this property on its annual list of "most endangered places".

The property in 2007 (from Flickr, licensed for reuse)

"911 L Street is one of the oldest buildings to survive in the Shaw Historic District," the DC Preservation League says on its website. 913 L Street "was constructed in 1892 and designed by well-known Washington architect Appleton P. Clark."

See articles about the DC Preservation League's 2014 list of most endangered historic properties from the Washington Post here and the Washington Business Journal here.

A small piece in a big puzzle

If the raze goes forward, it will be a small part of a larger plan to build two separate Marriott hotels and a 12-story residential building near the intersection of 9th and L Streets in Shaw. The planned complex would cover a large part of the city block bordered by 9th, 10th, L and M Streets, close to the Washington Convention Center. (This should not be confused with another Marriott hotel, the Marriott Marquis, which opened nearby in May.)

The construction of the hotels and residences is part of a Planned Unit Development (PUD), a planning tool which allows developers of large projects to bundle benefits to the community and concessions from the community into a single package. (See a short explanation of PUDs here and 21 pages of official PUD regulations here.)

But before the PUD process can move forward, the developers and city must deal with the historic preservation aspects of the project. There are currently nine historically-protected buildings on the site, which is in the Shaw Historic District. The developers plan to incorporate seven of the nine into the design of their hotel and residence complex. 911-913 L Street are the other two buildings on the block.

ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC) had, on September 24, recommended after community discussion that the full ANC support the raze application with the condition that the existing materials be preserved and reused as much as possible -- see SALM blog post of September 30.

The discussion at the full ANC meeting

At the October 1 meeting, ANC2F Commissioner Greg Melcher (district 06) started the portion of the meeting dealing with this matter by noting the building was in the downtown development district.

"Something's going to have to come down," he said. "I'm inclined to vote for it. It's not a wholesale tearing down of the building."

911-913 L Street is in Melcher's ANC district.

Sherri Kimbel, Director of Constituent Services at the Office of City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) told the ANC that Evans had spoken to "several people" about the development. The people Evans talked to were supportive of the two hotels but not the residential component, Kimbel said.

"There was a requirement to have housing," Kimbel said. "That requirement was not in place for the Marriott across the street" -- meaning, the new Marriott Marquis.

Robert Knopf, Senior Vice-President of the Quadrangel Development Company, spoke on behalf of the developers.

"We're very interested in putting in the residential component," he said. "We need the residential component to cover costs."

As it was, Knopf said, the development had to pay "retail price" for the lots where the planned hotel and residences would go, and then were compelled to shrink the size of the project due to historic preservation requirements -- from an original plan of 237 units to 200.

"We feel like we've been tricked," Knopf said. "We were told we would not have to preserve the building."

All applications to raze buildings in historic districts have a public hearing before the Mayor's Agent in the Historic Preservation Office. A hearing on this project was originally scheduled October 15. On September 19 (well before the meetings described in this article), attorneys for the developers asked for the hearing to be postponed until November, because the developers needed time to respond to comment on the project's overall design from DC historic preservation authorities.

See an article about this development's struggles with historic preservation authorities from the blog BadWolfDC here.

Reaction to Yesterday's Story on Liquor License Moratorium

CORRECTED: Jack Evans on 14th Street Liquor Licenses: "Do You Need a Moratorium?"

CORRECTION: I originally reported (including in the headline) that Evans had said "You need a moratorium on 14th Street". After seeing the comment left by "sherri" below, I listened to the original video more closely. Sherri is correct -- Evans said "Do you need a moratorium on 14th Street?" Apologies to Councilmember Evans for the error.

DC City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two), speaking at a June 4 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle, recommended suggested consideration of a moratorium on liquor licenses on 14th Street.

After reporting on the outcome of this year's City Council deliberations on the DC budget, Evans noted the 14th Street corridor had improved since he joined the Council in 1991. This was the result of the hard work of many people, Evans said, and criminal activity was no longer a major problem. Then Evans said:

Your challenge is -- how do you limit the growth? And it's something that the ANC over time is going to have to take a look at.

Do you need a moratorium on 14th Street?

You have 71 restaurants there. You know, how many restaurants is too many?

You know, we ran into that when I was chairman of the ANC over in Dupont Circle back in '89 when 17th Street took off. And there were 40 storefronts on 17th Street and when we got 20 liquor licenses, we said, "That's enough", because we were starting to lose the dry cleaner and the shoeshine place and everything. So we put a moratorium and it's still there 24 years later.

And we believe it was successful because it kept the retail mixed and that's something -- on 14th Street -- we'll have to deal with going forward.

At the same meeting, Evans also spoke to ANC2F on the status of granting Zone Two residential parking permits to 1,100 Shaw car owners now resident in Ward Six -- see SALM blog post of June 6.

In 2013, Evans opposed a proposed U Street liquor license moratorium after all the ANCs in the proposed moratorium zone passed resolutions against the it -- see page 6 (bottom) of a 32-page .pdf file here. DC's liquor licensing authorities officially rejected the proposal in October 2013.

See below a YouTube video of the remarks by Evans about a liquor license moratorium. If it will not play, view it on YouTube here. Apologies for the quality of the audio.

Charles Allen, Jack Evans on Ward Two Parking for Shaw Residents

Emergency legislation to allow Shaw car owners to retain their Ward Two parking privileges went down to defeat on June 3, but that's not necessary the end of the matter. Charles Allen, Democratic nominee for the Ward 6 City Council seat, pledged to re-introduce legislation if elected. However, messages on Twitter indicate the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is already replacing resident parking signs in Shaw.

Newly-installed parking sign in Shaw

Meanwhile, DC City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle why he opposed the bill.

Shaw residents were redistricted from Ward Two to Ward Six as a result of the 2010 census. Since that time, they have been able to retain Ward Two parking permits. They wish to continue to do so -- see SALM blog posts of June 2 and May 14.

Allen at 6E/Shaw

Charles Allen visited the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw on June 3 -- a few hours after the emergency legislation was defeated by a voice vote. The purpose of Allen's visit to ANC6E was to "say hello and listen in", he said.

Allen reported the failure of the emergency legislation. However, he said, the the bill would be re-introduced this session as permanent (i.e., not emergency) legislation, and there was a possibility that it could pass in this manner.

If it does not pass, Allen promised to re-introduce the legislation if he is elected to the DC Council in November.

According to a DC Council web site faq page, "An emergency bill is a proposed new law or an amendment to existing legislation that takes effect immediately and is effective for 90 days.  Because it does not follow the committee process, a vote of a super majority (9) is required for an emergency to be considered."

The path of permanent legislation is slower and more complicated, including potentially a visit to the US Congress, but it will not require a super majority. See an explanation here.

Signs already changing

About four hours before the emergency legislation failed in the DC Council, a Shaw resident reported on Twitter that Ward Two resident parking sign were being replaced with Ward Six resident parking signs. A DDOT worker said the sign change was being fast-tracked, the resident wrote in a separate tweet.

Rachelle Nigro, ANC6E Commissioner for the area in question (district 04), instructed the resident to take and send a photo of the sign in question -- see above. Nigro said she had sent an email to DDOT Director Matthew Brown about the matter.

Evans at 2F/Logan Circle

Jack Evans was at the regular monthly meeting of ANC2F on June 4. His main purpose was to talk about the recently passed city budget, but he touched briefly on the parking bill. He said he understood why Shaw residents wanted Ward Two parking passes.

"I understand wanting to continue to park in neighborhoods that you used to be able to park in," Evans said. "But the purpose of residential parking passes is to park in a residential neighborhood. And, frankly, this neighborhood would have been impacted by having people from Shaw parking in a residential area."

Evans' position might be, in part, a result of trying to park near his home in Georgetown.

"I can't even find an illegal parking spot," he told ANC2F.

Other matters discussed by Evans and ANC2F at the June 4 meeting will be the subject of one or more future SALM blog post.

Ward Two Parking for Shaw Residents: Lobbying on Both Sides

Tomorrow (June 3), DC Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward Six) will put forward a resolution that will enable an estimated 1,100 Shaw car owners -- although resident in Ward Six (see map below) -- to retain their Ward Two Residential Parking Permits.

Formerly Ward Two, now Ward Six

Rachelle Nigro, representative for district 04 on Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw announced the initiative on her Facebook page May 30. She asked her constituents to call the offices of all members of the DC City Council to express their support of the bill, called the ANC 6E Residential Parking Permit Exception Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2014. 

Also on May 30, Nigro sent tweets to DC Councilmembers David Grosso (I-At Large), Jack Evans (D-Ward Two), Mary Cheh (D-Ward Three), and Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward Five), urging them to vote for the resolution.

The neighborhood was formerly a part of Ward Two. It was redistricted into Ward Six after the 2010 Census. Residents successfully resisted a previous attempt to change their parking permits. See the SALM blog post of May 14 for more details. 

Meanwhile, neighboring ANC 2F/Logan Circle is mobilizing against the plan. At its regular monthly meeting on May 14, voted unanimously to send a letter to the DC Council "making the Council aware of ANC 2F’s opposition to all proposed or pending legislation that would grant Ward 6 residents the ability to park in Ward 2."

Dupont First ANC to Support Repeal of Prostitution Free Zones Amendment Act

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle has become the first ANC to publicly support the repeal of the Prostitution Free Zones Amendment Act of 2014. The ANC voted unanimously, with all nine Commissioners present, in favor of a resolution calling for the repeal at its regular monthly meeting on May 14.

David Grosso

Commissioners said Council Member David Grosso (I-At Large) had asked for the ANC's support of the repeal. Grosso introduced a bill that would repeal the Act in early April.

The resolution also "respectfully" asks D.C. City Council Member Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) to support the repeal of the act.

Jack Evans

The Prostitution Free Zones Amendment Act was passed by the City Council in its current form in 2012. Its chief proponent is Council Member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), in response to concerns about chronic prostitution in her district. D.C.'s Office of the Attorney General and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) have both expressed the opinion that the law is probably unconstitutional. ANC Commissioners at the May 14 meeting said they were in favor of "removing a law that's not being enforced".

Under the law, the Chief of Police may declare an area a Prostitution Free Zone for a period of up to 20 days. In such a Zone, police have enhanced and somewhat vague powers of search and arrest. For example (according to a police spokesperson), a person found loitering in a Prostitution Free Zone in possession of two or more condoms could be arrested. They could not be arrested in such a circumstance outside a Prostitution Free Zone.

ANC2B Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05) said the law raises "the potential for policing of a discriminatory and abusive nature".

The resolution itself states: "Prostitution Free Zones do not reduce prostitution and further marginalize sex workers, low income people of color, transgender people, lesbians and gays, and the homeless..."

This is the second resolution ANC2B has passed in opposition to the Prostitution Free Zone Amendment Act. The first resolution was in 2012.

Read an April 3 op-ed from the Washington Blade by Council Member Grosso advocating repeal of the Act here.

The resolution supporting repeal of the bill was championed by now-former ANC2B Commissioner Kevin O'Connor (district 02). O'Connor resigned effective at the end of the May 14 meeting. He is moving to Petworth.

(photo credit: from the web sites of the respective council members)

Shaw Car Owners Ask to Retain Ward Two Residential Parking

"This issue is not dead yet," said Rachelle Nigro of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw. "We'll fight to the very end for my constituents."

Ward Six, north of New York Avenue

The issue is the residential parking permits (RPPs) of about 1,100 car owners living north of New York Avenue NW in Shaw, surrounded on three sides by other wards (see map). Up until 2011, these car owners lived in Ward Two. As a result of redistricting, they now live in Ward Six. They have lobbied successfully to retain Ward Two RPP up until now. Currently they are resisting an attempt by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to change the street signs in their area so that they will be required to have Ward Six stickers on their windshields to park on the street.

Nigro said the majority of people in this area wished to retain Ward Two residential parking permits. She said she would need to have some organized show of support, like an online petition, to demonstrate this.

The ANC passed a resolution at its regular monthly meeting May 6 asking the city council, and specifically Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward Six) to introduce the necessary legislation to implement this. The resolution passed with one vote against, by Commissioner Marge Maceda (district 05).

Ashamed of Ward Six?

Earlier, during the debate, Maceda asked Nigro: "Are the people in your area ashamed of being in Ward Six?"

"No, it has nothing to do..." Nigro began.

"It certainly is," Maceda said.

A member of the audience resisted Maceda's tendency to interrupt.

"I've been living in this neighborhood all my life...," the audience member began.

"And it's changing," Maceda said.

"Excuse me, let me finish," the audience member said. "One of the things that's happened now is this new little piece of carve-out. If I go one block east, I'm in Ward Five. If I go one block north, I'm in Ward 1. If I got four blocks west, I'm in Ward Two. I can't even go to a restaurant, my cleaners, and park there anymore."

At the end of the debate, Nigro said of the request for legislation: "If it works, great. If it doesn't, we will just move forward as Ward Six, but at least we're trying our best."

Who needs Georgetown?

ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (district 01) said he expected City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) to oppose the legislation because he doesn't want more people parking in Georgetown.

"We don't need to go to Georgetown anymore to go to restaurants and clubs," an audience member said. "We've got our own neighborhood now. We just can't park there."

ANC6E has a Youtube channel, on which it posts its monthly meetings in their entirety. The discussion on this matter can be seen on video 00048 here, starting at 5:15.

See a current map of Ward Six from the D.C. Office of Planning here.

(Map from D.C. Office of Planning website)

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.

ANC2F Champions More Parking in ANC1B

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle last night endorsed a plan to study setting up more parking -- in a neighboring ANC.

ANC2F would like more parking here.

1325 S Street NW is D.C. city government property and used for parking and other purposes by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The property borders on ANC2F on its south side. But it is located in ANC 1B/U Street.

The Community Development Committee (CDC) of ANC2F thinks it would be an ideal place to put additional public parking. Last month the CDC recommended "the full ANC endorse the exploration of public parking options by the City Council for the lot". Last night, February 5, the full ANC approved the committee's report -- agreeing that plans to explore the possibility should go forward.

"It's a very very very early stage of the process," said ANC2F Commission Walt Cain (district 02). Cain is the chair of the CDC.

"There's a lot of conversations that need to happen," Cain said.

The proposal brought several people across the border from 1B into 2F to speak against the idea.

"I have an email from [D.C. City Councilmember] Jim Graham saying that he is opposed," said one man.

Another local resident said ANC2F was advocating the construction of a parking garage in ANC1B. Commissioner Cain said there were many options, and ANC2F was not advocating the immediate construction of an above-ground parking garage. Later, Cain said among the many options was a below-ground parking garage with a park over it on the ground level.

Other residents suggested property developers JBG, one of the authors of the plan, was hoping to gain ANC support in order to get its hands on a valuable property without adequate community input.

"The community doesn't have the opportunity to get on board about what's going on there," one resident said.

Sherri Kimball, constituent services director for D.C. City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two), said ANC2F's plan was "a suggestion". She also said there was a rumor that the lot might be included in the Reeves Center land swap deal, rendering the current debate pointless.

There is a Powerpoint presentation about the plan on the ANC2F web site (available here, starting with slide 8).

(Photo credit: Google Street View)

Initiative to Change O Street Traffic Pattern

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle heard a proposal last night to change the direction of O Street NW between 9th and 11th Streets. The proposal was made at ANC2F's regular monthly meeting last night (December 4).

Intersection of 10th and O Streets (Google Street View)

Paul Harrison, a resident of the 1000 block of O Street, came before ANC2F to announce the initiative of a group of concerned citizens. Harrison reported that most of the people on that block had signed a petition to D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2), requesting the change in traffic pattern.

If the change went through as request, O Street would turn one-way westbound between 10th and 11th Streets, and one way eastbound between 9th and 10th Streets. To put it another way, O Street traffic would diverge from 10th Street.

Harrison said the block had many families with young children who were concerned their street was no longer safe. O Street is currently a two-way street. Traffic had increased dramatically on it due to activity around the future site of City Market at O at the corner of O and 7th Streets. Many trucks have started using O Street as a regular route.

The proposal was supported by Sheri Kimball, constituent services director for Evans. Kimball told ANC2F she lived on the block. Of the residents of the block, only three had not signed the petition for the change, she said.

"The truck traffic down O Street is outrageous," she said.

In the ensuing discussion, it was asked why there were not signs banning trucks from the block. It turns out that there are, but the ban is not enforced.

Kimball told ANC2F that changing the traffic pattern on this stretch of O Street was just a matter of appropriate signage. It would be easy to remove the signs back again if the traffic pattern change turned out to be problematic.

"It would take about five minutes to undo," she said. "If it causes all kinds of problems, it won't be the first thing we've have to undo in this city."

ANC2F did not vote on the proposal.

Jack Evans Asks What's on ANC2F's Mind

DC City Councilmember for Ward Two Jack Evans introduced DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier at the October 2 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle NW). He then listened to Chief Lanier's remarks, occasionally adding a comment. After Chief Lanier concluded and departed, Evans stayed on to answer questions on various topics from the standing-room crowd of 80-90 community members.

Chief Lanier's remarks are reported in a separate blog post.

ANC2F listens to Jack Evans

Evans and Lanier

Evans said Lanier was "doing a fabulous job". He noted that last year's homocide rate was the lowest in 60 years, and that this year's was on track to be even lower before the recent shootings at the Navy Yard.

During Lanier's Q-and-A session, ANC2F Commissioner Peter Lallas (district 01) asked about anti-loitering laws as a tactic to get drug dealers off the streets. Lanier said such laws have often been found found to be unconstitutional.

Evans said if Lallas could find a law that would pass constitutional muster, Evans would be happy to support it.

"If you can find a better law, I'll introduce it immediately," Evans said.

Evans alone

After Lanier's departure, Evans talked briefly about DC's financial situation in the wake of the federal government shutdown. DC has about 1.5 million dollars in the bank, and will be able to make payroll through October -- but not after that.

Evans introduced Sherry Kimball Sherri Kimbel, constituent services director for Ward Two, to a round of applause. Kimball Kimbel told the meeting that "all the circles" -- e.g., Logan, Scott, Thomas -- are US Park Service property. As such, they are effected by the federal shutdown of non-essential services, particularly in the area of trash collection. Kimball Kimbel said that the Logan Circle Community Association was looking to spearhead a drive to keep the circles relatively trash free. She urged community participation.

Then Evans tooks questions from the community.

"What's on anybody's mind?" he asked.

Community Questions

Someone asked about a plan to move the Spy Museum to the Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square. Evans didn't have any information about this, but ANC2F Commissioner Greg Melcher (district 06) said there was "plenty of time for community input".

In response to a question, Evans declared himself "dead against changing the height act".

Commissioner Walt Cain (district 02) asked about the recent Council decision to reject proposed changes in the visitor parking pass program.

A woman from Vermont Street asked about an "uptick in the homeless". She was against just shooing them away, but couldn't something be done.

 "These people gravitate to Ward Two, the center city," Evans said. "The homeless issue is a very delicate issue."

There were two questions about traffic lights. One resident of N Street said DC traffic lights were not synchronized, were too short, and were getting shorter.

Evans agreed, saying he drove up 15th Street to R Street every day, then west on R. He found the traffic lights infuriating. "If I get to be king," he said, stopping for audience laughter, "I'm going to fix all that. There's no reason in the world for it."

The second resident complained about drivers at the corner of 15th and N. Drivers did not pay sufficient attention to pedestrians. Evans promised to look into it.

An ANC2F resident complained about the proposed K Street trolley line. City officials were bent on connecting the trolley to Georgetown, whether it was practical, and regardless of the inconvenience caused.

"There's a large vocal group against it, including businesses on K Street," Evans said. "There's a smaller but still vocal group in favor."

Evans received a round of applause when he departed.