TENAC Joins Opposition to St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church Project

Last night (June 26), the DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition (TENAC) voted, without seeming opposition, to support a group opposing a proposed multi-story apartment building on Church Street. The proposed building will go on the space currently occupied by St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church (1772 Church Street NW). The funds raised by this project will help St. Thomas' Parish build a new church on the unoccupied land they own next door, which has functioned as a park for over 40 years.

The current church entrance

The complex backstory to this project is chronicled in part in SALM blog posts of May 29 and February 28.


TENAC Chairman Jim McGrath introduced the subject by saying the St. Thomas' Parish project had been "placed wrong" and had caused "hardship, heartache, and turmoil". McGrath has previously spoken at meetings of those opposed to the project.

McGrath introduced Andrew Ellenbogen, of the group Neighbors of St. Thomas Church DC, which opposes the development. He gave some background on the controversy. St. Thomas Parish Church was an early supporter of the campaign against AIDS and for the LGBT community. After the church burned down in 1970, he said, the leadership of the church said "we're going to eschew re-building" and that they were going to "leave this park as a ministry".

"Times can change," he continued.

The church had decided on this project and was "closed off to dialogue," Ellenbogan said. The church had shown a "failure to respect historic preservation."

There will be legally-mandated affordable housing units in the project, under a DC program called "inclusionary housing".

"Inclusionary housing just allows the buildings to be higher," Ellenbogan said.

The building was a "new modern colossus," he said.

Ellenbogan commented on working with Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle.

"The ANC, that's been an incredible challenge," he said.

In conclusion, he called the church "a rock in the community".

McGrath returned to the podium and presented a "very simple resolution", which expressed "opposition to the high-rise condo as a serious disruption".

Of the roughly 70 people in the room at the time, all people who voted (much more than half) were in favor. Some people did not raise their hands or otherwise show support when called upon to do so. But no one indicated they were against the resolution, nor were there any abstentions.

Former DC City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Carol Schwartz was in the audience. I could not see if she voted. She made no comment on the proposal.

DC City Councilmembers Jim Graham (D-Ward One) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large) were scheduled to appear at the meeting, which was billed as an "open board meeting" by TENAC. Graham and Bonds were not present at the time the vote was taken.

Coverage of this story has also appeared in the blogs Greater Greater Washington and District Source.

Ward One Church and Community Parking Task Force "Summit" June 10

At its regular monthly meeting on May 1, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B/U Street heard plans for meetings -- both public and private -- by the Ward One Church and Community Parking Task Force. The task force will have a town meeting-style "summit" at Cardozo High School (1200 Clifton St NW) at 7pm on June 10. Members of the public are invited to this meeting.

"We hope you'll come with solutions," ANC1B Commissioner E. Gail Anderson  Holness (district 11) said.

St. Augustine Catholic Church, 15th and V Streets

Among the people scheduled to participate, Holness said, are Dr. Earl D. Trent Jr. of Florida Avenue Baptist Church (623 Florida Avenue), Father Patrick Smith of St. Augustine Catholic Church (1419 V Street), Rev. Dr. Winston C. Ridley, Jr. of The Greater First Baptist Church (2701 13th Street), Rev. Dr. Paul H. Saddler of the Twelfth Street Christian Church (1812 12th Street), and Chief of Staff Calvin Woodland from the office of D.C. City Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward One).

"We tried to include people from all the quadrants of Ward One," Holness said. 

Holness also announced there would be a meeting at 7pm on May 22 for members of task force and ANC1B Commissioners only. A location for the meeting had not been set at the time of Commissioner Holness's announcement.

Holness announced the creation of the task force at the April 3 regular monthly meeting of ANC1B -- see SALM blog post of April 7. At that time, the subject of the task force was announced to be facilitating parking on Sundays at the 67 churches around Ward One.

At the May first meeting, Holness said the task force was working on a variety of issues, including parking, but also including public safety, senior housing, and taxation.

"A lot of people don't understand what churches do -- how they benefit the community," Holness said.

In preparation for the meeting, Holness said an online survey was being prepared on the website Survey Monkey. Participants would be invited to the survey via email.

Ward One Task Force on Community and Church Parking Created

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street will participate in a Ward One-wide task force on community and church parking. ANC1B Commissioner E. Gail Anderson Holness (district 11) made an announcement about the formation of the task force at the ANC's monthly meeting on April 3.

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

"These problems are not new," Holness said. "They've just become more intense."

Commissioner Holness announced the office of City Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward One) had formed the task force to address how to facilitate parking at churches across Ward One on Sundays and at other times of religious worship. Holness said she expected the task force to meet three or four times. The first meeting will be within the next two weeks, and there will be a town meeting. The task force will issue a final report.

"We want the final report to reflect the entire community," Holness said.

Task force membership

Holness said eight Ward One pastors would serve on the task force. She named several of them, including Dr. Earl D. Trent Jr. of Florida Avenue Baptist Church (623 Florida Avenue NW) and Father Patrick Smith of St. Augustine Catholic Church (1419 V Street).

Holness also asked for "a commissioner other than me" to participate in the task force. Commissioner Dyana Forrester (district 06) volunteered to do so. Forrester said she has attended Florida Avenue Baptist Church.

Forrester compared D.C. police tactics concerning churches and parking to suburban police tactics in the same context.

"In Maryland and Viriginia, police help. They don't write tickets," Forrester said.

Holness on the traffic scene

Holness took the opportunity of the announcement to touch on several traffic-related issues. They included bloggers who complain about suburbanites coming on Sunday to park near historical churches, while not complaining about suburbanites who drive into D.C. from Monday to Friday and park on local streets.

She compared weekday commuters to Sunday church visitors: "Many people who come in on the weekends have lived here at one time."

She also commented on bicyclists.

"I'm 57 and I ride a bike," she said.

However, Holness went on, bicyclists received too much consideration because they do not bicycle in inclement weather.

"You don't see bikes when it snows, when it's raining," she said.

Concerning the historic churches in Ward One, Holness said: "They were here before many of the new residents came. They will be here after they are gone."

Tonight: ANC1B Hearing about S Street Parking Proposal

The Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street will hold a meeting tonight, Tuesday, February 25. On the agenda for discussion will be a proposal to study having a parking facility at 1325 S Street NW. The property is currently used by the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.

1325 S Street (Google Street View)

This is the first time the proposed facility is on an ANC1B meeting agenda.

The meeting starts at 6:30pm at the Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th Street).

This idea was endorsed by ANC 2F/Logan Circle at its last meeting -- see SALM blog post of February 6. ANC2F abuts the property on its south side. See a post about the proposal on ANC2F's web site here, and a .pdf presentation about the plan (starting at page 8) here.

The idea was brought up by a community member during the concluding "new business" portion of ANC1B's last meeting on February 6. At that time, ANC1B Chair James Turner (district 09) expressed disappointment that ANC2F had not chosen to consult ANC1B before releasing the plan. But he said ANC2F had not overstepped over its authority.

"They abut. They have a right," Turner said.

At a separate meeting of ANC1B's Transportation Committee on February 20, Turner said the ANC might consider doing a joint resolution with ANC2F on the proposal. Turner emphasized the proposal was at its very beginning, and the property would have to be declared surplus property by the D.C. government and sold, and there would have to be a traffic pattern study before any proposal could move forward.

Turner also said D.C. City Councilmember Jim Graham (Ward 1) had come out against the proposal.

Another Transportation Committee member spoke against the proposal as well.

"We understand that parking is a problem but more parking is not a solution," he said.

Today's meeting will be the first Design Review Committee meeting under its new chair, Lela Winston. Winston was selected as the chair at ANC1B's February meeting.

See the full agenda for tonight's meeting 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)

Graham, Nadeau, Weaver at Ward One Candidates Forum

The three candidates for D.C. City Councilmember from Ward One -- incumbent Jim Graham, Brianne Nadeau, and Bryan Weaver -- spoke to prospective voters at a forum on Thursday evening, January 30. It was held in the Good Will Baptist Church (1862 Kalorama Road NW) and sponsored by the Kalorama Citizens Association (KCA).

Topics included education, the future of D.C. United's stadium, and liquor license moratoriums.

Graham late so Weaver speaks

Bryan Weaver at the January 30 forum

The forum sponsors were reluctant to start without Graham, who was 30
minutes late. After some attendees agitated to start without Graham, moderator Dennis James, head of the KCA, announced that Bryan Weaver would be given five minutes to speak before the scheduled main event between Graham and Nadeau.

Weaver had announced the previous evening that he was dropping out of the Democratic primary scheduled for April 1. Instead, Weaver will run as an independent in the November general election.

"D.C. is a broken system," Weaver said. "We have a warlord problem. I know what you’re thinking. Warlord -- you're thinking of Joseph Kony. You're thinking Taliban. You're thinking right-wing death squads."

Weaver then went on to compare "political brokers" in D.C. to these warlords, in that each was close-minded and change-averse, and each exploit the existing political system.

"Our system is completely broken," Weaver said.

In response to an audience question, Weaver said he would make his candidacy official in June.

"We think we're well within the guidelines," he said.

After Graham arrived, Weaver concluded: "I'd like to thank Jim Graham for giving me the time to speak."

Education, charter schools, neighborhood schools

Weaver also got a question about education. He said there needed to be more resources and better quality education.

"I don't exactly agree with [D.C. City Councilmember] David Catania's plan," he said.

Later, the two Democratic candidates fielded a question about the state of childhood education.

Nadeau noted that, in Ward One, there were more children in public charter schools than neighborhood schools.

"What I'm afraid is happening in some cases is that parents are choosing [charter] schools simply because neighborhood schools aren't good enough," Nadeau said.

Nadeau said she wanted to make it easier for parents to choose a school.

"We want them to be choosing it because it's good for their kids -- not because the other option is bad for them," she said.

In reply, Graham noted his long history of support for bilingual and charter schools in D.C.

"I think that charter schools bring us great richness," Graham said.

Graham went on to say he thought D.C. could have an active charter school movement and good neighborhood schools at the same time.

Various stadium deals

The candidates talked about the competing plans for a new home for D.C. United: a plan by City Councilmember Vincent Orange renovating RFK Stadium vs. a new stadium at Buzzard's Buzzard Point. The latter deal would involve swapping Ward One's Reeves Center (14th and U Streets) for a parcel of land at Buzzard's Point in Southwest Washington.

"The deal for Buzzard's Buzzard Point cannot proceed until we've analyzed RFK," Graham said. Graham noted he had co-sponsored a proposed law by Councilmember Orange about the RFK renovation.

Graham listens, Nadeau speaks

Nadeau was more positive about the Reeves Center/Buzzard's Buzzard Point option, but also wanted to make sure that the successor to the Reeves Center included community space, not just high-end housing.

"I'd like to see that deal move forward," she said. Then she said: "We need to see more transparency."

Adams Morgan and liquor license moratoriums

KCA head and forum moderator Dennis James got into a quarrel with Graham about certain actions Graham may or may not have taken five or more years ago in connections with attempts to renew the liquor license moratorium in Adams Morgan. James eventually yielded to audience members who shouted: "Let the candidates speak!"

"I think one of the biggest issues we're having here is really not about whether there's a moratorium of not," Nadeau said. "It's about whether or not you've got enforcement of the laws on the books. You know, it's whether or not a nightclub -- which is prohibited under the moratorium but is effectively operating under a restaurant license -- is allowed to do that."

Graham said that, when he started on the council, city alcohol inspectors refused to work at nights, but during Graham's period of oversight they began to work at night. Graham also said he found money in the city budget for extra auditors. These auditors worked to ensure liquor licensees complied with city rules so de facto nightclubs could not masquerade as restaurants for licensing purposes.

"The enforcement is so much better," Graham said.

About the effects of moratoriums in general, Graham said: "I think by and large they have been positive." Graham said that, without moratoriums, the pressure of increasing rents would drive all non-alcohol-dependent businesses out of an area. This was why, Graham said, there were no hardware stores or antique shops in the area anymore.

Punch line

At the evening's end, the candidates were given a final opportunity to speak. Graham ended his speech by saying: "In the immortal words of FDR, 'Just one more term'."

"That's a joke," he added.

Read coverage of the same forum in Washington City Paper here.