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Showing posts with label W Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label W Street. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Darnell's Signs Agreement with U Street ANC, Protests Dismissed

Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) 1B/U Street has signed a settlement agreement with Darnell's Bar (944 Florida Avenue NW), which will attempt to limit the noise coming from the establishment. As a result, the ANC withdrew its protest of Darnell's liquor license renewal as of March 11th, the date the agreement was officially recognized by DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABRA).

Image of Darnell's from Google Street View
Protests by the ANC and other groups had threatened to close the establishment -- see SALM blog posts of October 22 and December 10, 2014.

Beside the ANC, three other parties were protesting the renewal. Two of these three protests were also dismissed on March 11th. One of the dismissed protest was that of a group of five or more neighbors. Any protest by a group of five or more is automatically dismissed when an agreement between the ANC and the establishment is signed, as set forth in Section 25-609 of DC Code.

The second dismissed protest was that of an abutting neighbor, who lives above the establishment. This neighbor's protest was dismissed because she failed to attend an ABRA hearing on February 18. Information gathered from an ABRA official transcript of the hearing indicates that the neighbor had gone "way down in Virginia" to visit family during the long Presidents' Day weekend immediately previous, and then was unable to return to DC due to a February 17 snowstorm that brought the area to a halt, closing schools and the federal government.

The third protesting party attended the hearing. He told ABRA about the upstairs neighbor's inability to make it back to the city, but said he had talked to the upstairs neighbor. She wished to remain a party to the protest.

He was asked if he had anything in writing that stated this.

"I couldn't get anything in writing. She left before the snow come," he replied.

He was asked if he had any email that stated this. He didn't.

"I'm not computer literate anyway and neither is she," he said.

According to the same transcript, the upstairs neighbor's protest was then dismissed. The neighbor who attended the hearing was advised that an appeal of the decision was possible if filed within 10 days of receiving notification. However, a March 11 ABRA document (page seven of an 18-page .pdf here) says that the neighbor's request for a reinstatement was unanimously denied. No reason for the denial was given.

On the same day, the protest of the upstairs neighbor was officially dismissed. See the order dismissing the protest here.

One protesting party remains -- a second abutting neighbor. This neighbor will get to make a case against Darnell's at the ABRA protest hearing, scheduled for April 8 at 1:30pm at ABRA offices at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

The text of the settlement agreement between ANC1B and Darnell's can be seen as on the last page of the order dismissing the protest of the group of five or more here.

ANC1B voted to enter the settlement agreement with Darnell's at its regular monthly meeting in January -- see SALM blog post of January 12.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

965 Florida Avenue Project Expects Exit Soon from Bowser Hold

The developers of several parcels of land at and near 965 Florida Avenue NW told a meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street February 5 that it will soon exit the hold put on the project by the Mayor Bowser.

Red Star = 965 Florida Avenue (photo credit below)
"We are on the goal line on getting this in front of the council," said Matthew Robinson of MRP Realty.

965 Florida Avenue is one of five development projects approved late in the administration of former Mayor Vincent Gray which were put on hold January 29, pending review by the new Bowser administration team. The Bowser administration has said it wishes to confirm that upcoming projects are compliant with soon-to-be-enacted regulations concerning affordable housing.

Just before the developers spoke, the ANC also heard from Marc Bleyer, Senior Project Manager at the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), on the multiple project hold. The bulk of Bleyer's remarks were about the possible long-term hold of a separate project to develop the former site of the Grimke School (1923 Vermont Street NW) -- see SALM blog post of February 9. However, about 965 Florida Avenue, Bleyer said: "We're working to get that done quickly."

Joining Robinson on the team of developers presenting were James Nozar of The JBG Companies and Chip Ellis of Ellis Development Group.

Nozar outlined the scope of the project, which involves three separate parcels of land. Nozar said there would be an announcement soon about the "neighborhood-oriented retail" that would appear in the new development. This included "food that is non-tapas oriented", he said.

Ellis announced there would be a 40,000 square foot grocery store on the site, but said he could not yet name the retailer. A report from last year named Harris Teeter as the "likely" grocery retailer for the project.

"We are pleased to announce that the project will be adhering to 30 percent affordable housing," Ellis also said, perhaps meaning that the project as currently envisioned is already compliant with the upcoming new regulations on affordable housing.

After the presentations, ANC1B Commissioner Ellen Nedrow Sullivan (district 02) told the presenters: "You're really answering the needs of the community."

See a February 3, 2015, article from the Washington City Paper's Housing Complex blog about the partnership of JBG and MPR Realty on this project here.

See a page from the DMPED web site about this project, including a link to the original Request for Proposal, here.

(Photo credit: detail from the DMPED 2012 Request for Proposal for 965 Florida Avenue)

Monday, January 12, 2015

ANC1B Approves Settlement Agreement with Darnell's

At its regular monthly meeting January 8, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted to enter into a settlement agreement with Darnell's Bar (944 Florida Avenue NW). The vote was unanimous.

Darnell's via Google Street View
The agreement says Darnell's will close at 1am on weekends and midnight on weekdays. It also says there will be no outdoor music and all windows and doors will be shut except when patrons are entering or leaving the establishment. Darnell's will also guarantee that there are noise-dampening curtains in the windows at all times. 

This was the second meeting in a row where ANC1B voted on a settlement agreement with Darnell's. At the last meeting of the ANC, the outgoing commissioners voted to reject a draft settlement agreement -- see SALM blog post of December 10. After that rejection, there were additional negotiations with neighbors who have been involved in a lengthy dispute with the bar, and the new version of the settlement agreement was more to their liking.

It was reported that, although the neighbors were "satisfied" with the settlement agreement, they would continue to protest the liquor license renewal application before DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).

There are two parties protesting the liquor license renewal. One party is a group of five or more neighbors. Under Section 25-609 of DC Code, ABRA will automatically dismiss this group's protest once it approves the ANC's settlement agreement.

"The group of five is OK with that," said Nick Baumann, chair of ANC1B's liquor-licensing affairs committee, in his report to the ANC.

The other party is a single individual who is an abutting neighbor to Darnell's. Specifically, the neighbor lives upstairs. As an abutting neighbor, this protest falls into a different category and will not be automatically dismissed as a result of the settlement agreement. It seems like likely that more hearings and attempts at arbitration will result. However, it has been reported that the upstairs neighbor is interested in no other outcome than the complete closure of the bar.

Darnell's is known alternately as Manchester Bar and Darnell's Manchester Bar. During the daytime, The Blind Dog Cafe, a coffee house, operates in the same space.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

944 Florida Avenue: "The Neighbor Upstairs Wants the Place Closed"

At a meeting October 15, a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted to recommend the ANC attempt to broker peace between the operators of Darnell's Bar (944 Florida Avenue NW) and a group of neighbors. But Nick Baumann, chair of ANC1B's liquor-licensing affairs committee, wasn't very optimistic of the chances of smoothing over the contending parties.
944 Florida Avenue (Google Street View)

"The neighbor upstairs wants the place closed and won't compromise," Baumann told the committee, reporting about an attempted mediation between the bar and its neighbors.

"The complaint about Darnell's is the music," a committee member said. Neighbors angry about the noise from the establishment have been protesting the renewal of Darnell's liquor license since at least 2013, according to documents available at the web site of DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).

A neighbor who lives upstairs in the same building from Darnell's gave the following testimony (see page 17 of a 24-page .pdf here) about the establishment at a February 26, 2014, ABRA hearing:
... [W]e tried to get along with the party and we need a sound proof because we can hear everything that's going on downstairs. Got my window shaking, my picture dropping off the wall. And we tell him to cut the music down, he don't. We done called the police. I bet a couple, over a hundred-some times, they go and they tell him, the manager, cut the music down.
In addition to the upstairs neighbor, residents of the Floridian, a nearby apartment building, and other neighbors have joined the protest against Darnell's.

There has been an attempt to settle the dispute by getting the liquor licensee to sign a settlement agreement, which could make clear, for example, the hours of operation, permitted noise levels, and mechanisms for resolving disputes. However, the settlement agreement recently drafted by the lawyer for Darnell's said, in summary, that Darnell's agreed to abide by the letter of the law -- not really a document worth signing.

"There's stuff to be negotiated but who will negotiate?" Baumann asked at the meeting. Baumann is committee chair but has said previously that contentious negotiations with liquor licensees often require the authority of an elected official.

Darnell's is in district 11 of ANC1B. The Commissioner is E. Gail Anderson Holness. Holness is running for election as Ward One representative on the DC State Board of Education. She will give up her ANC seat at the end of the year.

ANC1B Chair James Turner (Commissioner for district 09) attended the meeting, although he is not on the alcohol-licensing committee. Turner advised the committee that Holness could negotiate on this matter, but she would need clear guidance from the committee on what were the desired outcomes of the negotiations.

"If you ask Gail to make it better, make it specific," Turner said.

The committee came up with some clear goals for the negotiations, such as explicit promises to close all windows and doors while music was playing, no amplified music outside, no noisy disposal of glass bottles and other trash between 10pm and 7am.

The committee then passed a resolution to recommend a settlement agreement be negotiated by Commissioner Holness with the owner.

The resolution will probably come up at the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled for Thursday, November 6, at 7pm, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

During the daytime, The Blind Dog Cafe, a coffee house, also operates at 944 Florida Avenue. The Blind Dog Cafe was not discussed at the meeting. 


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

1324 W Street: Renovation Shorter, Less Visible

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted at its February 6 meeting to endorse a planned pop-up and rear expansion on a row house located at 1324 W Street NW. The original proposal (reported in an SALM blog post of November 20, 2013) was modified after the local community and D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) expressed concerns.

1324 W Street in 2013
The pop-up will be 15 inches shorter than originally planned and not visible from the street. The HPRB in its latest report on the project pledged to conduct pre-construction tests to make sure the pop-up would not be visible from the street.

The same report noted the planned front basement entry had been removed. The size of planned rear balconies had been reduced as well, so that they no longer wrap around the back of the building.

Jim Shetler of Baltimore-based Trace Architects told ANC1B the building will still have four apartments, as originally planned, on three stories and a cellar. There will be 4000 square feet, Shetler said.

The Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association and U Street Neighborhood Association have both approved the project.

Shetler sought ANC1B endorsement before returning to HPRB for final approval.

He will need to return to ANC1B for a separate endorsement of his application for a special exception from D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA). The proposed modification requires BZA approval because the renovated building will have a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.2. D.C. zoning regulations say buildings in this district should not have an FAR of more than 1.8.

ANC1B's Design Review Committee recommended that the full ANC endorse the renovation as modified.

The vote was 6-1 with two abstentions.

Commissioners voting in favor: Marc Morgan (district 01), Juan Lopez (07), Emily Washington (08), James Turner (09), Tony Norman (10), and Zahra Jilani (12).

Commissioner voting against: Ricardo Reinoso (05).

Abstentions: Jeremy Leffler (02) and Dyana Forester (06).

Commissioner E. Gail Anderson-Holness (11) arrived too late to the meeting to vote on this project.

Commissioners Sedrick Muhammed (03) and Deborah Thomas (04) were not present at the meeting. 

1324 W Street is located in the ANC district of Commissioner Thomas.


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

1324 W Street: Single-family House to 4 "Probably Condos"

The Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street has heard a proposal to turn a single-family house at 1324 W Street NW into a four-unit residence. The presentation took place at the Design Review Committee's regular monthly meeting on November 18.

1324 W Street was built in the mid 1890's.
Jim Shetler of Baltimore-based Trace Architects made the presentation, in search of ANC approval before he takes his project before D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for a concept review. Trace Architects must seek HPRB approval because 1324 W Street is in the U Street Historic District. In addition, the project will need review by D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA).

Not so fast

"The clients are going to be in a hurry," Shetler said.

The clients are going to be disappointed. Design Review Committee Chair Tony Norman (Commissioner for district 10) told Shetler he was going to call HPRB to request the hearing on the project be postponed six weeks, until late January 2014.

Shetler had plainly stated there had been no attempt to contact nearby residents or groups.

"We need to notice it," Norman said, meaning the ANC had to inform the community that the Design Review Committee, and later the full ANC, would have public meetings about the presentation.

"The neighbors were not informed," Norman said. Norman then suggested Shetler start by speaking to the U Street Neighborhood Association, who had a representative in the room.

The proposal 

The house would be converted into four units, Shetler said. They would be "probably condos".

The view of the red-brick rowhouse would remain the same from W Street, but an addition would be added to the rear of the building. From the rear, the new addition of the second and third floors, and a new fourth floor, would be visible. The walls would be made of fiber cement panels with metal-clad wood windows and doors. There would be decking in the rear, supported by steel tube columns and protected by a wire mesh guardrail. There would be a top floor roof deck.

The ground floor would be excavated and a portion of the cellar would be removed to create two parking spaces. Parked cars would be partially protected by the ground floor deck.

In response to committee questioning, Shetler said HPRB recommendations included lowering the height of the proposed addition, reducing the depth of the balconies, and using alternate cladding.

"Have you decided to do those changes?" Norman asked.

"The only issue is the height," Shetler responded.

Norman said the proposal could be considered again at the next meeting of the Design Review Committee, which is scheduled for Monday evening, December 16, at 6:30pm at the Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th Street).

Norman is also the chair of ANC1B as a whole.

See a two-page .pdf document containing HPRB's staff report on the proposed renovation here.

1324 W Street was sold in July 2013 for $1.15 million, according to online records.