ANC1B Commissioner Attendance Report: Improving

At the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street last Thursday, October 2, seven Commissioners were in place at the announced meeting start time of 7pm and an eighth arrived shortly thereafter. There was no trouble achieving a quorum and conducting business.

At the beginning of the meeting, ANC1B Chair James Turner (Commissioner for district 09) announced "our new quorum requirement is six", meaning, six of 11 sitting ANC Commissioners would have to attend for a meeting to take official votes. Although Turner did not elaborate further at the meeting, this announcement clearly means that former Commissioner Jeremy Leffler (district 02) had submitted a much-delayed resignation.

Leffler had moved out of his district several months ago but had failed to submit a resignation letter. There is apparently no mechanism to remove a Commissioner other than resignation. So, although Leffler was no longer qualified to do ANC business, he still counted toward quorum requirements. This meant the ANC had to have 7 of twelve sitting Commissioners in attendance to take official votes. In the case of at least one of the two aborted ANC1B meetings in July, six Commissioners were in attendance, so Leffler's delayed resignation meant members of the public who went to the July meetings expecting to transact business went away empty-handed. The ANC passed a resolution calling on Leffler to resign at its September meeting -- see SALM blog post of September 12.

By 7:15 on October 2, the following Commissioners were in attendance: Marc Morgan (01), Deborah Thomas (04), Ricardo Reinoso (05), Dyana Forester (06), Juan Lopez (07), Mark Ranslem (08), Turner, and Zahra Zilani (12).

At the beginning of the meeting, Turner announced that Commissioner Sedrick Muhammed (district 03) had sent a message saying he could not come to the meeting.

Of all ANC1B Commissioners clearly running for re-election, Muhammed has missed the most meetings. Including this latest absence, Muhammed has attended 12 of 23 meetings -- or 52% -- since this ANC session began in January 2013. For data on Muhummed's attendance (and that of other Commissioners), see the blog post by Nick Baumann, Chair of ANC1B liquor-licensing affairs committee, on ANC1B Commissioner attendance. Baumann's information was the subject of the SALM blog post of August 25.

Commissioner E. Gail Anderson Holness (district 11) also sent a message saying she would not be able to attend the meeting. Holness is not running for re-election to the ANC. She is running for Ward One representative on the DC State Board of Education.

Chair Turner also announced that he believed Commissioner Allyson Carpenter (district 10) would be attending the meeting, but by the time I left the still-ongoing meeting at 9pm, she had not arrived.

There will be at least one separate future blog posts about business conducted at this meeting.

The next scheduled meeting of the full ANC1B is at 7pm, Thursday, November 6, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

ANC1B, in addition to U Street, includes all or part of the following neighborhoods: Columbia Heights, LeDroit Park, Pleasant Plains, Shaw, University Heights, and lower Georgia Avenue.

Interview with Abigail Nichols, Candidate for ANC2B District 05

This is a written interview with Abigail Nichols, a candidate for Commissioner for district 05 of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle.

Nichols is the incumbent. She won her seat in a March 2013 special election.
Her opponent in the race is Jonathan Jagoda. An interview with Jagoda was published yesterday.

District 05 is a thin rectangle, longer on the north-south axis. The borders are
(roughly) 15th Street NW on the east, Lafayette Park on the south, and Q Street on the north. The western side of the district is a jagged line running (south to north) along 17th Street, Connecticut Avenue, 18th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and 17th Street again until the intersection of Q Street. It is in the lower-right corner of the map at right.

Don't know your ANC district? There are two search tools: one by the DC government, the other by Code for DC.

-- Where can voters go to find out more about you?

My website is abigailnicholsanc2b.com

-- The M Street bicycle path runs in part through your district. It is like riding on a washboard, much like part of the 15th Street bicycle lane was before it was repaved. DDOT seems to have a pattern of setting up mid-town bike lanes (good), but then not making sure they are usable for bicyclists (bad). What can you, or others, do to improve this situation? What can ANCs do to help make paving bike lanes an automatic part of the process, instead of always being the result of months of complaining and pressure?

Response to street problems will never be automatic because there’s always competition for road surface improvements. We must advocate for safe sidewalks and streets (consider also the cost of potholes to cars in this equation.)

Although I have a section dedicated to bicycles on my website, I have not heard from constituent bikers; I have heard from churches (Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal and St. Luke’s) about problems with the interface of cars and bikes. 

-- Your district is also home to “Club Central”, the clusters of nightclubs on Connecticut Avenue below Dupont Circle. There is another cluster on the 1800 block on M Street. These clubs are a chronic source of dispute with neighbors over noise. The result seems to be a drawn-out and expensive use of city resources to investigate and judge the complaints. Why can’t neighbors and nightclubs solve these problems between themselves? Can ANCs do something to make this issue less contentious?

Neighbors and nightlife establishments can mutually solve problems despite their different interests. Since ANCs know a lot about this process they can help by having strong positions up front on what we consider “appropriate” so that businesses know what to expect. ANCs can also take the lead in proposing legal reforms.

Legal reform is needed. The structure of alcohol regulation says that the government is to protect residents from “inappropriate” bar situations, but the time it takes neighbors to get that protection in the license is incredible. Then if the business does not stand by its license, getting enforcement from Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) seems impossible. The problem is the government, not unwillingness by neighbors and bars to solve problems.

ANC 2B could take a stronger role, particularly in dealing with outdoor amplified music. It was a resident group, and not the ANC, which obtained ABC Board protection to reduce noise from Ozio on M Street. Similarly, ANC 2B declined to protest the renewal of Sauf Haus but a resident group is successfully bringing their concerns to the owners, and agreement is likely.

Similarly, it has been residents, not ANC 2B, who got the attention of ABRA on the city-wide noise issue. ABRA’s noise task force has been an ineffective response to the problem, but Noise Task Force results have underscored inadequacies in the current regulatory system.

-- Much (perhaps all) of your district is also part of some historic district or another. What, if anything, should DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board do to make the process of getting necessary permits less onerous for homeowners?

Several projects from 2B05 have gone before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) this year, but the participants didn’t suggest systemic changes to the review process. The cases I’m aware of did need some review.

My concern has been with policy rather than implementation. Both the Board and ANC 2B seem to give little attention to the legal requirements of the Historic Dupont Circle Overlay which trumps zoning. As new construction and additions to existing buildings increase the number of residences in Dupont Circle, the ANC and Board should consider whether new projects are acceptable in terms of their effects on 1) congestion on sidewalks, streets, and alleys 2) parking competition, 3) the light and air of neighbors, and 4) infrastructure such as water, sewer, parks, etc. Right now, the Board seems to care only about sightlines from the street.

Residents consistently bring up this issue so that when we don’t look at them, we put ourselves in the position of voting against a project’s neighbors. I tend to abstain or oppose these resolutions. I hope that in January our new Commission can take up our criteria for evaluating HPRB projects.

-- Your district has a many churches in it, and parking is always a problem. What, if anything, should ANCs do to help churches get the local parking that they need? 

Church parking is not an issue that constituents have asked me to help with.

Metropolitan AME Church took their own action to protect their parking by getting the M Street bike path rerouted. On Sundays a lane of parking is opened on Church Street for St. Thomas Church. St. Luke’s Church on 15th has a parking lot. St. Luke’s concern has been that exiting the parking lot across the bike lane and parking lane can be difficult. Foundry Methodist Church has an arrangement with a garage. (I don’t know the parking arrangements used by St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square, and First Baptist Church on 17th Street.)

-- There are two liquor license moratoriums in effect in ANC2B, and one will come up for renewal during the next two years. What is your opinion about the extension of liquor license moratoriums in ANC2B?

The issues surrounding the 2013 expiration of the 17th Street moratorium were alcohol regulation and the desire for a vibrant, diverse commercial environment. Given the difficulty of regulating individual licensee, the moratorium offers a tool to keep a commercial area from being oversaturated with bars. Unfortunately, the moratorium brings its own negative consequences. One is that DC effectively gives owners had an asset in their license which they can sell. This makes it difficult for any but the largest bars from coming in. Furthermore, the vibrancy of local businesses is an economic problem affected very little, if any, by a moratorium. The ANC has to depend on others such as the Historic Dupont Circle Mainstreets and the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District who do aim to support business and to give them our support.

It is not timely to express a view on the expiring P Street moratorium.

-- There is push back now against density in residential areas, particularly in favor of limiting “pop ups”? What do you think about these proposed new regulations? How is it possible to have more affordable housing if it is so difficult to add to the housing stock?

First, Dupont Circle continues to add housing stock to an already densely populated area. Second, the problems of “affordable” housing for the District as a whole are not going to be solved in ANC 2B.

With ANC 2B’s September 29, 2014, vote in support of the St. Thomas condominium, ANC 2B has recommended more than 400 new housing units for Dupont Circle. There will be 322 new units in 2B05 alone: 218 units this fall at the Drake on 17th Street, 69 units at 1745 N Street NW, 15 units in conversions of single family dwellings on Q Street NW, and 20 new units in the former Planned Parenthood Building on 16th Street.

Note: with all these new residences, ANC 2B is likely to get a new Single Member District in the next Census.

Furthermore, Dupont Circle is one of the most densely developed areas in the city. Population is increasing while parking has been reduced and there has been no accommodation for increased congestion in streets and alleys. We lack the desired acreage in parks set as a standard by the District government. These factors that suggest ANC 2B needs to be concerned with development in the District as a whole. Yes, the cost of housing has gone way up. But further crowding at Dupont Circle without looking at what is happening or not happening elsewhere isn’t the answer. That’s what zoning is for. There are other parts of the District with metro stops that would love to see more development.

Because we are in a historic district, we are not going to see some crazy three-story addition on the front of one house among a row of similar houses like other areas are complaining about. However, we are being affected by additions on the rear of buildings that we don’t see from the street. .

-- Is there any question I should have asked you but didn’t?

Why should someone vote for you?

In me the voter gets experience, diligence, time to do the job, intelligence and broad perspective, and knowledge of neighbors and government. Plus I’m a nice person who listens to constituents and fellow commissioners.

Experience, diligence and time: A lot happens in ANC 2B05. ANC 2B’s regulatory reviews include alcohol licenses, historic preservation reviews, zoning reviews, public space reviews and more. Of ANC 2B’s 372 or so such reviews since I took office in April 2013, 95 have been in 2B05. At 26 percent of all such reviews, ANC 2B05 has a disproportionate share of regulatory agenda items.

ANC 2B has also faced big issues this last term. These have included:

The expiration and renewal of the 17th Street liquor licence moratorium (August 2013)

Proposed U Street moratorium (May 2013)

The conversion of the Patterson House on Dupont Circle

A proposed roof deck for the Carlyle Suites Hotel

St. Thomas’s church and condominium proposal

The Board of Elections Precinct Borders Redesign

The District of Columbia’s Zoning Rewrite

The renovation of Stead Park

I’ve had the time and motivation to keep up with these diverse, time-consuming (and very interesting) issues, lead the necessary reviews, and do policy advocacy in several areas.

Success, Intelligence and Broad Perspective: During my first term, I have often been in the minority on ANC votes but I have succeeded on the same issues using different means, e.g., a) reducing noise south of the circle and b) preventing the addition of an ill-conceived gate on the east side of Stead Park

But my views get attention elsewhere. My letter on nightlife noise appeared in the Post, and on September 24 the Current newspapers published my views on the St. Thomas condominium project. Testimony before the ABRA oversight committee of the DC Council led to a first-time visit by a Council Member to observe Club Central nightlife and its effects on residents.

Our neighborhood: Within ANC 2B there are distinct neighborhoods that face different problems that I’ve been addressing as the incumbent. For example,

The Palladium on 18th St. is inundated by noise from roof top decks in Club Central as is Jefferson Row in a neighboring SMD with whom we cooperate.

Residents surrounding Stead Park are glad the park is being renovated but they don’t want so much noise that their homes are uninhabitable.

Smaller groups of residents are affected by additions to neighboring buildings with or without the conversion of a single family dwelling to a multi-family dwelling.

Policy leadership:

ABC policy - As the new chair of ANC 2B’s Policy Committee, I will continue to push ANC 2B to push for policy reforms together. As a citizen I work in this policy area all the time as noted above.

Elections - There is a great fit between my work on elections with the League of Women Voters and the Board of Elections’ Precinct Boundary Project which has come before the ANC.

Zoning - I’m still trying to fully understand the zoning rewrite and how to be effective in that process. I testified against a proposed change that would allow alcohol establishments in the current special purpose zones.

We cannot lead in all areas. Others deserve our thanks. I salute fellow commissioners who take the lead where I am not so active. For example, Commissioners Noah Smith and Kishan Putta advocate for bicyclists. Noah Smith is taking the lead on parking issues for ANC 2B. Kishan Putta advocates for parks and bus service on 16th Street. Commissioners Mike Feldstein and Mike Silverstein advocate for parks at Dupont Circle and support our several neighborhood festivals as well. Mike Silverstein looks for opportunities to honor residents who make a positive difference. He also works to improve the parking situation. Commissioner Stephanie Maltz is a leader in education issues.

I believe I represent my constituents and I ask for their vote.
 
End of interview.

The election will take place on Tuesday, November 4. Thanks to all candidates for responding to my questions.

Cheater's Guide to Dream City -- Part 19 (Resurrection)

This is the nineteenth installment of a series (see the first installment here) summarizing the 1994 book Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C.by Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood. This book has recently been republished as an ebook and a paper book. HBO has plans to use material from the book to make a movie about the life of Marion Barry.

Chapter 16: Resurrection (one of three)

After Marion Barry's 1990 conviction on a single misdemeanor drug charge, there was a five-candidate field for his replacement. The Washington Post decided to throw its weight behind Sharon Pratt Dixon, a power company executive and political outsider.

"A divorced mother raising two teenaged daughters, Dixon was a native Washington, daughter of a judge and member in good standing of the African-American elite, by breeding and by her education at Howard University and its law school. She was the only canddidate who had the temerity to call for Marion Barry's resignation after the Vista bust" (Kindle location 5211).

As a result of a series of "glowing editorials" and op-ed columns, "[t]he shift in momentum was almost immediate. Volunteers and contributions swelled Dixon's campaign" (l. 5228).

Dixon won the Democratic primary with 37 percent of the vote.

"Hope is hard to come by in any city, especially one whose mayor was a drug addict and whose image brought to mind crack dealers and bloody streets. Dixon's ascension rekindled the long-lost feeling that Washingtons could live in harmony. She talked about bringing the city's black and white communities together. She promised reform, efficiency, pride, Indeed, for the first time since 1978, black and white voters cast ballots for the same candidate" (l. 5238).

"Not one Barry-era power broker took a chance on Dixon, and not one gained from her victory" (l. 5245).

Meanwhile, Barry had missed the primary deadline to run as a Democrat, so he filed as an Independent to run for an at-large city council seat. Although it was highly unusual for jail terms for misdemeanor convictions, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave Barry the maximum -- six months in jial.

"If there was any question that Judge Jackson was using his raw power to overrule the jury, the dispelled it in a speech four days later at a forum for students at Harvard Law School. Calling the evidence against Barry 'overwhelming', Jackson said, 'I am not happy with the way the jury addresses the case. Some people on the jury... had their own agendas. They would not convict under any circumstances' " (l. 5274).

"On November 8, the voters rejected Marion Barry at the polls. Although he got over 40,000 votes, he came in a distant third. It was a bitter defeat -- his first. The only part of the city that voted in great numbers for the mayor was Ward Eight, home of the poorest people, segregated and neglected across the Anacostia River. They didn't like what the government had done to him. And many loved Marion Barry, no matter what he said, no matter what he did, and no matter how little he had done to lift them out of poverty and hopelessness" (l. 8591).

"A few weeks later, Effi Barry announced her separation from Barry. She and their ten-year-old son, Christopher, took an apartment on Connecticut Avenue" (l. 5292).

Cheater's Guide to Dream City continues next week

Further installments will appear on successive Fridays. All posts will be cross-posted on the ad-hoc "Cheater's Guide to Dream City" blog.

Full disclosure: I have a commercial relationship with Amazon. I will receive a very small portion of the money people spend after clicking on an Amazon link on this site.

This is a great book and well worth reading in its entirety.

Interview with Jonathan Jagoda, Candidate for ANC2B district 05

This is a written interview with Jonathan Jagoda, a candidate for Commissioner for district 05 of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle.

Jagoda's opponent in the race is incumbent Abigail Nichols. Nichols won her seat in a March 2013 special election. Read an interview with Nichols here.

District 05 is a thin rectangle, longer on the north-south axis. The borders are (roughly) 15th Street NW on the east, Lafayette Park on the south, and Q Street on the north. The western side of the district is a jagged line running (south to north) along 17th Street, Connecticut Avenue, 18th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and 17th Street again until the intersection of Q Street. It is in the lower-right corner of the map at right.

Don't know your ANC district? There are two search tools: one by the DC government, the other by Code for DC.

-- Where can voters go to find out more about you?

I encourage folks to visit my website at www.jagodafordupont.com to learn more about my campaign and why I am running for ANC2B05 Commissioner. I also have a Twitter (https://twitter.com/JagodaForDupont) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jagodafordupont) account, which I update regularly with news related to ANC 2B05 and Dupont Circle. I would like to invite all members of the community to email me at JagodaForDupont@gmail.com, as I want to hear directly from you about the issues that matter to my neighbors in this upcoming election.

-- The M Street bicycle path runs in part through your district. It is like riding on a washboard, much like part of the 15th Street bicycle lane was before it was repaved. DDOT seems to have a pattern of setting up mid-town bike lanes (good), but then not making sure they are usable for bicyclists (bad). What can you, or others, do to improve this situation? What can ANCs do to help make paving bike lanes an automatic part of the process, instead of always being the result of months of complaining and pressure?

Bicycle lanes are an important fabric of our community, and contribute significantly to the reduction of vehicle congestion and pollution. But we must ask ourselves…what is the point of a bike lane if it is not safe or desirable for its users?

By the end of 2013, the 15th Street bicycle lane was resurfaced, which finally provided a smoother ride and clear boundary indicators to bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians alike. If elected, I will work diligently to garner support for funding the re-pavement of the M Street protected bike lane (cycle track), which is desperately needed in areas affected by construction and the Connecticut Avenue NW Streetscape Project.

As a Federal Government Relations professional, I specialize in coalition building and bringing stakeholders together in support of a common initiative. I will work with Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), neighboring ANCs, and the community (via petitions) to push for this critical project, and ensure that resurfacing is considered a logical component of all future bike lane projects.

[Note: Jagoda included the following note in an email: "... my answer to the M St bike lane question may be out-of-date soon - there was a rumor (an unsubstantiated one) at [the September 10] ANC meeting that there will be funding for repaving the M St bike lane." Since then, repair of the bike lane has begun.]

-- Your district is also home to “Club Central”, the cluster of nightclub on Connecticut Avenue below Dupont Circle. There is another cluster on the 1800 block on M Street. These clubs are a chronic source of dispute with neighbors over noise. The result seems to be a drawn-out and expensive use of city resources to investigate and judge the complaints. Why can’t neighbors and nightclubs solve these problems between themselves? Can ANCs do something to make this issue less contentious?

First and foremost, we must ensure the safety of the community in “Club Central.” Rightfully so, many residents within the area are concerned about noise levels, especially late into the night. Businesses are part of the community, and in accordance with their right to operate, they must also be willing to be respectful to their neighbors and share in the responsibility of abiding by all applicable noise control laws and the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) regulations.

I negotiate for a living. I am a strong believer that there is always a compromise, and that victory does not result from the voice which carries the loudest – no pun intended. Before we move too far down the road and utilize city resources on these matters, I plan to host a public, monthly meeting for ANC2B05 alcohol establishment owners and neighbors to come together and share their unique perspectives. We live in an active city, so the reality is that it will never be silent at night. But together, solutions can be found and settlement agreements can be reached to mitigate concerns related to noise.

-- Much (perhaps all) of your district is also part of some historic district or another. What, if anything, should DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board do to make the process of getting necessary permits less onerous for homeowners?

I plan to serve on the ANC 2B Zoning, Preservation, and Development Committee next year, regardless of the outcome of this election. I am proud to live in ANC 2B05, and walk to work in a neighborhood that celebrates and cherishes its historic character and design.

ANC Commissioners play an important role in keeping the community apprised of local construction projects, as well as working with homeowners, businesses, and neighbors to ensure that projects are designed and completed in an efficient and permissible manner. The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) permit process is not under the purview of an ANC Commissioner, but I look forward to working with designers and applicants to help navigate and simplify their permit request process.

-- Your district has a many churches in it, and parking is always a problem. What, if anything, should ANCs do to help churches get the local parking that they need?

Parking is a problem for anyone with a car (and without an assigned/paid space) in ANC 2B05, not just the churches. Dupont Circle is enduring its fair share (and then some!) of construction, which has had a significant impact on the availability of parking. One matter I plan to address as an ANC Commissioner that will alleviate some of the parking headaches pertains to curbside dumpsters.

I doubt any of us in ANC 2B can walk too far without seeing an enormous, blue receptacle that is not only an eyesore, but also blocks much needed and desired parking spots. It was alarming to me to discover that dumpsters can remain on D.C. streets for months at a time at a nominal cost to developers, contractors, and construction companies. The burdens associated with these dumpsters should not fall on the neighborhood. If contractors were required to remove and return the dumpsters on a daily basis, there would be greater parking options at night and on the weekends when construction is paused. This would help churches in need of additional parking options in the Dupont Circle area.

I hope to work with Councilmember Evans and DDOT to achieve regulatory changes to curbside dumpsters, and commend the Georgetown ANC for bringing this issue back to the spotlight.

-- There are two liquor license moratoriums in effect in ANC2B, and one will come up for renewal during the next two years. What is your opinion about the extension of liquor license moratoriums in ANC2B?

In the coming months, I hope to host meetings with community members to gauge their input on the ANC 2B liquor license moratoriums. While I recognize the historic significance of the moratorium, I did support the 2013 decision of ANC2B to begin the process of phasing it out.

I live on 17th Street NW, and am the last person who wants to see loud clubs in a residential neighborhood. But I also take great pride in the fact that 17th Street is home to some of the best restaurants and bars in Washington, D.C., attracting patrons from near and far. We should welcome and reward responsible business owners that seek to help our community continue to thrive, thus preserving Dupont Circle’s spot at the top of the most enticing places to live in the city. We should not indiscriminately punish business owners with plans to operate in a safe, responsible, and respectful manner in the neighborhood. New restaurants on 17th Street NW have revitalized the neighborhood, and we should be proud of that – just take a look at the line forming at 4PM every day in front of Little Serow, or the affable crowd at Duke’s Grocery sidewalk café on weekends.

We need a balanced approach to this issue that is based on facts and evidence. I am doubtful that phasing out the moratorium will have a negative impact on the community, and more than likely will benefit it. As an ANC Commissioner, I will ensure that any business seeking to operate along 17th St NW, or elsewhere in Dupont, respects its place and role in a residential neighborhood.

-- There is push back now against density in residential areas, particularly in favor of limiting “pop ups”? What do you think about these proposed new regulations? How is it possible to have more affordable housing if it is so difficult to add to the housing stock?

Density will continue to be an issue in Dupont Circle, especially as more micro-units and pop-ups are built. I am certainly in favor of growing our community, but not at any price.

My wife and I purchased our condo on 17th Street NW because we envision living in Dupont Circle for many years. Communities are built by its sustaining members. If Dupont Circle continues to move in the direction of micro-units at exorbitant rental rates and price tags, we will quickly transform into a neighborhood of transients. How can we expect community investment in our local parks and schools if hundreds of our neighbors are moving to other parts of the city, Maryland, or Virginia after a short stint in Dupont? As a Commissioner, I plan to work with developers to encourage that larger one-, two-, and three-bedroom units be included in their designs and building conversions to support long-term occupancy.

I also have serious concerns about some of the pop-ups emerging that are tarnishing the character of the city’s neighborhoods. I very much support development that increases the housing stock, or expands a homeowner’s property, but not when every inch of usable space is squeezed into an unflattering design that is visible from the sidewalk and compromises the historic feel and compatibility with the neighborhood.

-- Is there any question I should have asked you but didn’t?

What was your inspiration in deciding to run for the ANC? Was there a precise moment when you began to think about it?

Absolutely. I remember it vividly. I have been attending ANC Regular and Committee meetings for a while, but the moment that really shines is the May 2014 ANC Meeting. A business owner stood before the ANC, and in requesting a CR license for her quick service pizzeria, spoke with such conviction and pride about her new venture. It was touching to me not only to see her level of excitement, but also the process involved of folks coming before the ANC, and presenting their plan to become a part of the community. That’s what the ANC is about to me…building a community. And that’s why I am running.

End of interview.

The election will take place on Tuesday, November 4. Thanks to all candidates for responding to my questions.

Dupont ANC Resolution on St. Thomas Church: "A Back-to-the-Drawing-Board Situation"

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B/Dupont Circle set up a special meeting September 29 to consider the revised plan for the development of St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church (1772 Church Street NW) and condo units on neighboring land owned by the church. By the end of the meeting, the ANC had revised its original proposed resolution to advocate increased setback for the proposed residential condominiums.

"It's a back-to-the-drawing-board situation", project developer Kevin Riegler of CAS Riegler told the meeting.

Commissioner's view of the meeting, from ANC2B's Twitter feed

The meeting was structured to give every person who wished to speak on the matter an opportunity to do so, while trying to keeping the length of the meeting within the limits of sanity. The meeting ran about 2-1/2 hours, including an initial presentation of the revised project by the developers and architects, as well as debate and questions by the Commissioners.

By my count, the community testimony was more than two-to-one against the church -- 17 speaking against, seven for, and one mixed. About 100 people filled every chair and lined the walls of a conference room on the fifth floor of 1717 Massachusetts Avenue (part of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies). If the sound and frequency of applause is any indication, the anti-development forces outnumbered their opponents by a similar margin, or perhaps more, in the audience at large.

ANC lets everybody prepare, speak, then passes resolution

As part of the effort to make the decision as transparent as possible, ANC2B posted a draft resolution online before the meeting and solicited public comment. ANC2B also posted the 56-page revised design drawings and presentation.

Some of the revisions made at the meeting were minor rewordings. The more substantial revision to the resolution at the meeting, proposed by ANC2B Chair Noah Smith (Commissioner for district 09), recommended to DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) that the setback of the building be increased starting on the fourth floor. Yesterday, less than 12 hours after the end of the meeting, ANC2B had posted the full revised text of the resolution as sent to HPRB -- see the letter here.

HPRB will meet at 10:45am tomorrow (October 2) at 1100 4th Street NW to take up the historical preservation aspects of the proposal. HPRB staff has issued a mixed review of the proposed revisions in advance of the meeting.

Two architects involved in the design spoke at the meeting. "We're refined the design," said Jim Clark of MTFA Architects.

A representative of Hickok Cole said the design contained "nothing really all that new". He said the new design was set back further. The proposed construction above the parish hall would not be visible. The overall massing was "simplified", the architect said -- previously, the design had been "wedding-caked".

Atmospherics

The atmosphere remained mostly polite during the period where members of the public made comments. Each comment was initially limited to two minutes, and later one minute, but many ignored the alarm that signaled the end of their allotted time. Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 01) sometimes told people that their time was up, but Chair Smith seemed determined to let everyone speak their piece.

Civility began to break down a little as the ANC closed the period of public comment and debated the draft resolution among its members. Members of the audience from both sides of the issue tried to interject themselves, with the anti-development forces more likely to break in, in rough portion to their larger numbers. Toward the end of this period of the meeting, when the final resolution was taking shape, St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church Rector Nancy Lee Jose stood and attempted to make a statement, and was roundly shouted down by the anti-development forces. When the hubbub had nearly died down, someone shouted: "Shut up, please!"

Endgame

During the Commissioner-only portion of the debate, Chair Smith made a motion
to include language that would recommend the height of the project be reduced by one story.

Kevin Reigler said: "It would make the project not viable."

Smith then withdrew the motion, and went on to propose the language concerning the setback, which was included in the version of the resolution that passed, advocating increased setback.

"Today I am concerned about how it would look from the street," Smith said.

The vote was 6 for the resolution, one against, no abstentions. The lone vote against was Commissioner Abigail Nichols, who felt that the resolution as passed did not go far enough. Nichols then proposed a second resolution about finding a public-private partnership to buy the church's land and turn the current park at 18th and Church Streets into part of a memorial for Eleanor Roosevelt.

It was getting late, the room was crowded and stuffy, everybody wanted to leave. Nichols agreed to table the motion until a regular meeting of the ANC in November.

ANC2B will have its next regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 8, at 7pm, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue).

911-913 L Street Raze Endorsed by Logan Circle ANC Committee

At its regular monthly meeting September 24, a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle endorsed an application by Square 369 Hotel Associates, LLC, to raze two adjoining buildings at 911 and 913 L Street NW.

ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC) voted 6-0, with three

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

abstentions, to support the raze on the condition that the buildings be carefully deconstructed and the materials be reused as much as possible.

The buildings, which have been vacant for many years, are protected because they are located in the Shaw Historic District.

911 L Street was built before 1860 and is "among the oldest buildings remaining in the district," according to a document from DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). A June 26 HPRB staff report says that the demolition of 911 and 913 L Street would be "inconsistent with the purposes" of DC's historic preservation law.

911 L Street is also alleged to have been the place where a "Polish revolutionary, translator, and journalist" named Henry Korwin Kalusowski died in December 1894 at age 88. A report on Kalusowski's funeral from the New York Times (available behind the Times' pay wall here) says that Kalusowski's father was Chamberlain to the last king of Poland. Kalusowski himself was a General in the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at 24, fought on the side of Louis Napolean against the Russian army, was Minister of Finance in an unsuccessful Polish revolutionary government in the 1830's, emigrated to the US, fought in the US Civil War with the Thirty-First New York Regiment, and worked for the Treasury Department. While working at Treasury, he "translated all the documents from the Russian language relating to the purchase of Alaska". In 1891, he founded the Polish Library and Museum in Chicago by giving 3,000 volumes from his personal library.

913 L Street was built in 1892.

Now, developers want to put two hotels (a Courtyard by Marriott and a Residence Inn by Marriot, according to the Office of Zoning web site) on this block, as well as a condominium. The proposed buildings are large, and developers have assembled many adjoining properties on the same block to make it happen. There are now nine historically protected buildings on the proposed future site of the hotels and condos. The developers told ANC2F that these two buildings had to go but the seven others would be "retained in full or part".

Attorney Carolyn Brown of Holland and Knight led a team in a long and wide-ranging conversation with the members of the committee and the public over various aspects of the project, including the overall look of the proposed construction, the traffic pattern, the height, the alleyways, the possibility of physically moving the buildings, the possibility of some design features attracting homeless people, the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the project, and historical preservation aspects not only of the buildings planned for demolition, but the buildings to be renovated and reused as well. Eventually, the discussion returned to the demolition of the buildings, and the committee voted to support.

The demolition of any property in a historic district must be approved by the Mayor's Agent at the Historic Preservation Office. It was reported that a hearing by the Mayor's Agent had been postponed and was now scheduled for December 12. An Office of Zoning hearing on the PUD for this development scheduled for 6:30pm, January 29, 2015, at their offices at Judiciary Square (441 4th Street NW).

This very complex development project is generating a lot of neighborhood opposition. It is very likely to be back before ANC2F for further debate. To see some of the documents in the case, including drawings of the proposed constructions and letters of outlining objection from neighboring condominiums, go to the DC government's Interactive Zoning Information System and enter case number 14-09 in the search bar.

See a more recent photo of 911-913 L Street, plus some research, from a May 7, 2014, blog post of the DC Vacant Properties blog.

Proposal Mandates More Affordable Housing in Rowhouse Conversions

DC's Office of Planning (OP) is considering a proposal to require more affordable housing in residential house conversions. The proposal says that, under certain circumstances and in certain districts, any rowhouse conversion cannot result in more than two units to be rented at "market rate". Any further units would have to rent at a lower rate.

Steingasser (standing right) addresses the meeting

Jennifer Steingasser, OP's Deputy Director for Development Review and Historic Preservation, said September 27 that the proposal is one of several variants being considered. Steingasser spoke at an information session about a wide-ranging OP proposal to limit the conversion of single-family rowhouses into multiple-unit dwellings.

Talking about R-4's on a beautiful Saturday morning

The meeting was sponsored jointly by Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 1A/Columbia Heights and 1B/U Street. At an August 4 joint ANC neighborhood meeting about the same topic (see SALM blog post of August 5), attendees said not everyone could come to meetings held on weekday evenings. They urged meetings on Saturdays. Steingasser and the ANCs agreed to hold a Saturday meeting, but attendance was fewer than 25 people, in part perhaps because the meeting started at 9am and the weather was drop-dead gorgeous.

The proposal would change the rules for house expansion and conversion in districts zoned R-4 only. Most of the residential properties between 14th Street and 7th Street/Georgia Avenue, from below Logan Circle to well beyond Columbia Heights, are zoned R-4. 

Many aspects of the proposed revisions of R-4 zoning rules were unchanged since Steingasser's presentation at the August 4 meeting. These included: the reducing the height that a house can be expanded "by right" (i.e., without asking DC government permission) from 40 to 35 feet, allowing expansions up to 40 feet by "special exception" (obtained from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment), and changing zoning definitions so that mezzanines will now count as a story of a home when calculating how many stories a building has.

Inclusional Zoning wrinkle

A new wrinkle is the proposed inclusion of Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) requirements. Inclusionary Zoning is an attempt to make affordable units a part of all new multi-unit residential constructions, often meaning large apartment buildings. The requirements have two parts.

One part of this new proposal would mandate that, in the case of "by right" conversions of rowhouses in R-4 zones, all residential units after the first three (meaning, the fourth one and all after) would be "subject to IZ at 60% AMI". See explanation of AMI below.

The second part of the new proposal would mandate stricter limited on conversions that required a zoning variance. These, I believe, would include both proposal for buildings that exceeded 40 feet in height as well as proposals for buildings that covered more than 60% of the total area of the lot. In the case of these buildings, "all units beyond two" (meaning, the third unit and all after) would be "subject to IZ at 60% AMI".

"AMI" stands for Area Median Income. The latest AMI figures I could find were from 2012 -- see here.

Assuming that the 2012 figure (AMI = $107,500) is the latest and my calculations are correct, units at 60% AMI would be judged "affordable" for a family of four making $64,500 per year. If I am understanding information on a DC Department of Housing and Community Development web page correctly, the property owner could rent apartments at 60% AMI for about

• efficiency: $1,130
• one bedroom: $1,290
• two bedroom: $1,450

If you understand affordable housing better than I do, I invite you to examine my figures and, if incorrect, please set me right in the comments below.

OP staff is scheduled to issue a final report with recommendations by the end of 2014. On January 15, 2015, at 6:30pm, the DC Zoning Commission will have a public hearing at its offices at Judiciary Square (441 4th Street NW). Then the Zoning Commission will take a first vote on the matter. After that, there will be another comment period, followed by a second and final vote, also by the Zoning Commission. This second vote could take place as early as March 2015.

The proposal will be subject to review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the US Congress. The DC City Council will not vote on this matter.

At least three ANC Commissioners attended the September 27 meeting, including ANC Chairs Kent Boese (ANC1A Commissioner for district 08) and James Turner (ANC1B Commissioner for district 09). At least three candidates in contested elections for ANC1B seats also attended.

The meeting took place at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School (1100 Harvard Street).

Public documents about this proposal -- including official memos about the proposal, videos of hearings about the proposal, and transcripts of the hearings -- are available by going to DC's Interactive Zoning Information System and entering case number 14-11 in the search bar. The number must be entered with the dash in the middle to yield the documents for this case.