West Dupont Liquor License Moratorium: ANC Recommends 120 Day Extention, Seeks Public Comment

At its regular monthly meeting on February 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to recommend that the prohibition on new liquor licenses in the West Dupont Moratorium Zone be extended for 120 days. This will allow the ANC to provide input on the extention of the zone to DC's liquor-licensing authorities.

On the same day, ANC2B announced on its web site that it would be holding two public meetings later this month to collect community input on continuing the liquor licence moratorium in the zone, which extends roughly 600 feet from the corner of 21st and P Streets NW (see map).

As of now, the moratorium zone is set to expire on May 17. If the extension is not granted, ANC2B ill not be able to hold hearings and submit a recommendation to DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) in time for its opinion to make a difference.

Commissioner Daniel Warwick (district 02)  announced there would be two public hearings about the liquor license moratorium. They will take place on Saturday, February 21st, from 2 - 4pm, and on Wednesday, February 25, from 7 - 9pm, at the Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P Street). 

Warwick also said a page had been set up on the ANC's website had been set up to solicit community input. The page includes a link to an online questionnaire about the liquor license moratorium.

The West Dupont Moratorium Zone is in Warwick's ANC district. ANC2B appointed him chair of a working group on the moratorium at its January meeting -- see SALM blog post of January 15.

The liquor-licence moratorium does NOT forbid liquor licenses in the area, but it does limit the number and category of licenses -- see a description of the moratorium zone on ABRA's website here.

ANC2B Officers Elected, Liquor License Moratorium Working Group Created

At its regular monthly meeting last night (January 14), Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle had its newly-elected membership sworn in by City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two). The ANC then elected its leadership and created a working group for the West Dupont Moratorium Zone.

Evans speaks after swearing in the new ANC

Commissioner Noah Smith (district 09) was re-elected Chair of ANC2B. Smith was first elected Chair in September 2014 when former Commissioner Will Stephens stepped down.

The ANC also elected the following officers:

• Vice Chair: Stephanie Maltz (03)
• Treasurer: Michael Upright (04)
• Secretary: Nicole Mann (08)

The four officers were nominated as a slate and elected unanimously. Upright and Mann are newly-elected Commissioners.

ANC2B will select Chairs for its committees at its regular February meeting. As of this writing, ANC2B has the following standing committees: Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), Community Involvement, Public Safety Liaison, Transportation and Public Infrastructure, and Zoning, Preservation and Development.

The ANC also set up a working group to deal with the upcoming expiration of the West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone. The West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone has been in effect since 1994, and has been renewed at least four times. The last renewal was in 2012. It extends approximately six hundred feet in all directions from the intersection of 21st and P Streets NW. In its current form, it forbids the issuance of nightclub licenses in the zone area and limits the number of possible license in some other categories (e.g, liquor stores, grocery stores, taverns, and "multi-purpose facilities"). At its last renewal, the limit on the number of liquor licenses for restaurants in the zone was dropped.

The West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone will expire on May 17, 2015. The working group will hold public meetings and make a final recommendation to the full ANC at its regularly-scheduled April meeting.

There was some discussion about whether the ANC might have to request a 120-day extension of the zone in order to give the ANC and DC liquor-licensing authorities to make the decisions and generate the documents necessary, no matter what the decision is. Commissioner Mike Silverstein (06) suggested that an extension might be necessary. Newly-elected ANC Daniel Warwick (02) said he had been in contact with a staff member of the appropriate DC government department and had been assured that a decision in April would be timely.

Warwick was elected chair of the West Dupont Moratorium Zone Working Group. The moratorium zone falls completely with his ANC district. Warwick's election was unanimous.

There are five liquor license moratorium zones in DC (Adams Morgan, East Dupont, Georgetown, Glover Park, West Dupont). Once created, no liquor license moratorium zone in DC has ever been completely abolished.

See an explanation of DC liquor license categories here.

A .pdf copy of the official regulations concerning the West Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone is available here.

Heurich House Museum Needs Help Filing a Liquor License Application

The management of the Heurich House Museum (1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW) appeared before Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle last night (August 13) to ask for help applying for a liquor license.

See Sunderland Place in the lower right

Many places that wish to sell alcohol have difficulty getting a liquor license. But Heurich House Museum (also known at "The Brewmaster's Castle") has not yet even reached this step. It is having trouble getting a liquor license application from DC's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA). The reason is that the authorities believe that the Heurich House Museum is in the West Dupont liquor license moratorium zone.

It is not in the moratorium zone -- see map, taken from ABRA's web site. The Heurich House Museum is on the southeast side of New Hampshire Avenue, at the corner of 20th Street and Sunderland Place. The border of the moratorium zone runs down the center of New Hampshire Avenue, in front of the museum.

So, the management was in front of the ANC, asking for a resolution supporting Heurich House's request for a liquor license application, on the basis that it was not, in fact, located inside a liquor license moratorium zone.

Heurich House Museum is seeking a C/X class license, which "[p]ermits multipurpose facilities to sell and serve beer, wine and spirits", according to ABRA's web site. This will allow Heurich House Museum to hold regular beer-tasting events in partnership with local breweries. Until now, they have had to rely on the liquor licenses of the companies which cater the events, which is often inconvenient.

Assuming ANC2B's resolution successfully convinces ABRA to allow Heurich House Museum to have an application form for a liquor license, the Museum will have to return again in the near future to the ANC for a separate endorsement of the actual application.

The vote was unanimous, with all the commissioners present voting to support Heurich House Museum.

Section 23-307 of DC Municipal Regulations concerns the West Dupont liquor license moratorium zone. Find a link to the text of Section 23-307 here.