ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION
1B
Government of the District of Columbia
Columbia Heights
/ LeDroit Park / Shaw / University Heights
1 April 2004,
True Reformer
Building, 1200 U Street NW
Attending: Commissioners Guyot, Spalding, Thomas,
Glover, Skinner, Esters, Wright
Absent: Commissioners Hammonds, Butler, Houston, Wilson
Quorum was achieved at
approximately 7:20 and the
meeting was convened. In the
Secretary’s report Commissioner Spalding reported that the “Building Futures”
conference held at the True Reformer Building in mid March went well, that BZA
Case 17138 regarding 1325 Fairmont did not appear to surmount hurdles of the
Board, that the TCP for Garnet Patterson School would close the sidewalk on U
Street from Vermont to 10th for up to six months, that there is an
amendment to recently passed TCP for “The Bailey”, and that he had printed
guidelines to be distributed with grant applications in the future. Secretary reminded everyone that minutes
and agendas are posted at www.ustreet.com/csna, and moved minutes
of the March meeting, which was seconded and adopted unanimously (6-0-0). Treasurer Glover reported that in the
past month checks for secretarial expenses (#1530 for $79.66), a void for check
number 1531, and an approved grant check (#1532 for $1,210.00) was made to
Mosque #4, which leaves a current balance of $100,199.75 and the Treasurer’s
report was moved, seconded and adopted unanimously (6-0-0). Treasurer presented the quarterly report
for the period January 1, 2004 through March 31, 2004, and reflects allotments
of $13,984.00 and disbursements of $226.21 in office supplies, grants of
$1,210.00, bank charges of $2.00, and $25.00 for ANC Security Fund payment,
which again leaves a current balance of $100,199.75, and the quarterly report
was moved, seconded and adopted unanimously (6-0-0). Treasurer requested reimbursing
Secretary for supplies (postage, ink, paper) in the amount of $134.11, and it
was seconded and adopted unanimously (6-0-0).
There were no community events
or announcements.
June Drumming gave an
introduction to the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and the training
that is available to DC citizens in disaster preparedness, fire suppression,
emergency medical operations, search and rescue techniques, and response to
terror attacks. Ms. Drumming
provided handouts with contact information, and asked all citizens to get this
free training. Ms. Drumming is
responsible for Wards 1 & 2, and can be reached at june.drumming@dc.gov or by calling
202-671-2338. Commissioner Wright
added that he has just finished the training, and recommended that everyone else
take part in this training.
Mr. Steven Jumper, Director of
Public Affairs at Washington Gas Company addressed the January gas outage in our
neighborhoods and the current status of the repairs and improvements. Members of Washington Gas’ Field
Operations unit were also in attendance to answer any questions. Mr. Jumper reviewed the history of the
January loss of service caused by the infiltration of water into the low
pressure gas system lines. During
the response to the outage Washington Gas pumped out approximately 20,000
gallons of water which had overwhelmed the drip valves designed to hold between
five and thirty gallons of water.
Washington Gas coordinated their response with the DCEMA and with local
officials. Mr. Jumper singled out
the early and regular presence of Commissioner Skinner who provided important
ground level identification of people and households facing particular
difficulty with the outage. Mr.
Jumper also stated that Washington Gas did not reach out to the ANC and its
Commissioners as well as it will in future incidents. The Gas Company is also looking to
upgrade their communications to facilitate more outbound messages informing
customers and community leaders about the status of outages. Mr. Jumper said that they did find
working with local list serves, especially the CSNA list, to have been
enormously helpful, and will work to include these resources in future outreach
programs. Washington Gas will be
replacing the low pressure lines in the southern section of the outage with high
pressure lines, which are less susceptible to water infiltration. The southern section of the outage has
been identified as critical because it is low lying geographically, and water
difficulties will be more common where the water collects. Mr. Jumper provided contact information
for the Public Affairs branch of Washington Gas Co.
Public Space application for new
driveway at 1505 Harvard
Street was introduced by Commissioner Spalding. This is in Commissioner Wilson’s SMD,
but we had not been able to get the Commissioner to return phone calls, and
therefore, there’s no input from the Commissioner available. Commissioner Spalding stated that he
also tried to get someone from SOCO to review the situation, but no one from the
neighborhood association had responded or was present. The Commission looked at the design, but
lacking any actual knowledge of the site many questions could not be
answered. Commissioner Esters asked
whether it was a single family house or an apartment building, and how much curb
space would be lost. Commissioner
Skinner moved approval of the application, and Commissioner Guyot seconded, and
the motion failed on a vote of (2-2-2).
In DDOT Public Space Department
applications for pay telephone service all applications were opposed. 1855 7th St. was opposed by SMD
Commissioner Guyot on the basis of known drug activity and already available
service, and opposition was adopted unanimously (6-0-0). 1101 V St. & 2112 11th
St. were opposed by SMD Commissioner Spalding citing
the fact that both were in new construction zones inside proposed TCP’s, and
opposition was adopted unanimously (7-0-0). 1921 14th St. was opposed by SMD
Commissioner Spalding citing opposition from nearby residential owners on the
basis of troublesome loitering, and opposition was adopted unanimously
(7-0-0). 2833 11th
St. was opposed by SMD Commissioner Skinner citing
ongoing drug activities, and opposition was adopted unanimously (7-0-0). 2820 Georgia Ave. was opposed by SMD
Commissioner Skinner citing both violence and drug activities, and opposition
was adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
2746 14th
St. is located in SMD Commissioner Wilson’s area,
however, Commissioner Guyot stated that he knows the location and cited ongoing
drug and criminal activity, and opposition was adopted unanimously (7-0-0). 807 V St. was opposed by SMD Commissioner
Wright citing violence and loitering in the immediate vicinity, and opposition
was adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
In Board of Condemnation of
Insanitary Buildings cases, Case No. 04-77 at 1335 Fairmont St. (Rear) SMD
Commissioner Glover stated that he had spoken with the South Columbia Heights
Neighborhood Association, but that he had found no voiced opposition to the
condemnation. Support for the
condemnation was moved and seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0). In BCIB Case No. 04-103 at 2015 Vermont
Avenue SMD Commissioner Spalding indicated that this is a boarded up two story
inside row house, and in checking the OTR records it appears to be a languishing
heir ship problem that the city wants to move on. Support of the condemnation was moved
and seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0). In BCIB Case No. 04-128 at 326 T St. SMD
Commissioner Guyot indicated that this is the home of Mary Church Terrell a
noted civil rights activist, and it is owned by Howard University. Commissioner Guyot related a
conversation with BCIB’s Hubert Johnson who stated that they were initiating the
action to compel Howard University to do something with the
property. This property and the
proposed actions have been the focus of many hours of debate in the LeDroit Park
Civic Association meetings, and community sentiment is opposed to this method of
dealing with this property.
Commissioner Guyot moved opposition to the condemnation, and it was
seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Commissioner Spalding addressed
the status of BZA 17099 of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, and
reported that an agreement between the Mason’s, Westminster Neighborhood Assoc.
and ANC1B had been reached. The
agreement spells out the terms of development of the surface parking lot with a
schedule of targets and enforcement mechanisms. It will be necessary for ANC1B to
continue participating through the next three years of planning, and it is
incumbent on ANC1B to designate someone to act on behalf of the Commission and
Commissioner Spalding volunteered to do so. Designation of Commissioner Spalding to
work with this development was moved, seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Commissioner Spalding indicated
that there was an amendment to the TCP for “The Bailey” passed by ANC1B last
month. Robertson Development has
managed to get the owners of the empty lot next to the church to allow them to
use the lot during the construction period. This will keep equipment and activity
off the streets and alleys, and requires that the fencing enclosure of the
sidewalk on 10th
St. be extended to the south to allow access to the
lot. Support for the proposed
amendment to the TCP for “The Bailey” was moved, seconded and adopted
unanimously (7-0-0).
ABC application No. 35534 at
1919 9th
St. was presented by SMD Commissioner Guyot. Commissioner Guyot stated that he has
seen the facility, that it has been placarded, and asked the applicant if he had
run this type of business before.
Applicant responded yes.
Commissioner Guyot asked if the previous experience was in Washington, and applicant stated that he had worked at a
restaurant in Dallas.
Commissioner Spalding asked what license was being applied for, and
applicant responded C. Commissioner
Spalding indicated that there was a large range of licenses in the ‘C’ class and
wanted the specific license applied for, and applicant handed a copy of his
application to Commissioner Guyot who stated that it read CN. Commissioner Spalding interpreted that
as an application for a nightclub license.
Commissioner Guyot asked if the applicant had spoken with neighboring
business, and if applicant was ready to join in an association with them. Applicant responded yes. Commissioner Guyot requested that
applicant work with Ms. Delaney of ABRA to assure that applicant was fully
informed about the training of employees, and I want you to understand this
because I’m going to be very concerned about this. I don’t want you put into a trap
situation, because the general mood now is that if you’re on U Street and you’re
black you’re targeted. That’s a
matter of fact and I want you to be prepared for it. I would expect that we can expect a
clean clear operation, and the understanding is that you’ll abide by all the ABC
Board regulations. Commissioner
Guyot moved support of the application and it was seconded. Commissioner Spalding asked applicant
about the building that they would be occupying, and applicant responded that it
was two stories. Commissioner
Spalding asked if they would be using the whole building, and applicant
responded that they would be using the top floor. Commissioner Spalding asked applicant
the occupancy allowance, and applicant responded 50, 120, 350. Commissioner Spalding asked for
clarification adding that that information should also be on the application,
and applicant responded that it was 350.
Commissioner Spalding asked about the past use of the building and
whether soundproofing was already in place, or whether applicant needed to add
soundproofing since there will be extensive residential development during the
next few years in the immediate vicinity of the building. Applicant responded that it’s a big
strong commercial brick building, and had been used previously for a similar
activity. Commissioner Spalding
asked if the previous tenants had installed sound proofing, and applicant stated
that the type of music they had in mind so you had thick brick on the back
side. Commissioner Spalding asked
Commissioner Guyot if this was an application for a temporary stipulated license
or a full license request, and Commissioner Guyot responded that it was a full
license request. Chair called the
question and began the vote; however, Commissioner Spalding asked the chair if
the community members present had been given a chance to speak to the
application. Chair indicated that
she had not, and Commissioner Guyot requested that the vote should stand, and
Commissioner Spalding asked that his vote be recorded as an abstention. Motion to support new CN license for a
nightclub at 1919 9th
St. was adopted on a vote of (6-0-1)
Commissioner Spalding initiated
a review of the current status of “Between Friends” nightclub. Following the murder this past month at
the club ABRA held a hearing to discuss the license. Commissioner Spalding
indicated that he did not know if the ruling had been finalized, however, the
result appears to be to allow the club to reopen with a long list of
restrictions regarding security, types of music, and leasing to other
people. Commissioner Guyot stated
that the decision is clear and final and included in a copy of a March 25 letter
from ABRA that he had distributed.
Commissioner Guyot stated that the incident occurred at an even called
‘Dance for Peace’ that the owners had put on to deal with the pressures of
violence amongst our young people.
There were fifteen or twenty people on security that night. The ABC Board to its credit listened to
extensive testimony lasting an entire day, and then there was a 4-1 vote to
reopen the establishment on April 10th along with the
conditions. A community member
stated that this past Saturday night was the first quiet Saturday night in some
time due to the temporary closure of the club. Commissioner Guyot responded that how
can the residents know which club is responsible when there are so many licenses
in the same area. I understand that
there will be constant attack on all black owned liquor licenses on U Street; I
understand that and I accept it.
Thank God for the ABRA Board, there was one policeman in my life who
received public acclamation by people standing and clapping was Officer
Gunther. My concern in this is that
we have what we have and thank God for ABRA; they have been fair in enforcing
the liquor licenses. It’s
interesting that the reason for the delay to April 10th is that the
police asked that the club be closed.
Commissioner Glover asked about the restriction on the type of music
played, and Commissioner Guyot stated that he was part of that deal that the
club was afraid that if they contested the hearing and lose, and I think they
would have, or should they go with the regulations that stated no go-go
music. This was not a popular
position but it was part of the agreement that will run with the liquor
license. This position will be
challenged by others, but in this case it was the decision that the club thought
it had to take. Commissioner
Skinner stated that he is outraged by the terms requiring that a club cannot
play a certain genre of music. It’s
really like what happened to jazz, and its like we take things out of context,
when jazz was popular it wasn’t the same love as today, it was one of those
underground things. It seems that
something that is such a part of DC, and I note the Councilmember’s reference to
a culture of violence, this has to be either racism or ignorance. I think for somebody to somehow think
that we’re naïve enough to think that playing go-go makes people kill folks,
this is a false conclusion. This
gives us a false sense of security, that if we don’t have go-go in the room that
people won’t get stabbed. This is
an unfair attack on black people who’re the ones who play the go-go music. If I went to Idaho and they were
playing hillbilly or country western music and somebody gets in a fight or
shoots somebody I’m not going to say that it’s the country western music that
made him shoot him. If we’re going
to be serious about enhancing the quality of life, and securing the safety of
our young people then we can’t allow hysteria, racism, or ignorance to be our
guide and say things like a club can’t have live or recorded go-go music. Commissioner Jim Graham led this fight; he attempted to recruit
Phil Spalding and the president of the Cardozo Shaw Neighborhood Association to
intervene in this case, despite the fact that this was a hearing that was simply
dealing with the question of removing the license or restoring the license. Now the concern for me is that at the
same time that Jim Graham would move
to intervene, which was denied thank God by the Board, he was also negotiating
with Ms. Walker and her attorney.
So here we had a situation where there was an attempt to nullify
negotiations. So let’s be clear, I
wish to God that we could look at these on the merits, do them case by case, but
if we don’t do that than we’ll just do it illegally. Commissioner Glover asked if anyone had
any information that would lead to the proposition that go-go music leads to
violence. A constituent who lives
on 12th
Street near the club stated that he was offended at
being branded racist because he was concerned about the noise and the quality of
life in his own neighborhood. I
don’t care what kind of music anyone wants to play, just please keep it in the
building. I’m asking that at
three o’clock every morning
people wouldn’t pee in my windows.
The police are not responding to the issues that are hurting the quality
of life for residents, the clubs are not the problem it’s the behavior of those
who attend and leave the clubs. I
like to sleep, I work and need my sleep, and we should not be held hostages in
our neighborhoods. Community member
Lou Nayman agreed with Commissioner Skinner that banning go-go music was
foolishness. The neighbors problems
is with the owners who fail to operate respectful premises. Mr. Nayman asked that the Commission
exercise a certain amount of discipline in regard to inflammatory and racist
comments. To throw such loaded and
divisive rhetoric in the context of a Commission like this only inflames the
angers. I’d ask that the Commission
enforce a certain amount of decorum on its members so that we don’t have loose
and inflammatory charges thrown around.
Chairperson Thomas responded that she whished that she had some control
over what comes out of some people’s mouths, and that she would like all of the
participants to treat each other with respect, but that appears to be asking for
something that’s not realistic. I
can only speak for myself; I can’t control what others choose to say. Commissioner Guyot stated that he agreed
with the community member about the quality of life issues, however, it is that
the absence of police services simply adds to the racial polarization. Let’s look at that club, the police
didn’t respond, but they were willing and able to testify to close it down. If we deal with the question of police
security of neighborhoods, then I think we’ll go a long way towards calming the
racial polarization that I see rising.
I’m a public official and I’ve been recognized by this city as a
recipient of the “Living the Dream” of Martin Luther King award, I’m an
integrationist by practice, by promulgation, and by belief, but I believe that I
have a responsibility to call it like I see it. I’m glad you said what you said about
quality of life issues, but what we must understand is that when we don’t have
police services we look for other victims.
We have come close to criminalizing liquor licenses and it frightens
me. Would anyone close that
restaurant over there if someone was killed there if they didn’t have a liquor
license? Dealing with the question
of racism is not easy, but we’ve never really done that. Commissioner Skinner stated that if
you’re a racist, then everything I stated about racists applies to you, and if
you’re ignorant you’re ignorant, if you’re none of the two then you’re none of
the two. If you’re offended and you
talk about racist to me I’m not offended because I’m not a racist. I think I know what racism is. If you go into some of these areas where
there are homosexuals, and there are people who don’t like gay people, and who
beat gay folks up. And if a gay
person said to me that that was a homophobic remark, and I’m going to give him
the benefit that he might have a sensibility to that issue, and at least not be
so bold as to tell a homosexual what homophobia is. This is a difficult issue to deal with,
and I know that this neighborhood has got racists in it, so I’m not crazy. We should decide to deal with this in a
real way, but to go on and look at these issues and blame clubs for poor
policing is not right. For people
who have been living here for decades have been crying for better policing and
now that we’ve got more affluent people moving in we’re seeing changes. Now I could say that its demographic
changes and I think it is, but the same comments were made ten years ago when
the neighborhood was all black these concerns were just as important, and now
the response time is a half an hour instead of an hour, and it still isn’t good
enough. When I look around this
room I look like a person who could get shot tonight. So, if anyone should be concerned with
getting shot, and it’s not attributable to the clubs and the go-go, it’s
me. My roommate was killed in
January and he looked like me. He
was a victim and he’s gone. So I
don’t think that this is somehow trying to play the race card, but its saying
let’s not allow false solutions to put a band aid over something, because
another young brother could get killed tomorrow. Now if they start killing older white
males it might become a crisis and they’ll have the National Guard out, but as
long as it looks like Jo Jo or Ray Ray then it’s just a part of how it is. I want a future and I want a future for
anyone who looks like me. We have
an issue that’s related to race in this city, and where there’s a majority of
whites there’s lower crime, better police response. Look in Adams Morgan there’s nightlife
there, but there’s a cop everywhere and it’s diverse. But if you look at where there are black
clubs, you get police after there’s gunshot, asking them to lay down. Now you got all the cops in the world,
you go to Georgetown you can’t help but be told to move
by a cop. But if I’m on U Street
it’s not till I get shot that I get told to move back. We need a class to really speak honestly
about how this is. It’s just like
if I move into Dupont
Circle or someplace where there’s a predominance of
homosexuals, I might not notice a thing.
I might move in and miss the homosexuals, and not understand
something. And they might correct
me, and I’d not be offended and ‘my bad’ I didn’t know this was XYZ, and I’m
going to be respectful. But the
tendency on this side is that we don’t get the same respect. All I’m trying to say is that love the
fact that we’ve got a lot of rich white folks moving into this neighborhood, and
I love the fact that we’ve got a lot of wealthy black folks moving into this
neighborhood, but I just want us to be able to work together based on reality
not stereotyping on solving this problem.
We all have something to add to the solution, but we all have to avoid
using our stereotypes, and we all have to be good listeners. But if we allow politics or racial and
social economic drivers that have nothing to do with the problems to motivate us
we’ll never solve the problem, we’ll just push the problems further out and let
PG County deal with the problems. I
just hope we can all keep an open mind on these problems. A community member asked if this was not
a noise issue, and Chairperson Thomas responded that in her residential
neighborhood that is near some clubs it is a noise issue. Commissioner Skinner agreed that there
is an issue of noise in the residential neighborhoods when the clubs let out,
but how can we revitalize the entertainment and maintain the needs of the
residents. It shouldn’t be an issue
about what kind of music is played in the clubs, but we should care about the
businesses. If the businesses can’t
make money and they have to go out of business, then that might not be good
either. New people coming in with
new ideas are a good thing, but we need to have a dialogue that allows us to be
open to things. What we need to
avoid is saying shut things down, which might not be the answer. Scott
Pomeroy added that the 14th and U Main Streets
Initiative has been working with community members and the Responsible
Hospitality Institute to address the quality of life issues embodied in
tonight’s debate. There are always
going to be issues when entertainment districts are so closely bounded by
residential districts, but there are other cities dealing with similar problems,
and solutions that we can adapt to our own neighborhoods. Commissioner Guyot stated that Capt.
Groomes came to our ANC meeting and said ‘look we don’t do it this way in
Georgetown, we
don’t have police dealing with traffic control in Georgetown, and we have traffic people dealing
with traffic.’ And when I repeated
this to the ABC Board, they said I must be mistaken, and I responded that I was
quoting Capt. Groomes. Now why
can’t we understand the difference of what comes out of the Police
Department. Capt. Groomes in
testifying before the ABC Board on the Between Friends case said ‘we have
problems with that Coach and IV’.
This was not on the agenda.
Officer Rember said ‘I’ve worked this area for seventeen years, and Coach
and IV has cleaned up its act substantially’, and the Chair of the ABC Board
said ‘that’s correct.’ So please,
when we try to move down this path let’s understand that there’s some truths
that reside inside the Police Department that are not constant. If a police officer of that rank can say
in our ANC meeting, we don’t do it like that in Georgetown, but if you do it here it’s a
problem. And it’s a problem with
those bad dastardly people who own those liquor licenses, and I can’t
intellectually accept that.
The Commission next reviewed the
closing of “House of Secrets” an illegal after hours club that had been
operating at 507 T
Street.
Commissioner Guyot stated that House of Secrets was a legend that
actually existed in black night life for over fifty years. The residents, black and white, of T
Street got together and organized support from Jim
Graham, Carol Schwartz and the police. These forces put pressure on the
investigative arm of the ABC Board to find out what was really happening. Mr. Ralph Woodson was arrested for
possession of marijuana, distributing alcohol to minors, and the distribution of
alcohol without a license. It is a
crowning victory that I thought I’d never live to see. Commissioner Guyot publicly lauded
Commander McCoy for his participation in resolving this problem.
Grant application of DC
Taekwondo was raised from tabling at our March meeting. Treasurer Glover stated that Ms.
DuBissette had not gotten back in touch with him to present an updated
request. Motion was made to table,
and it was seconded and adopted (6-1-0).
Scott
Pomeroy presented a grant request from the 14th and
U Main Streets Initiative for funding a portion of the JAMONU promotion in
April. This is a month of
celebration of jazz done in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute’s now
three year old celebration of April as jazz appreciation month. This is the first year that the
Smithsonian is pushing the celebration out into the communities associated with
the history of jazz, and the month will include lectures, demonstrations,
performances and in our case reviving an Easter Stroll. The month will conclude with a free
concert featuring DC jazz talent at the Lincoln Theatre. The grant request is for $3,000 to cover
the overhead of the Lincoln Theatre for the final concert. The overall cost of the month long
promotion is $25,000, most of which is being provided by DC Lottery, City First
Bank and the Washington Blade. A
number of the ‘tickets’ to the show will be reserved for local senior
citizens. Commissioner Skinner
asked about the actual commitments from the sponsors, and Mr. Pomeroy stated
that DC Lottery was providing both $5,000 in cash and providing most of the
advertising promotional costs, City First Bank is providing $750, and the Blade
is providing free advertising in their publication. Commissioner Skinner said that he was
distressed to see Industrial Bank left out of the process, and Mr. Pomeroy
responded that Mr. Banks of Industrial Bank was the volunteer chairman of this
promotion. Commissioner Skinner
asked why Coach and IV had been left out of the participants yet again, and Mr.
Pomeroy responded that Mr. Banks had a volunteer force with forms going out
approaching all of the businesses, and if indeed Coach and IV had not been
approached that they would be tomorrow.
When we first approached the 350 businesses on the corridor, we did not
have the commitment of DC Lottery and the extensive advertising, so we are going
back to the businesses to continue to try to involve as many as possible in this
promotion. Mr. Pomeroy said that
the list of participating businesses is diverse, but it also shows some
anomalies like the lack of participation from Twins whose business is promoting
jazz. Treasurer Glover questioned
the fact that the grant appeared to be supporting entertainment, and that is not
an allowable item for the ANC’s in grant making. Mr. Pomeroy stated that the entire focus
of the Smithsonian’s promotion is to educate people to the history of jazz. Commissioner Skinner voiced irritation
that other worthy programs who came to the Commission with errors in their
applications were forced to come back the next month until they got it right,
and tonight we’re changing this application so that we can accommodate it. Commissioner Guyot expressed concern
that the Commission was moving towards supporting another Lincoln Theatre deal,
when in the past we have run into serious trouble in supporting events at the
theatre. Commissioner Glover
reviewed the situation in 1999 when a $7,500 grant to distribute tickets to
deserving youth to attend events at the Lincoln Theatre was disallowed. Commissioner Guyot stated that he was
not troubled in paying $6,000 in order to give a $3,000 grant, but that some of
his constituents might not be happy about it. Mr. Pomeroy stated that he could provide
other portions of the $25,000 budget that might be better defined as educational
components; however, he was attempting to locate items with fixed amounts that
would be amenable to the ANC’s process of funding. Commissioner Wright asked if the event
was designed for all of Ward 1, and Mr. Pomeroy responded that all of the
activities would occur inside ANC1B’s boundaries, but that the events would be
open to anyone who wanted to participate.
Commissioner Wright asked about the participation of local churches in
the Easter Stroll, and Mr. Pomeroy indicated that Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale
had contacted over one hundred local churches and asked for their
participation. Commissioner Guyot
moved support based on the bona fide application submitted to the Treasurer
meets his approval, and it was seconded.
Commissioner Skinner commented that previous applications that had not
involved entertainment difficulties and that other grant applicants had been
forced to come to consecutive meetings to meet the strictures of our grant
giving guidelines. The summer
program on violence had to be changed to a fall program on violence because the
Commission had to have the request in a form that was acceptable. In this case we’ve negotiated in the
meeting, but we need to be fair in this process and help other people
approaching us with grants and not jeopardize either our fiduciary
responsibilities or the programs applied for. Treasurer Glover reminded the Commission
that he had worked with the African American Holiday Association to refashion
their grant at the meeting.
Treasurer Glover also indicated that he had had to go to Union Station on
his own time to get the check to the summer violence prevention program. Chairperson Thomas reminded Commissioner
Skinner that the Commission had gone to great effort to get his grant for the
black history lecture tickets refashioned and accepted. Treasurer Glover stated that any
intimation that he is playing favorites in the processing of the grant requests
is insulting. Commissioner Skinner
apologized to Treasurer Glover for any remarks were directed towards his efforts
as Treasurer. Commissioner Guyot
asked that we use this debate as a guideline for trying to deal with grant
requests equitably. Support was
moved and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Commissioner Guyot offered a
resolution calling for support of reopening the investigation of the Emmett Till
murder. We now know that there were
ten people involved in the killing of Emmett Till including five blacks and five
whites. Essentially the language of
the resolution calls on the Justice Department to investigate the murder of
Emmett Till, calls on the Dept. of Justice to investigate the acquittal of J. W.
Milam and Roy Bryant, and calls on the Dept. of Justice to report to Congress on
the findings of the investigation.
Commissioner Guyot asked the Commission to pass this resolution on to the
Council, and to ask the Council to pass it and report on to Congress. Motion was moved, seconded and approved
(6-0-1).
Commissioner Guyot offered a
resolution in opposition to the proposed zoning changes incorporated in the
Office of Planning’s Georgia Avenue Corridor Plan. Mr. Stephen Mordfin was present from the
Office of Planning to give an overview.
Mr. Mordfin stated that this is a planning process that has been underway
for some time, and has involved a number of community groups and leaders. Mr. Mordfin explained that the current
zoning along Georgia
Avenue did not seem to be supplying either the needed
commercial or residential density to be a success. That by changing some of the current
zoning the city could encourage more residential development, and that by
clustering the commercial zones they could foster more appropriate commercial
activity. Mr. Mordfin stressed that
these proposed zoning changes are still in the process of being defined and
reviewed by community stakeholders, and would probably change before a final
version at Office of Planning was established. The current C3 zoning surrounding the
metro station would be kept, but portions of the C2 zoning along the avenue
would be changed to R5 in order to encourage denser residential
development. The remaining
commercial zoning along the avenue would be clustered to encourage denser
commercial development.
Commissioner Guyot asked who had supported this plan, and Mr. Mordfin
responded that they had held meetings in the community with a number of
community groups, but that there had been no votes at any of these
meetings. Commissioner Esters asked
about questions from current business owners on the avenue, and Mr. Mordfin
responded that there were a number of questions about what would happen if the
property a business owned was rezoned as residential. The property would become a nonconforming
use, which would restrict expansion and also the eventual sale of the
property. Commissioner Esters asked
about a business that ceased operating and then wanted to return, and Mr.
Mordfin responded that there was a period of three years in which to resume the
business. Commissioner Skinner
stated that this would place a number of restrictions on owners of properties
currently zoned commercial. This is
aimed at making it difficult for the small businesses like corner stores, and
forcing the commercial development into areas promoting big box businesses. This is designed to make Georgia Ave.
resemble Connecticut
Ave., but there are cultural differences that have
made Georgia
Ave. the way it is. This rezoning is aimed at reducing small
business, and not allowing the market to determine the type of businesses along
the corridor. Commissioner Skinner
indicated that he was in touch with a number of small commercial property owners
along the avenue, and they were all opposed to the current rezoning
proposal. Mr. Tony Norman of the
Pleasant Plains Civic Association stated that his organization has voted
unanimously in opposition to the current plan for revitalization offered by the
Office of Planning. The opposition
is based on the negative effect on current and future small businesses along the
avenue. The restrictions that would
occur as part of the rezoning would change the opportunities for small
businesses in the neighborhood. Mr.
Norman stated that PPCA was not opposed to the renovation of Georgia Avenue, but
the current proposals are not in the best interests of the community. The Office of Planning should be seeking
incentives for both commercial and residential development, and not placing
restrictions on the development of businesses along the avenue. Commissioner Guyot moved that ANC1B
oppose the current redevelopment plan for the Georgia Avenue Corridor as
proposed by the Office of Planning based on our perception of the stifling of
small business opportunities through rezoning of the current C2 zone along
Georgia
Avenue, and the motion was seconded and adopted on a
vote of (6-0-1).
Commissioner Guyot moved support
of a resolution passed by the ANC Assembly calling on the Council to restore the
budget of the DC Public Library to levels that ensure operations conforming to
normal business operating hours.
Commissioner Esters asked if the resolution was calling for shortening
the current operating hours, and Commissioner Guyot responded that it was to
maintain the current operating hours.
Commissioner Spalding requested that the fourth paragraph concerns ANC
offices, meetings and business be deleted, and Commissioner Guyot accepted the
amendment to his resolution. Motion
was seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Commissioner Guyot offered a
resolution supporting the funding of apprenticeships and training at the Office
of Employment Services. The
resolution asks that funding for the apprenticeship programs is maintained. Scott
Pomeroy asked if the oversight was also included to make sure
that the apprenticeships were going to the areas that need them, and
Commissioner Guyot accepted this advice to be added as a friendly amendment to
the resolution. Commissioner Guyot
stated that when a representative of DOE came to the ANC Assembly he admitted
that illiterate candidates were not allowed into the apprenticeship programs and
this is in a city that is 37% functionally illiterate. We want to support the funding while at
the same time pointing out the limitations of the current apprenticeship
programs, and this should be addressed to the members of the City Council. Secretary Spalding asked Commissioner
Guyot to provide language on which to base the letter, and he agreed. Resolution was moved, seconded and
supported (6-0-1).
Commissioner Skinner proposed
supporting the purchase of a banner celebrating the Cardozo High School City
Basketball Champions. This is a
neighborhood in need of champions, and here we have our own neighborhood high
school winning the city championship.
This should be celebrated, and providing a banner for the school would
cost about $575.00. Mr. Simon of
the Office of ANC’s indicated that the banner must include ANC1B’s name, and we
have to maintain ownership of the banner even though it will be hung in Cardozo
HS. Commissioner Spalding added
that the spring edition of the local DC branch of the AIA showed designs for a
new Cardozo gymnasium to be erected on 11th Street. Motion to purchase the banner was
seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Commissioner Skinner presented a
resolution calling on DHCD to relieve the Georgia Avenue façade improvements
participants of the 20% matching funds requirement, and to utilize the Lower
Georgia Avenue Business Corridor Association in an advisory role for the
remaining façade improvement projects.
Commissioner Skinner described the buy in of the local businesses on
Georgia
Ave. in the program back in 2001, and the lack of
progress or completion in the program.
Commissioner Skinner indicated that his business was one of the
participants in this programs, and that he would recuse himself from the vote on
this resolution drafted by the participants. Motion was moved by Commissioner Guyot,
and it was seconded and adopted on a vote of (6-0-0).
Commissioner Guyot proposed
support of Councilmember Mendelson’s amendment to 15-133 covering the sale and
conversion act. This is a remedy to
the 95-5 rules allowing owners of apartment buildings to transfer 95% of the
property while disenfranchising the rights of tenants to purchase the
property. Commissioner Guyot moved
that ANC1B support Councilmember Mendelson’s amendment, and that the Council
does all in their powers to facilitate the use of Section 8 for mortgage
purposes. Scott Pomeroy asked that the motion include any
action that removes the 95-5 transfer allowances, and not just Councilmember
Mendelson’s amendment, and Commissioner Guyot agreed to include as a friendly
amendment, and it was seconded and adopted unanimously (7-0-0).
Meeting adjourned at
approximately 10PM.