ADVISORY
NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 1B
Government
of the
Minutes
Thursday, March 4, 2010,
7:00 PM,
The regular monthly meeting
of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B occurred on Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 7:00
pm in the
Chairperson Anderson Holness
observed the presence of a quorum and called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
then made the following announcement:
We
ask that you silence your cell phones.
By “silence” I mean either put them on “silence” or turn them off if you
are able. The vibration and rings
interfere with our recording and we sometimes lose valuable information.
ü
This meeting is
audio-recorded for the public record and the draft minutes of the meeting,
which will be published on our website within one week.
ü
We welcome and
encourage public comment at appropriate points in the meeting. Normally, we will ask for public comment on
issues before the Commission before any motion is offered for official
action. Once a motion has been made and
seconded, comment and discussion is confined to Commissioners.
ü
We ask that all
those making presentations, asking questions, or making comments speak loudly
and clearly for the benefit of our recording device. You can come forward and sit at the witness
table and make sure that your comments are picked up. Please state your name, residence address,
and what organization you represent. If
you are representing yourself as a resident, rather than an organization,
please say so.
ü
For the accuracy
of our public records, we ask that all those making presentations, asking
questions, or making comments complete the very brief speaker information form
located on the sign in table at the back of the room. Please give the completed form to our Staff
Director, Jim Irwin, either before or after you speak to the Commission. The purpose of this form is to assure correct
spelling of your name in the minutes, accurate address and accurate statement
of representation.
Thank you for your
attendance, participation and cooperation.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked Commissioners to introduce themselves.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
noted that the meeting agenda had a tight time frame and that the goal was to
address all issues, allow participation, but end the meeting at a reasonable
hour. She also asked that individuals or
organizations that had issues to present to the Commission first present those
issues to their neighborhood or community associations and get their support
before bringing them to the Commission because the community associations
should be aware of what was happening before coming to the Commission.
Presentations
Mayor’s Office of Ex-Offender Affairs
Mr. Herman Odom, Director of
the Mayor’s Office of Ex-Offender Affairs, introduced himself to the Commission
and said that he wished to give the Commission an overview of the office and an
update on current projects.
Mr. Odom said the mission of
the Office of Ex-Offender Affairs (OEOA) is to advocate, empower and improve
the overall quality of life for incarcerated and previously incarcerated
Among the services provided
by OEOA to previously incarcerated residents are re-entry support in the
critical areas of employment, education and training. OEOA works closely with public and private
partners to create and indentify housing opportunities for transition to
permanent housing. OEOA also provides
pre-release planning for incarcerated residents to insure a successful
transition back to society.
The OEOA has five
objectives:
- Serve as the primary point of contact for
previously incarcerated residents returning to the District of Columbia,
including individuals from the DC Jail, Federal prisons, half-way houses,
both supervised and unsupervised, and to provide services and links to
service providers in the critical re-entry areas of employment, education,
training, health, mental health and housing;
- Expand the re-entry service options to meet the
high volume of returning District residents seeking assistance;
- Improve and enhance re-entry support services in
the non-profit sector by providing technical assistance and information on
local and national best practices and evidence-based practices for
community and faith-based organizations supporting returning residents;
- Create a network of affordable housing providers
who are receptive to housing returning residents in lieu of credit rating
or lack thereof and criminal record;
- Develop re-entry service provider networks.
Mr. Odom said there were
several ongoing projects and partnerships being developed by the OEOA:
- Job placement and apprenticeships: the Office of ___ and Repairs has
identified developers that are assigned to complete proposed projects
throughout the
- Community Outreach: OEOA will continue to meet with
community organizations, the Re-entry Task Force, non-profit
organizations, advisory neighborhood commissions, civic and tenant
associations, federal government agencies and others to receive and
discuss issues related to ex-offenders, at-risk youth and community
issues.
- Ward 8 Workforce Development Council: OEOA is working with the Council to
assist in its endeavors, which include affordable housing, employment
opportunities and training of District residents.
Commissioner Muhammad asked
Mr. Odom how ANC 1B could assist him in his work.
Mr. Odom said that he wanted
to meet with the Commissioners to find out some of the current issues that they
are facing and how his office could partner with them to address some of the
crime issues as well as some of the other issues they are dealing with.
Commissioner Moss asked what
collaboration OEOA had with the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency
(CSOSA).
Mr. Odom said his office
works well with CSOSA assisting with their programs and assisting individuals
returning from the sanctions center or from the D.C. Jail in finding whatever
services they need.
Commissioner Moss asked how
many people were on the OEOA staff and the number of persons they worked with.
Mr. Odom said that in 2009,
OEOA worked with about 7,000 individuals coming out of the various correctional
facilities.
Commissioner Ferrer asked if
OEOA worked with juvenile re-entry as well as adults.
Mr. Odom said that normally
they worked with people 18 years of age and above, but they are now working
with juveniles returning from New Beginnings, who can get assistance from OEOA
for services that they need.
Commissioner Ferrer asked if
re-entry services were focused on the individual, or did OEOA provide
wraparound services for families as well.
Mr. Odom said they provided
services to families of returning individuals and individuals already in the
community. He added that OEOA is also
partnering with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer to develop a
curriculum for returning residents to use the six public computer labs
currently available in Ward One to train them in computer skills and to provide
them access to e-mail and internet services to send out resumes, search for
jobs, etc.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked Mr. Odom if there was a breakdown of returning residents by ward.
He said that information
could be obtained.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that knowing how many returning residents were located in Ward 1 and where
they were located by ANC single-member district would help the Commission
assist OEOA and perhaps provide assistance to the individuals as well.
Mr. Odom said OEOA was
currently working to develop a map of service providers who work with
individuals and their families showing their locations throughout the
city. Using that information, OEOA would
also be able to provide information on how many returning residents are located
in Ward 1.
Commissioner Akinmboni asked
how OEOA worked with the D.C. Housing Authority so that returning residents
could live with their families in residential housing.
Mr. Odom said that OEOA was
working on legislation and policies that could address that issue. They were also working to develop alternative
transitional housing options for those who might not be able to return to their
previous residence.
Commissioner Akinmboni asked
how Commissioners could contact him.
Mr. Odom said his direct
office phone number was 202-715-7673.
His cell phone number was 202-257-4606.
His office was located at
Chairperson Anderson Holness
thanked Mr. Odom for his time and for his informative presentation. She said it was very important to know more
about the work of OEOA and how to assist returning citizens, because that was
just what they were: returning
citizens. They had done their time for
the crime they had committed and the community had to be sensitive and
compassionate enough to allow them to come back in and try to live good and
decent lives. She thanked Mr. Odom for
the work he was doing.
DC Prescription Discount Card – DC Chamber of
Commerce
Ms. Meredith Brewer and Ms.
Sheila Cutchlow, D. C. Chamber of Commerce, introduced themselves.
Ms. Brewer said that the
D.C. Chamber of Commerce had a new program providing a discount prescription
drug card. This is an open formulary
plan. Anyone can use the card. It is not an insurance plan. The card provides discounts of up to 75% off
the price of prescription medications.
The average discount is 30%. The
card is free. There are no restrictions
or qualifications for use of the card.
There are about 30 companies that do the open formulary plan. The Chamber of Commerce is providing the card
as a community outreach. The DC Rx card
is accepted at 50,000 pharmacies across the country, so it can be used outside
of the District. This provides access to
medications for people who do not have insurance. It can also be used in conjunction with
insurance.
Commissioner Nadeau asked
how people could obtain the card.
Ms. Brewer said the card
could be downloaded from DCRxcard.com or people could contact the D.C. Chamber
of Commerce. The Medical Society of D.C.
is providing cards to member doctors for distribution to their patients.
Commissioner Moss asked what
was covered by the card.
Ms. Brewer said it covered
about 70% of the drugs on the market, including both branded and generic drugs.
Commissioner Lopez asked if
the card was provided in Spanish.
Ms. Brewer said it was not,
but they could certainly arrange to get it translated.
Officers Reports
Secretary’s Report – Minutes of February, 2010 meeting
Commissioner Moss moved that
the draft minutes of the February 2010 meeting be approved as submitted.
Commissioner Nadeau seconded
the motion.
The motion was adopted
unanimously, 8 yes, 0 no.
Treasurer’s Report
Commissioner Ferrer
presented the Treasurer’s Report for March 2010. The current bank balance was $88,022.46.
Checks written in February
included:
#1742 $1,696.26 to James
Irwin for staff wages
#1743 $386.54 to James Irwin
for reimbursement of office supplies, printing, post office box rental and
postage
#1744 $1,000.00 for Grant
#10-03 to the Robert &
#1745 $25.00 for the annual
ANC Security Fund payment
#1746 $900.00 for Grant
#10-04 to
Checks cashed included:
#1742 $1,696.26 to James
Irwin for staff wages
#1743 $386.54 to James Irwin
for reimbursement of office supplies, printing, post office box rental and
postage
#1744 $1,000.00 for Grant
#10-03 to the Robert &
#1746 $900.00 for Grant
#10-04 to
Commissioner Ferrer said
that expenses to be approved were $241.71 for office supplies and $1,255.57 for
staff wages for February.
Commissioner Ferrer moved
that reimbursement to James Irwin for office supplies in the amount of $241.71 and
payment of staff wages for February be approved by the Commission.
Commissioner Nadeau seconded
the motion.
The motion was adopted
unanimously, 8-0.
Commissioner Ferrer moved
that the Treasurer’s Report for March 2010 be approved.
Commissioner Nadeau seconded
the motion.
The motion was adopted
unanimously, 8-0.
Commissioner Ferrer reported
that a commercial company was donating office furniture to the Commission for
use in the new office. While the
furniture was free, it was necessary for the Commission to move the furniture
from its present location to storage in the District until the office was ready
for occupancy. The furniture had to be
picked up by Tuesday, March 9th.
Quotes from moving companies were being reviewed, but authorization to pay
the cost was necessary. There was money
in the budget to purchase office furniture, which would cover the moving
cost.
Commissioner Ferrer moved
that he be authorized to review moving company quotes, choose the lowest
bidder, and pay the expense.
Commissioner Moss seconded
the motion.
Commissioner Nadeau
commented that payment of moving expenses could not be authorized until the
Commission had voted to approve the specific amount. She said that the Treasurer could be
authorized to contract with a moving company for services, with payment to come
after the next Commission meeting.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that three quotes were being obtained, and the lowest quote would be the
company selected. The highest quote so
far was $700.00, so the cost would be $700.00 or less.
Commissioner Nadeau said
that the auditor required the Commission to vote on a specific amount before
writing the check and that the vote be in the minutes of the meeting.
Commissioner Lopez agreed
that this was correct and asked if the company could invoice the Commission for
payment after the April meeting.
Commissioner Nadeau said
that a Commissioner could use a personal credit card, and then be reimbursed
for the expense.
Commissioner Ferrer said he
would put the expense on his personal credit card, and then get reimbursement
from the Commission. He withdrew his
motion.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that there was a time constraint.
In order to get the furniture, it had to be moved by next Tuesday.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
thanked Commissioners Moss and Ferrer for their services as Secretary and
Treasurer.
Public Safety and Public Safety Committee Report
Commissioner Muhammad said
that, due to the severe winter weather in February, numerous public safety and
community meetings had been canceled.
Also, there had been a very significant drop in crime in ANC 1B as a
result of the heavy snowfall. As a
result, there have been no outstanding public safety issues to report.
Commissioner Muhammad
announced that the Metropolitan Police Department had their annual awards
ceremony last week. The Third District
received three awards. Officer Bryant
Aldomeyer received the Third District Officer of the Year award. Officer Alejandros Ragunos received the City-Wide
Officer of the Year Award. Inspector
Jacob Kishter, Commander of the Third District, received the Inspector of the
Year Award. He said these awards were
very impressive, and Inspector Kishter and his staff were very responsive and
helpful to the community.
Commissioner Muhammad
invited members of the community to join the Public Safety Committee.
Design Review Applications and Design Committee
Report
Mr. Tony Norman, Chair of
the Design Committee that the Committee met on Wednesday, March 3rd
to organize. He said that five residents
from the community had joined the Committee so far. Chairperson Anderson Holness asked members of
the Committee who were present to introduce themselves. These were Mr. Joel Heisey and Mr. Scott
Pomeroy. In addition, Mr. Norman noted
that Commissioner Muhammad had attended the meeting and other members included
Mr. Lee Jackson and Ms. Sylvia Robinson.
He said the Committee had decided to meet every third Tuesday of the
month at the
Mr. Norman said that the
Committee had two recommendations:
1.
All design
issues and projects should come to the Committee before being submitted to the
Commission for consideration so that the Committee can review them and make
recommendations to the Commission.
2.
The Commission
should ask for an extension of time to comment on the
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that the Committee was asking for the same procedure that she had
requested: that design projects be
reviewed by the Committee before being brought to the Commission for
consideration. She strongly supported
this recommendation and said the Commission would follow that procedure.
Commissioner Lopez said that
the comment period for
Chairperson Anderson Holness
noted that
Commissioner Muhammad said
that, in the initial setup for review of
Commissioner Lopez agreed
with this suggestion.
Mr. Norman said that the
Committee would bring a recommendation regarding the membership and structure
of the Committee to the Commission at its next meeting. While the meetings are properly open to the
public, Mr. Norman said it was important to identify clearly who was a voting
member of the Committee.
Commissioner Ferrer said he
agreed that it was important to identify the voting members of the
Committee. It was also important to state
clearly that all Committee meetings would be open to the public, but that not
all attendees would have voting rights.
Commissioner Muhammad asked
if the Commission was going to send a letter to the Deputy Mayor asking for a
time extension to provide better opportunity for comment from the community on
the
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked if the Commission wanted to send a letter, or to have Commissioner Lopez
handle the matter.
Commissioner Lopez said that
his only concern was that some Commissioners had already sent individual
letters of support for particular developers.
All developers should have the opportunity to present their projects to
the Commission. Only one developer had
actually done outreach to Commissioners.
Others wanted to wait to get the
Request for Proposals. He also
noted that some residents had met with Councilmember Graham last night. He felt the sooner the Commission held a
public meeting on the project, the better.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked what Commissioner Lopez would recommend the Commission do.
Commissioner Lopez said he
did not know too much about how the Mayor’s office worked and suggested
Commissioner Muhammad might know more.
Commissioner Muhammad
suggested that a letter should be sent to the Deputy Mayor’s office requesting
an extension of time and a public meeting be set up for next week to provide at
least a week’s notice. The request for a
time extension should be in writing.
Commissioner Lopez moved
that ANC 1B send a letter to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic
Development to extend the period of public comment on the Justice Park project
to four weeks.
Commissioner Muhammad
seconded the motion.
The motion was adopted
unanimously, 9-0.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
thanked Mr. Norman for his energetic work in getting the Committee started and
the members for their service.
Ms. Maybelle Bennett,
Ms. Bennett noted that she
was Vice Chair of the Mary Church Terrell House and LeDroit Park Museum Board
of Directors and thanked the Commission for its grant and support of the
Forensic Challenge.
Ms. Bennett said that a life
safety issue with the
Ms. Bennett said she had
noted the Chairperson’s request that all such issues be reviewed with community
and neighborhood organizations before coming to the Commission. She said that the recent severe weather had
prevented her from attending the ANC 1B11 meeting and the Pleasant Plains Civic
Association meeting. She said they had
attended the LeDroit Park Civic Association meeting and would attend the next
ANC 1B11 meeting if they could be put on the agenda. They are on the agenda for the next Pleasant
Plains Civic Association meeting. They
will also be meeting with the Bloomingdale Civic Association and ANC 5C, which
borders the Howard campus.
Mr. Harris said the old
chiller plant that ran the air conditioning for the hospital was on the
roof. The concrete slab that supported it
was deteriorating, and about a year ago it was determined that the chiller
plant was in danger of falling through the roof. The plant was removed and temporary chillers,
which are very expensive to operate, were installed on the ground next to the
hospital building. A permanent chiller
plant will have to be enclosed by a brick wall, requiring an amendment to the
campus plan. The urgency in the present
situation is the high expense of the temporary units. They should be replaced as soon as possible,
but the amendment to the campus plan must be approved before the permanent
installation can be constructed. Mr.
Harris said the Commission’s support for the project would be much appreciated,
as that would help get things moving as quickly as possible.
Commissioner Ferrer asked
how long construction of the chiller plant building would take.
Mr. Harris said the project
would take twelve months.
Commissioner Smith asked if
all equipment would be contained within the proposed structure. Mr. Harris said it would.
Commissioner Moss asked
about the timeline for the project. When
would it start and where would current staff park when the project displaces
existing parking spaces.
Mr. Harris said that the
project was ready to begin immediately upon approval by the Zoning
Commission. The campus plan amendment
approval process was the longest lead item that they had. He said 31 parking spaces would be displaced,
which could be easily accommodated in other locations on the campus. He did not anticipate any disruptions in
traffic patterns because of the project.
Commissioner Moss asked if
there were any environmental concerns due to chemicals in the chiller
units.
Mr. Harris said no, there
would be no environmental issues.
Commissioner Moss asked
whether the chiller plant would cause noise late at night or early in the
morning in
Mr. Harris said there would
be no noise from the chillers.
Mr. Joe Mazey,
Mr. Harris said that it
would depend on what the trucks were delivering, but the more frequent access
would be from
Mr. Mazey said that daily
traffic of dump trucks and other equipment on
Mr. Harris said the project
was not big and there would not be many loads of material to deliver, so it
would not be a long-term disruption.
Commissioner Smith strongly
recommended that all construction traffic and deliveries be made from
Commissioner Moss strongly
seconded Commissioner Smith’s comments and recommendation. She also asked that advance notification be
given to her and other Commissioners for any overnight parking of construction
equipment or vehicles on
Mr. Harris said these were
good points that would be carefully considered.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked what specifically Ms. Bennett and Mr. Harris needed from the Commission.
Ms. Bennett said that they
would like to have a vote of approval from the Commission for the campus plan
amendment, providing that this did not go against protocol, because they had
not yet been to ANC 1B11 or Pleasant Plains Civic Association.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
observed that the Design Committee had not considered the amendment either. She asked if they could come back to the
Commission at the April meeting since they would be going to ANC 1B11 next week
and the Pleasant Plains Civic Association next Saturday. The Design Committee was meeting on the third
Tuesday and could consider the project at that time, then report to the
Commission at the April meeting.
Ms. Bennett agreed with this
suggestion.
Community Three Development, LLC,
Commissioner Moss introduced
Mr. Grant Epstein, Community Three Development.
She said that they were planning to renovate
Mr. Epstein said they were
scheduled for March 25th.
Commissioner Moss said that
she wanted the Design Committee to review the project before the Commission
considered it, so she did not think action on the proposal would be possible at
this meeting. The Design Committee would
be meeting on March 16th.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that the Commission wanted to set a standard that all projects be
discussed by the Design Committee and other community organizations before
coming to the Commission for consideration.
She said the Commission did not want people to feel that they could just
come to the Commission and negate the community, because it was the community
that the Commission represented.
Commissioner Nadeau asked if
that meant the HPRB hearing would occur before the next Commission meeting and
that the Commission would not have an official position on the HPRB record.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked if the HPRB meeting was on March 25th. Mr. Epstein said that it was.
Commissioner Nadeau
suggested that the Commission go ahead and hear Mr. Epstein’s presentation.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said the Commission would hear about the project at this meeting.
Commissioner Moss said that the
project still had to be reviewed by the LeDroit Park Civic Association. Mr. Epstein had been communicating with
neighbors in that corridor, but this was not enough vetting for her to vote on
the project.
Commissioner Raia suggested
that the Commission ask HPRB for an extension of time to further consider the
project.
Commissioner Smith asked if
the Commission could approve the project subject to the approval of the Design
Committee and hold the letter until the Committee had met.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that this could be done.
Mr. Epstein was asked to
make his presentation.
Mr. Epstein said that he was
an architect and the President of Community Three Development. He started the business three years ago with
the purpose of doing development projects that other developers would not
do—projects that required architectural sensitivity, historical sensitivity, and
innovation in terms of marrying context, zoning laws, existing site, and
economics. Over the past three years,
they have done several projects in three historic districts.
Mr. Epstein said the project
was located at Third and U Streets N.W.
It was a nineteenth century farmhouse with carriage house on a large
lot, currently vacant and unused. The
house is in poor condition. It was
converted to a rooming house in the 1970s and any historical elements of the
interior are gone. There is black mold
in every room of the house, there is termite damage in structural timbers, the
roof has had major collapse issues, and it is very close to being condemned. There are problems with the foundations and
it will take extensive efforts to restore the property. The same is true of the carriage house. The challenge is to repair the building while
retaining the historical sensitivity of a single family home with related
carriage house on a large lot, preserving the historical detailing. This needs to be done while adding some
building area to the site itself in order to help fund the cost of repairing
the house. They have developed a
strategy in consultation with HPRB staff that they think will retain the
character of the existing building and maintaining the relationship with the
carriage house.
Mr. Epstein then reviewed
architectural drawings of the project.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
thanked Mr. Epstein for his presentation.
Commissioner Moss said she
was concerned about the proposed townhouse.
It seemed a bit large to her. She
asked whether it would be three stories.
She said
Mr. Epstein said that the
proposed townhouse was three stories. It
was designed to be the end townhouse on a row, which is purposely slightly
larger than the others in the row are.
He said that the two-story townhouses in the row are actually very
tall. The new townhouse would be three
or four feet taller than the existing buildings. Further down the block and across the street,
the buildings are actually taller than the proposed townhouse. The height design was developed in
conversations with HPRB staff and, since they were in the conceptual phase,
they were open to looking at that again, but they wanted to make sure that the
design represented what would historically happen at the end of a rowhouse
string.
Commissioner Moss asked how
many units would be in the new building.
Mr. Epstein said there would
be fourteen units on the entire site, including the existing house, which had
been broken up into fourteen small rooms.
Commissioner Moss asked how
the carriage house would be used.
Mr. Epstein said that
because of zoning regulations, it was not feasible to renovate the carriage
house to provide residential units.
Commissioner Moss asked if
he was seeking a zoning variance.
Mr. Epstein said no, he was
not seeking any zoning variance. The
goal was to take the historical aspects of the site and what could be done on a
by-right zoning basis and marry the two to find something that works.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that Mr. Epstein had provided very good information, but she still felt
the project should be reviewed by the Design Committee before the Commission
acted on it. She said that without the
Committee’s review and recommendation to the full Commission, the result would
be a no vote because the Commission did not have adequate information from its
experts.
Commissioner Moss said, in
fairness to Mr. Epstein, that he had not been aware that the Design Committee
existed. She said that she had just
begun to communicate with him tin the last week and she had been on business
travel.
Commissioner Moss asked Mr.
Epstein to address the question of parking, considering the large number of
proposed units. She pointed out that
fourteen units meant roughly 28 people
Mr. Epstein said there were
four existing parking spaces on the site.
R-4 zoning required one parking space for every three units or five
parking spaces for fifteen units. He
said they proposed five parking spaces to HPRB.
HPRB wanted them to reduce the number of spaces to four because five
spaces would clog up the site. He said
there were three factors in play:
zoning, HPRB, and marketing. He
said that they needed to find a balance among those factors, and he thought
that was four parking spaces.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
noted that Mr. Epstein kept citing HPRB and historical considerations, but he
had previously told the Commission that there were no historical features of
the building left.
Mr. Epstein said there was
much historical significance to the site, but it was more the exterior of the
building, rather than the interior. The
large lot is also of historical significance as is the relationship of the
house to the carriage house. The lot and
structures actually predate the existence of
Commissioner Ferrer asked
how the carriage house would be used if it could not be renovated as
residential units.
Mr. Epstein said it could
possibly be used as an artist’s studio or as a “mother-in-law” suite as part of
one of the residential units in the main house.
The latter would be an excellent alternative, but there were zoning
issues involved with that.
Commissioner Ferrer asked
what their position was on how to use the carriage house if they could get a
zoning variance.
Mr. Epstein said he would
want it to be part of one of the units in the main house. He said it would have to be looked at closely
and he did not yet have a firm answer.
Commissioner Smith asked if
there would be any disruption to the historic brick sidewalk.
Mr. Epstein said no, and in
fact, they would construct a new historically appropriate metal fence for the
property
Commissioner Smith asked if
Mr. Epstein was providing incentives to purchasers to not bring cars to the
property since the Shaw-Howard Metro was a four-block walk.
Mr. Epstein said that he had
not thought of that. He said he would be
happy to consider incentives and invited suggestions. He said they would be providing bicycle
storage on the property.
Commissioner Smith suggested
that bicycle storage might be part of the carriage house.
A member of the audience
commented that the new townhouse seemed too large and overscale for the lot and
the surrounding buildings.
Mr. Eric Fidler,
Mr. Epstein said the law
provided for 10% of the units to be affordable housing, so one unit would be
classified as affordable.
Commissioner Moss moved that
ANC 1B disapprove of the conceptual design of 1922 Third Street N.W., pending a
report from the Design Committee and action by the LeDroit Park Civic
Association.
Commissioner Smith seconded
the motion.
The motion was adopted, 6
yes, 0 no, three abstentions.
Commissioners Nadeau, Lopez and Akinmboni abstained.
Residential Parking Program
Commissioner Nadeau asked if
the residential parking program was being considered under the Design Review
agenda.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
said that this item was not on the agenda for this meeting and would not be
considered.
Liquor Licenses and ABC Committee Report
Commissioner Raia said there
was no ABC Committee meeting in February due to the severe weather. However, the Committee is scheduled to meet
on March 25th at 7:00 PM in the
BCI Food Services, LLC t/a Standard,
Mr. Thaddeus Kurtz, the
applicant, said that he had leased the former Garden District property at the
corner of 14th and S Streets N.W. and planned to open a hamburger
restaurant based on classic roadside hamburgers. His model for the business was the Shake
Shack in
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked if Mr. Kurtz had reviewed his business with community organizations.
Mr. Kurtz said he had been
on the agenda for the Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association meeting, but that
had been canceled due to the February snowstorms. He was attending their next meeting on
Thursday. He said he had talked with the
president of CSNA and had talked with many residents in the community about his
business. His plans had been described
on Prince of Petworth and U Street Girl blogs and he had had a lot of positive comments,
phone calls and e-mails.
Chairperson Anderson Holness
asked what Mr. Kurtz needed from the Commission.
Mr. Kurtz said he had talked
with Mr. Raia several times. He was
applying for an alcoholic beverage license and was requesting the Commission’s
support.
Commissioner Nadeau asked
Mr. Kurtz what he planned to do with the existing space.
Mr. Kurtz said he had no
plans to make any substantial change to the existing structure. It is a small two-story structure, and his
architect was having trouble fitting in the requirements for a kitchen, but he
was confident he could do it. He was
planning to have outdoor covered seating for his patrons.
[Audio record ends
prematurely at this point in the meeting.]
Commissioner Raia said he
had met with Mr. Kurtz several times and had expressed concern regarding the
hours of operation and the outdoor seating.
He thought the hours of operation were too late. He was also concerned about the feasibility
of Mr. Kurtz’s business plan.
Commissioner Raia moved that
ANC 1B protest the application of BCI Food Services for a Class C Restaurant
License on the basis of peace, order and quiet, authorize him to negotiate a
voluntary agreement, and withdraw the protest if an acceptable voluntary
agreement is signed.
Commissioner Moss seconded
the motion.
Commissioner Muhammad
expressed concern about the impact of outdoor seating and the way the space
would be utilized. He urged that Mr.
Kurtz’s plans be reviewed by the Design Committee.
Commissioner Smith expressed
concern about the outdoor space and late hours and whether the neighbors would
oppose them.
The motion was adopted
unanimously, 9-0.
Grant Applications and Grants Committee Report
Extension of African American
Commissioner Moss said that
the continuing severe weather in December and February had prevented the African
American Holiday Association from carrying out planned projects funded by its
grant from the Commission. They were
requesting an additional extension of their grant in order to reschedule events
that had been canceled.
Commissioner Moss moved that
the African American Holiday Association grant be extended to March 18, 2010,
and that the Association be required to submit a final statement of use of
funds and supporting receipts for all expenditures within 30 days after March
18, 2010.
Commissioner
Raia seconded the motion.
Commissioner
Muhammad asked why an extension was necessary.
Commissioner
Moss said that the severe weather over December and February had forced the
cancellation of planned events. The full
grant amount had not been expended as a result.
The Association wanted to carry out those events, which involved youth
training activities and felt they could complete everything before the middle
of March.
The
motion was adopted unanimously, 9-0.
Commissioner Raia introduced
a grant application from the African American Civil War Memorial for a Vermont
Avenue Garden Party and asked that it be placed on the agenda of the April 1
meeting for consideration.
Commissioner Muhammad asked
if there was a report from the Grants Committee. Commissioner Akinmboni said there was no
report.
Commissioner Muhammad asked
if the community could get involved in the Grants Committee.
Commissioner Akinmboni said
that community members were welcome to join the committee.
New Business
The Staff Director was asked
to be sure that the Commission website be updated to show that Mr. Tony Norman
was the Chair of the Design Committee.
Community Events and Announcements
Commission Announcements
Commissioner Moss announced
that Radio One had withdrawn from the Broadcast Center One Project. There was now a major effort underway to
bring the United Negro College Fund into the project as the anchor tenant.
Commissioner Moss announced that,
thanks to energetic and intense community reaction and feedback to the City
Council, funding for the
Commissioner Muhammad
announced that the South Columbia Heights Neighborhood Association, of which he
is the president, would be meeting on Wednesday, March 17th, at 7:00
PM, at the
Chairperson Anderson Holness
announced that ANC 1B11 would be holding its monthly meeting on Monday, March 8th. The meetings are held at the Kelly
Miller/LeDroit Senior Center. On the
third Saturday of the month, ANC 1B11 will have its monthly empowerment meeting
at the same location.
Commissioners Nadeau and
Raia requested that the residential parking program be placed on the agenda for
the Commission’s April 1 meeting.
Community Announcements
Ms. Jo Strowder,
There being no further
business, Commissioner Smith moved that the March, 2010 meeting of ANC 1B be
adjourned.
Commissioner Ferrer seconded
the motion.
The motion was adopted
unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.