We periodically share updates from your ANC commissioners, edited for brevity and clarity. Although these are most pertinent to particular single member districts (SMDs), we feel the information shared can be of interest to the whole Capitol Hill community. Are you an ANC commissioner who shares regular updates? Add thehillishome@gmail.com to your distribution list, please! –María Helena Carey and Kate McFadden
From Kirsten Oldenburg, ANC 6B04
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Tue 19 Mar, 7pm: ANC6B Working Group on Barracks Row Meeting. 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, ground floor conference room.
Mon 25 Mar, 7pm: ANC6B Livable Community Task Force Meeting on Parcel 4 of the Eastern Market Metro Park project. Location: SE Branch Library, 403 7th St SE, basement room
As of this writing, the ANC hasn’t posted notices about its two meetings on its website. For those who may be interested, I have uploaded a draft agenda for the 3/19 meeting onto my Beat26 Bulletin Board.
ANC6B MET MARCH 12
Another 3-hour meeting ensued; once again despite a light agenda. Chatter will always fill voids?
Each month, one of the first votes that ANC takes is on the Consent agenda. In March, there were 2 historic preservation and 2 zoning cases on Consent plus a public space application and two transportation letters. These represented the bulk of the 6B committee work the previous week. The ANC vote was, as usual, unanimous in support of all Consent items. Links to details on most items are here on the March agenda.
TIP: The Consent vote essentially removes the items from the balance of the agenda. However, before this vote is taken each month, any item on the Consent agenda can be removed for further consideration. All one needs to do is contact an ANC commissioner in advance of the meeting or speak up at the meeting before the Chair calls for the vote on the Consent agenda. I am bringing this up because Tuesday night, someone in the audience wanted to raise an issue about the Small Cells Design Guidelines draft but didn’t say so until we got 2/3’s of the way down the agenda to the Transportation Report section. Commissioners advised him how to submit his comments directly to DDOT.
Miscellaneous Info gleaned from the Speak Out session: (1) DC has a Clean City office that focuses on litter and pet waste. They can, for instance, help you organize a neighborhood litter pick up day or help a group adopt a block. (2) The 11th Street Bridge Park won’t be ready for us to enjoy until 2023.
Folger Shakespeare Library. The library, located at 201 East Capitol Street SE, presented its plans for a total renovation of the public space on 3 sides of its Landmark building. A key element will be to eliminate all existing barriers to disabled visitors. They have adopted a concept used by the Hill Center: instead of having a separate ADA entrance, the main entrance for all visitors will be on a lower level at the side of the building alongside accessible gardens open to the public on 2nd and 3rd Streets. The Folger plans to make changes to the building, as well. But this historic preservation application will be on a later ANC agenda.
I think the concept design is quite elegant but not much was said about it at the meeting as the long discussion was dominated by construction-related issues. Plans are for the construction phase to occur from 2020 to 2022. Performances in the theater will be suspended in February 2020 and be held elsewhere during construction. The ANC voted unanimously to support the public space application.
Then we got bogged down in the HP application for 620 C Street SE (originally a one-story blacksmith shop). Many neighbors spoke in opposition to the project that will add a roof top addition and make alterations to the front façade. It took the ANC three motions to reach a vote; ultimately the ANC voted 6-4-0 to oppose the application. I was in favor of supporting the application, thus one of the 4 no votes. The concept design needs some refinements; if so, this little building, an anomaly on the block, would be greatly improved in my view.
Then came the Chair’s request that the ANC send a letter to DGS about weekend operations on the 300 block of 7th Street SE. There was no draft letter available and little information provided on why DGS did not accept responses to its recent RFP. Again, I didn’t know what I was voting on so I voted no. The motion passed 8-2-0. The day after the meeting, the Hill Rag published a story about this issue
Near the end of the meeting, a resolution about Councilmember Jack Evans’ apparent misdeeds came up. This draft had been sent out about 2 hours before the meeting. It was 5-pages long, full of “Whereas” clauses. At the meeting there was a rush to edit one paragraph before our twilight time of 10pm. Again, I don’t vote for something I haven’t had time to fully review and I wasn’t sure the resolution was appropriate. So, I was in opposition when the ANC voted to support the resolution as amended, 8-2-0. I await the outcome of the Federal Grand Jury.
Finally it was over! In retrospect, it’s clear I voted on the losing side in support or opposition of several measures on the 3/12 agenda. In some cases, I didn’t have enough information to make an appropriate judgement. The easy out would have been to abstain but I felt my concerns were serious enough for a no vote.
THE LCTF MEETING ON EMMP
There isn’t a report yet on the March 11 meeting of the 6B Livable Community Task Force on Parcel 1 of the Eastern Market Metro Park. So, here’s my brief take. The meeting at The Corner Store was very well attended and discussions didn’t end until about 930pm. The objective was to find out how residents want to use this space. The current DGS design includes a playground and a lawn area divided by a walkway situated along the South Carolina axis. (I suggested a row of trees along the pathway and benches.) There was a lot of support for a dog park or run and, perhaps, a community garden. Questions were raised about how the design could enhance security, especially during night time.
DCRA DOES IT RIGHT
The Dept of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs is one of the DC agencies that most folks love to hate. But, a recent experience of mine suggests that, at least, the Small Business Resource Center provides value. This week I attended a 2-hour seminar on how to set up a non-profit organization. Those of us involved in the Friends of Virginia Avenue Park have been struggling a bit with understanding the process we need to follow to become a 501c3 organization. Having attended the seminar, it’s not a mystery any longer. We have a bunch of DC and Federal forms to fill out and fees to pay. One step has been completed: FVAP is now officially registered as a DC non-profit corporation.
CASEY TREES TREES
Through a RiverSmartHomes program, the Casey Trees organization will plant a tree in your yard. Free. Info and a link to the application is here.
Only 13 More Members (@ $10 per) Needed to Reach the FVAP $400 Goal