Garrison Elementary School. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Last week Garrison Elementary had two events in which neighbors could help the modernization fund for the school.Then DC City Council Education Committee Chair David Catania (I-At Large) announced last week that resources had been identified that will help speed up the first phase of the modernization project.

Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said, “I will support expediting that funding to support Garrison.”

Budget Chair Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) is also supporting Garrison: “I have vowed to make Garrison the gem of a neighborhood school that it should be. The funding I was able to secure for the field renovations last year was a first step, stopping it from closing was next and making sure that the renovations take place in an expeditious manner is part of that commitment.”

Original Timeline was Nine-Year Plan

The original plan of modernization of the school including three phases through 2022. Ann McLeod, Garrison PTA president said, “This is just unacceptable! The school has not been updated since it was originally built in 1964 and its facilities rank among the worst in the district.  The $8 million is a great start. But the Garrison community, led by the PTA, will continue pushing for a full modernization by 2015, as we have been all along.”

In May a resolution was passed by ANC 2F and ANC 2B asking that the City Council appropriate $16 million to fully fund Garrison’s modernization in Fiscal Year 2014 to allow for a complete modernization.

Last year Garrison Elementary School was saved from closure, now it has to be renovated. Garrison is located 1200 S Street NW and serves elementary school for children in both Wards 1 and 2. The school hasn’t been renovated since 1964.

The Deputy Mayor for Education Plan recommends that schools in Garrison’s situation not be approached in phases. “A mere Phase 1 does not address the exterior of the building, which is a huge deterrent to enrollment, in all likelihood does not address ADA compliance, and does not encourage a coordinated approach to improve its 4.5 acres of outdoor space,” Garrison Improvement Project Chair Vanessa Bertelli points out. “It’s time for DC to show it can act as One City and fund the full modernization of a school that has the space and the grounds to be this community’s centerpiece.”

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

Garrison Elementary School at 1200 S Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Last year Garrison Elementary School was saved from closure, now it has to be renovated. This week, you have two opportunities to help make it happen.

Tonight at 6:30 pm, Garrison will have its monthly community meeting at the school, 1200 S Street NW. On the agenda will be the plans for a major renovation of the school, plus information about its Spanish-language, arts, music and after-school programs. Babysitting will be provided, plus cake and ice-cream to thank the community for its role in keeping Garrison open.

Can’t make it tonight? On Saturday at 9:30 am, join the conversation with Abigail Smith, DC’s newly-appointed Deputy Mayor for Education, at Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Avenue. The meeting will address a wide range of educational issues and the Garrison renovation is bound to be one of them.

The Logan Circle Community Association is hosting the meeting as part of its “Saturdays in Logan Circle” series. This meeting is co-sponsored by the Dupont Circle Citizens Association and two Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) 2B/Dupont and 2F/Logan.

Garrison Elementary School has not had a renovation since 1964. The renovation, after three delays, was planned to start in 2014, but there is no money for it in the DC school budget until 2015. This past week, ANC 2F passed a resolution asking the DC Council to find $16 million dollars to fully fund the Garrison renovation.

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ANC2F talks policing. (David McAuley)

From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

At its monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 1, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle moved forward on liquor license renewal for the many of the area’s restaurant and bars, but voted to oppose a liquor license renewal for one troubled establishment. In addition, the Commission passed a resolution in favor of the speedy renovation of Garrison Elementary School, and talked with police about perceived shortcomings in local law enforcement.

Liquor License Renewal Season

Forty-seven annual liquor license renewals were on ANC 2F’s agenda. The overwhelming majority were routine and required little or no discussion.

“When I moved here, there were five,” said John Fanning, Commissioner for district 2F-04 and chairman of the commission’s liquor licensing affairs committee.

ANC 2F voted unanimously to support changes in the settlement agreements for two P Street establishments: Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant (1415 14th Street) and Number Nine (1435 P Street). Lalibela will now have food service all night on Friday and Saturday nights, but no outside food service before 10am. Number Nine now has permission to start an eight-table sidewalk seating area on P Street, and also may stay open later on the Sunday evenings before Monday holidays.

An outdoor serving area with five seats on 14th Street for the soon-to-open B Too restaurant was also approved.

ANC 2F voted, also unanimously, to oppose the liquor license renewal request for El Sauce Restaurant (1227 11th Street), on the ground of the establishment’s disturbance of the peace, order and quiet of the neighborhood, as well as possible damage to real estate prices.

El Sauce Restaurant has a history of violent episodes and non-compliance with the law. ANC Chair Matt Raymond (2F-07) brandished a two-page long list of 23 incidents, including five assaults with a deadly weapon (including a brick and a head-butt) and an assault on police. In addition, there have been 11 fines for violations of various types and a long list of lesser offenses. ANC Commissioners reported witnessing fist fights and receiving reports both of harassment of women near the establishment and of operation at 4:30am, long after the licensed closing time.

In 2011, El Sauce was the scene of a murder. Raymond said Police Commissioner Cathy L. Lanier had recommended El Sauce’s liquor license be revoked after that incident. Raymond will ask the DC government’s alcohol licensing authority why Chief Lanier’s recommendation had been disregarded.

Sherry Kimball, constituent services director for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, said, “This establishment should surely be closed.”

Commissioner Fanning said he would meet with El Sauce’s owner, who reportedly speaks only Spanish. Fanning pledged he would bring a translator with him to the meeting.

Resolution Supports Garrison Renovation

ANC 2F unanimously approved a resolution urging the DC City Council to accelerate its plan to modernize Garrison Elementary School (1200 S Street). Garrison was slated for closing last year and then saved after community opposition.

The present DC budget has no money for Garrison modernization until 2015, when it receive 8 million dollars. The modernization may receive addition funding in later years. The resolution calls for 16 million dollars to be allocated in the 2014 budget.

The resolution notes the school has not been renovated since 1964. ANC Commissioner Matt Connolly (2F-08) said renovations had been delayed three times. Connolly is the co-chair of ANC 2F’s Education Committee.

Sherry Kimball told the committee she thought the resolution was an effective expression of the ANC’s concern about Garrison, but she doubted the City Council would be able to find the required money at this late date.

“It’s not going to happen in 2014,” Kimball said. “But I support the resolution.”

There will be a meeting about the renovation sponsored by the Logan Circle Community Association on Wednesday, May 8, at 7pm at Garrison. ANC 2F, with other organizations, will also hold a meeting on the topic on Saturday, May 11, at 9:30am, at Luther Place Memorial Church (1226 Vermont Street).

Police Hear Complaints From Commissioner

At the beginning of the meeting, Commissioner Peter Lallas (district 2F-01) told members of the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) about law enforcement problems in his district.

Lallas said bicycles had been stolen from his home on Friday three weeks ago. The next afternoon at 2:30pm, Lallas saw men with the stolen bicycles near his home. Lallas said it took police 15 minutes to respond to his call for assistance. As a result, the men with the stolen bicycles escaped. Subsequently, Lallas did research that found there were 41 officers on duty at that time and there was no other unusual criminal activity going on. Why did it take so long for the MPD to respond?
The MPD promised to look into the matter.

Lallas also said he had received complaint about illegal parking on Sunday mornings in his district. Specifically, people reported illegal parking in bike lanes and areas reserved for residents. Parking enforcement is normally the responsibility of the District Department on Transportation (DDOT), but on Sunday it is the responsibility of the MPD.

“What is the MPD doing on Sunday?” Lallas asked.

Sherry Kimball said the MPD will ticket on Sunday if a fire hydrant or driveway is blocked, but not for parking in residential zones or bike lanes.

Police representatives proposed setting up an enforcement test area to investigate the extent of the problem.

Visitor Parking Program to Change

Later in the meeting, Commission Walt Cain (2F-02) reported DDOT is working on an overhaul of the citywide visitor parking program. All details of the program are not yet worked out, but the revised program is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2013.

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

Patrick Mara at ANC2F education committee meeting. (David McAuley)

Local parents and DC Council candidate Pat Mara participated on April 13 in a wide-ranging discussion about the state of local public education.

Those interested resisted the siren call of a beautiful Saturday morning in spring to turn out at a meeting co-sponsored by the Logan Circle Community Association and Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F. The meeting was at Luther Place Memorial Church and was led by ANC 2F education committee co-chair Evelyn Boyd-Simmons.

The Headache of School Admissions

The conversation returned again and again to the difficulty parents have negotiating DC’s patchwork of lotteries and admission criteria for local charter schools, exam schools and feeder schools.

The next meeting of the ANC 2F education committee is scheduled for May 11, 10 am, at Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Avenue NW. On the agenda is “all things Garrison,” said Boyd-Simmons, referring Garrison Elementary School, 1200 S Street NW.

“This is super important. We have a situation where a number of parents in Ward 1 and Ward 2, but also all over the city, may know where they’re sending their child to elementary school. But that trajectory upward to middle school and high school is much more uncertain to parents. As many parents say to me, it shouldn’t be this difficult,” Mara said in an interview after the meeting.

Mara is the Ward 1 Member on the DC State Board of Education and a candidate in the April 23 special election for an At-Large Council seat.

Parents aren’t the only ones worried about progressing through the DC education system.

“I had a fifth grader ask about grade point averages,” said Cardozo High School Principal Tanya S. Roane at the meeting. “They want to know academics. Life is different now than when we were young. Children in this age are about competition.”

Principal Roane’s Tough Road Ahead at Cardozo High

It is Roane’s first year as Principal. She told the committee about the challenges facing Cardozo High. Next year, Cardozo will become a school for grades 6 through 12 after Shaw Middle School is shuttered. The third floor of the Cardozo High building will become a completely separate Middle School, Roane said. The new middle school on the third floor will have 150 students total.

Roane also said she had a problem retaining students at the school.

“I ask kids: what’s the problem? Perception of the school,” she said.

The school has a 44 percent graduation rate, Roane said. (A Washington Post article from April 2012 put the graduation rate at 39.9 percent.) But this number is misleading because students who leave for a charter school are counted as dropouts. In addition, Cardozo has the second-highest ESL population in district, and students in the English as a Second Language program normally get an additional year of instruction.

“We get penalized if they don’t graduate in four years,” Roane said.

Roane is convinced the school is improving. “People are saying that this is a better place.”

She talked about some of the improvements taking place at the schools, including a community-accessible year-round swimming pool (“a lap pool, not Olympic-sized”), a health suite with a GP on staff, and a no-charge day-care center.

“We’re increasing Advance Placement courses. I’m trying to start a college credit program. If we have something to offer that another school doesn’t, that will make us stand out,” Roane said.

This year, Cardozo High students also built a house on 13th Street NW.

“The house sold,” Roane said. “We didn’t get any money.”

Principal Roane emphasized her open door policy. She hosts a coffee hour on the first Tuesday of each month. On the third Wednesday of each month at 5:15 pm, there is also an open meeting with school contractors. This takes place at Cardozo High School @ Meyer, 2501 11th Street, NW.

“We are changing perceptions,” Roane said. “And having community people come in.”

“[Principal Roane] has taken over Cardozo just this academic year,” Mara said later. “There is a great need for improvement at Cardozo, and I think she may just be the principal to move the school to the next level. But there are great problems with truancy. There are great problems with engagement. I think, from a programmatic standpoint, if you don’t have the capacity at the school, you can’t offer things like athletic programs. You can’t offer things like arts and music, or at least nothing outside a very core basic class required for graduation. You can’t offer a diversity of languages. So she’s up against a lot, but I do think she is the right person.”

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

ANC 2F rejected the proposed moratorium for 14th and U area. (David McAuley)

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F voted against the proposed U Street liquor license moratorium in a strongly-worded resolution at its monthly meeting on Wednesday evening, April 3. The vote was 7-0. Commissioner Greg Melcher, ANC 2F-06, was absent and did not vote.

ANC 2F, which covers the Logan Circle area and runs west to 15th Street NW, became the second ANC to recommend that DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board reject the moratorium petition. It joined ANC 6E, which voted in February. ANC 1B will be the third ANC to vote on the moratorium this evening, April 4. The remaining ANC within the borders of the moratorium, ANC 2B, plans to vote on the moratorium at its May 8 monthly meeting.

Wording of Resolution

ANC 2F Chair Matt Raymond (2F-07), wrote the resolution, among which were these three points:

• WHEREAS, Community sentiment is strongly opposed to the moratorium, as evidenced by comments at the above-referenced meetings, as well as contacts from individual constituents, and an online petition with 1,196 signatures as of April 3, 2013; and
• WHEREAS, ANC 2F welcomes the presence of liquor-licensed establishments, having endorsed the findings of the ARTS Overlay Review Committee, which stated that “restaurants and bars are an important ingredient in having a vibrant ARTS District: they contribute foot traffic to the arts and retail uses, and play an important role in achieving a vibrant and safe nighttime street environment”; and
• WHEREAS, The petition advances a number of dubious claims about issues such as crime rates and enforcement of existing zoning regulations under the Uptown ARTS Overlay;

Raymond observed at this ANC 2F meeting was the third in a row that had addressed the moratorium. Debate and comment on the moratorium, both between commissioners as well as between commissioners and the public, was brief and business-like before the vote.

The commission had plenty of other work to do. It voted unanimously to enter into a settlement agreement with the soon-to-open Black Whiskey on 14th Street NW, as well as unanimously supporting a renewal of the liquor license for Rice Restaurant, also on 14th Street.

Another unanimous vote was to continue the exemption for the Whole Foods Market on P Street to the Ward 2 ban on the sale of single containers of beer. The previous exemption for Whole Foods went into effect in May 2007. It was planned as a trial period, to run until October 31, 2007. However, after the trial period, no one remembered to renew the exemption. Any sales by Whole Foods of single beers since October 2007 have been, technically, illegal.

Discussion of Zoning Laws

A large portion of the meeting was given over to a presentation by Harriet Tregoning, Director of the DC Office of Planning. This office is spearheading a major rewrite of DC zoning laws city-wide. The zoning code currently in place was adopted in 1958 and contains outdated references to penny arcades and telegraph offices. Since then, it has acquired a patchwork of confusing revisions and updates.

Tregoning addressed three areas of particular interest:

• Parking: Much of Borderstan will be designated a “transit area”. This is generally defined as a area with easy access to Metro (ten minutes’ walk) or a major bus route (five minutes’ walk), and includes the 14th Street and Massachusetts Avenue corridors. Car parking requirements for new apartment buildings and offices within this area would be eliminated entirely. Bike parking requirements will no longer be linked to the number of car parking spaces in a building.
• Accessory dwellings: Proposed city-wide changes will make it easier for many single-family homeowners who live in their house to convert part of their property into a single “granny flat” if they wish. However, Tregoning said this change will not effect the ANC 2F area greatly, since much of the area does not fall into zoning categories that will benefit from this change.
• Corner stores: Proposed city-wide changes will allow new corner stores to set up. Under the current zoning rules, new corner stores are not allowed – only existing corner stores may continue operating. New corner stores will be subject to many conditions, including size, working hours, alcohol sales, signage, and others. But, like the changes concerning accessory dwellings, the zone categories most prevalent in ANC 2F will not be effected by this change. Tregoning said only a small section of 13th Street qualifies under current rules. This section is occupied by multi-story apartment buildings, which would not be convertable under the proposed rules.

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From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com.

Corner of 11th and M Streets NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Plans for a potential mixed-use development for a building on 11th and M Street NW in Logan Circle are advancing.

Elevation Media reports that a vote for the concept of a 78,000-square-foot development at 1011 – 1015 M Street and 1201 – 1207 11th Street NW were supported in a recent ANC 2F meeting. The presentation to the ANC in March was to gain support from the Historical Preservation Review Board.

The developer on the project is Community Three Development LLC; Torti Gallas and Partners is the architect on the potential development.

“11th Street hasn’t seen the same pace of development that 14th, 9th or even 7th Street has seen, and I think the Community Three Development project will serve as a catalyst for greater growth along the 11th Street corridor,” ANC 2F commissioner Walt Cain told Borderstan.

“The Community Development Committee (CDC) and ANC were very impressed with the thoughtfulness of the design and the level of research put into making the architecture harmonious with other buildings in the neighborhood,” said Cain.

According to Elevation Media, the new development will actually be two distinct buildings (one will be six floors and the second will be nine floors) that will have 87 residential units, ground-floor retail space and underground parking.

Cain said that as of Community Three’s last presentation to ANC 2F, there are no firm plans for the retail space.

“The developers indicated to the ANC that they are interested in hearing ideas from local residents as to what kind of retail would make the most sense in the space and for the community,” Cain explained.

Community Three Development also renovated the historic 1316 9th Street NW building in Shaw that will soon be home to Thally, a contemporary American restaurant.

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

The ERPP has already come to the Logan Circle area. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F‘s Community Development Committee previewed possible changes to local parking regulations on March 27.

The announced topic was the Enhanced Residential Parking Pilot (ERPP) program, which was implemented last year in Logan Circle. But the discussion wandered to other topics, including citizens’ personal complaints about parking, the difficulties that Logan Circle churches are have with parking (the subject of last month’s meeting) and alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning.

Sherry Kimball, constituent services director for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, mentioned that plans were in the works to extend the premium demand zone for parking further up 14th Street NW, extending the hours that drivers must feed the meter. The premium demand zone currently ends at M Street NW, but will extend well into Borderstan if the proposed changes go through.

All metered parking spaces within the premium demand zone are in operation until 10 pm, as compared to 6:30 pm for the rest of the city, including (for now) Borderstan. The DC government will soon announce a 30-day comment period on this proposed change.

Joel Heisey, a Community Development Committee member, observed that resident parking permits were currently valid throughout entire wards, meaning that a resident of Logan Circle could, for example, use the resident parking permit to park as far away as Georgetown or Foggy Bottom. He asked Damon Harvey of the District Department of Transportation if there were plans to restrict the parking permits to ANC areas. Harvey said yes, but that he expected resistance to such a change.

“We are looking at it,” Harvey said. “But it is not a slam dunk.”

A member of the public from Columbia Street NW remarked on the need to personally go to police stations to get Visitor’s Parking passes.

“In an era when you can print out your boarding pass, you should be able to print out your parking pass,” he said.

Community Development Committee member Joyce Cowan endorsed this idea, but it is not clear if there are any plans to make it a reality.

The meeting was the second of three scheduled community forums on parking. The final meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 24, at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Thomas Circle. The announced topic is visitor parking.

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

Neighbors line up to testify at Wednesday night’s town hall meeting on the proposed liquor license moratorium for the 14th and U corridor. (David McAuley)

Sentiment ran almost 6 to 1 against the proposed 14th and U Streets liquor license moratorium at last night’s town hall style listening session.  Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) 1B (U Street),  2B/Dupont and 2F/Logan all sent members to attend the meeting at the basketball court of the Thurgood Marshall Center on 12th Street NW to hear what the public had to say.

About 160 people attended the event, filling every chair, then sitting and standing against the walls. My final count was 47 people testifying against, 8 for and 3 neutral. Of the 47 people testifying against, only two identified themselves as not living in or near the moratorium district. On Twitter, other witnesses put the count at 48 against, 8 for; 46 against, 9 for; and 41 against, 7 for.

ANC chairs in attendance were Tony Norman (1B-10) and Matt Raymond (2F-07). All three commissions sent the chairs of their respective alcohol licensing affairs committees: John Fanning (2F-04), Jeremy Leffler (1B-02) and Kevin O’Connor (2B-02). At least 10 other commissioners from across the three ANCs attended as well.

There are currently five liquor license moratorium zones in DC: Georgetown, Glover Park, Adams Morgan, Dupont West (21st and P NW) and Dupont East (17th Street NW). The 17th Street liquor license moratorium is due to expire in September 2013.

Opening Statements

Leffler called the meeting to order at 7 pm and Commissioner Noah Smith (2B-09) explained the meeting guidelines. The original plan was for each speaker to have two minutes to address the listening commissioners, but due to the overwhelming response, the time was cut back to 90 seconds. As a result, the meeting finished at planned 9 pm time.

Before citizen testimony period, the attendees heard remarks by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Berman of the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), Sgt. Iris Beistline of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Joan Sterling, president of the Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance (SDCA), the group petitioning for the liquor license moratorium. SDCA membership is limited to residents living between 12th and 15th Streets and S and U Streets NW.

• ABRA had found that SDCA satisfied the minimum requirement for filing the moratorium petition, Berman said. He also said that the other group who signed the petition, the Residential Action Coalition, had not qualified for standing before ABRA, and would no longer be considered a petitioner. However, the SDCA may continue the petitioning process before the ABC Board, which will next consider the matter on May 22.
• In answer to audience questions, Berman said that the normal term for moratoriums was five years, but could be renewed. He then said that, once enacted, no liquor license moratorium had ever been dissolved.
• Beistline said the MPD could not supply relevant crime statistics because there were none available. A new computer system was being put in place, she explained, and some statistics were still inaccurate.
• Sterling then pleaded the SDCA’s case for the moratorium. She noted the difficulty in getting the DC government to enforce the law concerning the percentage of street frontage that can be given to liquor licensees on any block. (The Uptown Arts District Overlay limits the square footage of ground-floor storefronts serving food/drink on each block to 50% of all square footage facing the street on that block. The percentage was increased to 50% from 25% in 2010.)
• Sterling also noted that there are now 16,000 combined seats in the establishments of the liquor licensees in the zone. She said that, since the zone had well over 18 liquor licensees, it met ABRA’s definition of an “overconcentration” of licensees. “Moratoriums are temporary,” Sterling added.

Testimony from Attendees

After Sterling’s statement, the floor was turned over to the public. “Let’s keep this civil,” Leffler reminded. People lined up in an orderly manner to speak. Nearly every person stated his or her name and address or ANC district. Here is a selection of comments:

• “I oppose the moratorium. I vote and I’ll remember.”
• “This process draws in thousands and thousands of man-hours. It’s a complete waste of resources. Six people made us come here. It’s time to reform the system.”
•  “I have been awakened at all hours of the night by music I can literally sing along to.”
• “I’m strongly opposed. I love the vibrancy. It’s just awesome.”
• “The moratorium is too blunt an instrument.”
• “There’s no actual evidence that the moratorium will lead to prosperity.”
• “A lot of people are saying that there are other solutions. What? Will someone pick up my trash?”
• “Why stall development in the neighborhood?”
• “Remember the Georgetown moratorium. It didn’t fix the noise, the parking, the litter.”
• “A moratorium is not right. Hold each bar and restaurant responsible.”
• “It’s anti-small business, anti-competition. I’m inalterably opposed.”
• “It’s good to see people getting involved.”
• “It’s kind of a joke that we’re here tonight.”
• “I like vibrancy.”
• “My fear is stagnation in the community,” said a man identified on Twitter as the owner of DC9 nightclub. He went on to say that retail space should be encouraged, ways should be found for rents to be lower, there should be tax relief, and ABRA should be convinced to work on “bad apple” liquor licensees.
• The only sign of incivility occurred toward the end when one man, a moratorium supporter, decided to take aim at the newly opened Matchox restaurant at 14th and T NW. He disparaged the restaurant and its food, much to the surprise of other attendees.

Next Steps

“That was fantastic,” Jeremy Leffler said after the final testimony. “I’m impressed by the turnout, passion and research.” To conclude the meeting, each ANC briefly outlined their next steps.

• Leffler said that ANC1B’s liquor license affairs committee would meet tonight, March 21, at the Thurgood Marshall Center. A vote on the proposed moratorium is on the agenda. The committee’s recommendation would then be considered when ANC1B has its regular monthly meeting on April 4 at the Reeves Center.
• Raymond said that ANC2F would have its regular monthly meeting on April 3 and a vote on the moratorium would be on the agenda.
• O’Connor said that ANC2B would consider the issue on its May 8 meeting, before which he hoped to have one or two more listening sessions.

Attendees lined up to speak at Wednesday night’s town hall. (David McAuley)

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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

The area of the proposed liquor license moratorium for the 14th and U area.

Reminder: The town hall format joint meeting of three local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) will take place tonight, March 20, at 7 pm at the Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th Street NW).  ANC 1B’s website says the purpose of the meeting is to get residents’ input on the proposed liquor license moratorium for 14th and U Street NW area. There will be no votes, motions or resolutions at the meeting.

“We want to be able to address any questions people may have about the process or about specific aspects of the moratorium,” said ANC 2B Commissioner Kevin O’Connor. O’Connor is the commissioner for district 02 and chair of the ANC 2B committee for liquor license issues.

This meeting has also been touted as a “listening session.”

What Will the Commissioners Listen For?

1. The effect of a moratorium on peace, order, quiet and sanitation.

Commissioner O’Connor said that members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) had been invited to the meeting, and what they have to say will be important. In their original petition, advocates of the moratorium point to data, which they say indicates high levels of violent and non-violent crime in the proposed moratorium area.

But others, such as ANC 2F Commissioner John Fanning, contend that moratorium area crime rate “actually declined according to MPD Crime Statistics.” These views cannot both be right, so look for expert testimony on this matter. Fanning is the commissioner for district 04 and chair of the ANC 2F committee for liquor license issues.

2. The effect of the moratorium on residential parking needs and pedestrian safety.

Can the pro-moratorium forces link U Street’s dangerous intersections and parking shortages to the number of liquor licensees? Again, law enforcement’s opinion may be key.

3. Testimony from local business.

The voice of local business has largely been absent from the public discussions at ANC meetings. Commissioners have publicly speculated that current liquor license holders are quietly hoping the moratorium will pass, because a moratorium will both shield them from prospective competitors and increase the value of existing liquor licenses. Of special interest will be statements from small business owners who are also local residents.

4. The number of voices each side can muster.

An obvious and important factor: Partisans of both sides believe that their opponents exaggerate the number of people who support them. The anti-moratorium group characterizes the pro-moratorium side as a small group of NIMBY homeowners. How much pro-moratorium testimony will there be from local residents who are not connected to the Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance, the spearhead of the movement?

The anti-moratorium camp has a strong online presence but can’t seem to always muster a similar number of the live human beings to sit through the often-tedious government meetings where the decisions get made. The pro-moratorium side is not impressed with online anti-moratorium sentiment, petitions and comment.

The pro-moratorium side contends that at least some, perhaps many, of the participants in these activities are not actually local residents. If local residents come out in large numbers to speak against the moratorium, it will put a serious dent in that argument.

What Happens After The Meeting

It’s unclear what the post-listening session game plan is. Can the three participating ANCs speak with one voice?

“Going forward, I think we all agree that it benefits us all to try and take a similar action on the moratorium issue. We have the opportunity to make the greatest impact if we act together,” said O’Connor in an email.

During a recent ANC meeting, O’Connor also said he hoped that the town hall meeting would be the first of several, but there is evidence that the two other ANCs plan to move ahead quickly after this single meeting.

“I intend to offer a resolution for a vote on the moratorium at ANC 2F’s monthly meeting on April 3,” ANC2F Commission Chair Matt Raymond (district 07) said in an email. “It will not be in support of the moratorium. Whether it would be language outright opposing the moratorium or seeking changes to it is something I will decide after March 20.”

Meanwhile, the liquor license affairs subcommittee of ANC 1B will meet publicly the evening following the listening session, ANC 1B liquor license committee chair Jeremy Leffler (Commissioner for district 02) said in an email. A report that there will be an up-or-down vote about the moratorium at this meeting could not be confirmed. Any recommendation emerging from this meeting would then be considered by ANC 1B as a whole.

“It’s my understanding that the full ANC 1B will vote on the moratorium on April 4, the day after ANC 2F does so. I also understand that ANC 2B might not vote on the moratorium until its May meeting,” Raymond said.

“It’s my goal, and I think it’s achievable, that all three of the remaining ANCs that haven’t taken a formal position might be able to agree on identical resolutions, which we believe will carry greater weight with the ANC Board than divergent opinions.”

The fourth ANC, 6E in Shaw, has already voted against the moratorium and will not be participating in the town hall tonight.

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The zone for the proposed liquor license moratorium for the 14th and U NW area.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 1B, 2B/Dupont and 2F/Logan are hosting a public town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 20 to discuss the proposed liquor moratorium for the 14th and U Streets NW area. The meeting of the three ANCs will take place at The Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th Street NW) at 7 pm.

According to the organizing ANCs, “Though this is the only joint meeting being held on the proposal, ANCs may hold additional smaller meetings — decisions or actions will not be taken at this meeting. Organizers intend to give each participant one to two minutes to speak and request that members of the community direct their comments to the ANC Commissioners present.” (See Liquor License Moratorium Roadshow Visits ANC 2F.)

The Proposed Liquor Moratorium

The Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance (SDCA) and the Residential Action Coalition (RAC) citizen groups have filed a petition with the DC Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) to establish a liquor license moratorium zone for the 14th and U Street NW corridor. The two groups request that a circular zone be established that extends 1,800 feet from 1211 U Street NW.

So far, almost 1,000 residents have signed a petition against the moratorium. ANC 1B briefly discussed the proposed moratorium on February 7, but there was no official motion or vote on the meeting or any other aspect of the moratorium. 

The filing of the moratorium petition by SDCA and RAC came just days after Mayor Vincent Gray officially enacted major changes to laws and regulations pertaining to alcohol sales. Among the changes in the law is a provision that would dismiss any liquor license protest by a group of five or more residents if an applicant reaches an agreement with their ANC.

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