From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
The Men’s Parties club was on the second floor of 1618 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan may vote to oppose the demolition of 1618 14th Street NW, former site of the sex club, “Men Parties.”
At last night’s meeting, ANC 2F’s Community Development Committee (CDC) voted 6-0 to recommend the full ANC not support an application to DC’s Historical Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for a raze permit for the building. The demolition requires permission from the HPRB because the building is within the boundaries of the Fourteenth Street Historic District.
There was a death at the club in 2009 which led DC to file suit to close the club.
Jeff Owens appeared before the committee to plead the case of the building’s owner, Stephen Jaffe. Reports indicate Jaffe has been the owner since before the 2009 incident.
Owens said the building had been gutted and is now exposed to the elements. He also said the building’s perimeter wall is buckling and the floor joists are gone. Neighborhood residents testified the building is neglected and some windows are open permanently.
Owens also said there is a tentative plan for a new building on the site which would have retail on the first floor and apartments above.
Neighborhood residents testified the building has been an eyesore for years and there were many unsuccessful attempts by neighbors to do something about it. One neighbor brought up the owner’s responsibility for the club and the 2009 death.
“He [Jaffe] knows nothing about that,” Owens said.
Members of the committee came out strongly in favor of preserving the building.
“This is the type of case that historic preservation laws have been designed to protect,” said one committee member.
“This is an absolute case of demolition by neglect,” said another.
“It’s a contributing building,” said committee chair Walt Cain, ANC commissioner for district 02.
The matter may be next considered at the regular monthly meeting of ANC 2F. This is scheduled for Wednesday, July 10, at 7 pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle NW.
A notice that an application to raze the building had been filed first appeared at the property in April of this year.
From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
At its second listening session on the East Dupont liquor license moratorium last night, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont released a list of moratorium-related questions and asked concerned residents to submit their comments electronically on all or some of them. The group email address for the commissioners is: 17thStCommissioners [at] dupontcircleanc dot net.
Map of Dupont East Moratorium Zone from ANC2B (Courtesy ANC 2B)
The Dupont East liquor license moratorium is often called the 17th Street Moratorium.
The Questions
- How has the 17th Street moratorium positively or negatively impacted your vision for the neighborhood?
- Do you have concerns about licensed establishments in the neighborhood and do you think a moratorium appropriately and effectively addresses them?
- What is the single primary concern in the neighborhood that a moratorium is currently addressing?
- If restrictions on the number of restaurant licenses were lifted, do you think the ANC should implement a policy attempting to limit the operations of new restaurants, including hours of operation?
- What are your specific expectations/desires if the moratorium expires?
- How do you suggest the ANC vote in this matter?
- If you favor letting the moratorium expire, are there any restrictions that you would want the ANC to attempt to achieve by other means, e.g., size, outdoor service hours, indoor service hours, security plan? Any restrictions that would be specific to particular addresses?
- If you favor extending the moratorium as it is, what specific concerns do you have about what would happen in the absence of a moratorium?
- If you have lived near 17th Street or have visited 17th Street for a long time, describe how things have changed since the moratorium went into effect in 1990. Describe specific situations that have been improved or not allowed to increase as the result of the moratorium.
- If you are willing to see additional restaurants or no restrictions on the number of restaurants, are there any restrictions that you would want the ANC to attempt to achieve by other means, e.g., size, outdoor service hours, indoor service hours, security plan? Any restrictions that would be specific to particular addresses?
- Identify vacant retail spaces in the East Dupont Moratorium Zone (see map) and describe what sort of occupant you would like to see and your ideas about how residents could assist the realization of your vision?
Monday-Night Meeting
The listening session was sparsely attended. Many seats were empty. I heard four people who were not familiar faces from previous meetings on various liquor license moratoriums express their opinions. Of these, one declared himself for preserving the moratorium as is. He identified himself as a long-term resident of the area, a profession economist, and a former ANC Commissioner.
“Passing laws and changing policies is not always the answer,” he said.
Two newer residents, both women, said they wished to see the moratorium scrapped entirely.
One man remarked on the longevity of the 23-year-old moratorium. “We need to hang it up if we haven’t thought of alternatives by now,” he said.
Fred Moosally, Director of DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), gave a short talk on liquor license moratoriums at the beginning of the meeting.
About the timing of ANC 2B’s decision, Moosally said, “The sooner we get something, the better.”
If no action is taken, the moratorium will expire on September 23.
“The Board won’t decide to extend [the moratorium] without a request,” Moosally said. This means ANC 2B would have to get any request to ABRA quickly after its regular monthly meeting in August, when it plans to address the matter.
Community groups may also file independent requests to extend the moratorium.
At the May listening session, there was talk of scrapping the East Dupont moratorium for restaurant licenses only. As a result, at this session, there was a discussion of how to prevent restaurant licensees from turning their establishments into de facto nightclubs or taverns. Moosally said ABRA was the enforcer for violations of license terms, and could issues citations and fines. ABRA will also send investigators into restaurant licensees to check if food is really available, if they receive complaints.
However, Moosally admitted it is often a lengthly and time-consuming process to prove restaurant licensees are not operating according to the terms of their license. Restaurant licensees cannot have more than 45% of their total revenues from alcohol sales, but ABRA requires four full quarters of data to take action.
The Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to an invitation to address the meeting.
ANC 2B Commissioners in attendance were: Kevin O’Connor, 2B-02, Stephanie Maltz, 2B-03, Kishan Putta, 2B-04, Abigail Nichols, 2B-05, Leo Dwyer, 2B-07, and Noah Smith, 2B-09.
Logan Circle Heritage Trail. (Courtesy)
If you want to support the Logan Circle Heritage Trail here is your opportunity. On Wednesday, June 26, Whole Foods Market on P Street will donate 5% of the store’s net sales.
At the same time, Logan Circle Community Association (LCCA) volunteers and Heritage Trail partners from Cultural Tourism DC will be at Whole Foods to tell customers about the new trail.
Two-and-a-half years in the making, the 15 signs that will mark the walking trail have been finalized and should be in the ground by the beginning of July at the latest. The trail will officially open on Saturday, July 13. There will be a public opening ceremony in the early afternoon in Logan Circle. After some time to explore the trail itself, a celebratory event will take place at the Studio Theater (1501 14th Street NW) from 5 to 7 pm. Local politicians, dignitaries and celebrities are expected to attend.
Stops on the Trail
The trail will have 15 stops in all, starting at the Jewish Community Center and ending at the Studio Theater. Other stops will include:
- St. Luke’s Church (1514 15th Street)
- “Automobile Row” (Church and 14th Streets)
- Whitman-Walker Clinic (1701 14th Street)
- Louise Hand Laundry (1404 12th Street)
- Korean Legation (15 Logan Circle)
- Mary McLeod Bethune House (1318 Vermont Avenue)
- Luther Place Memorial Church (1226 Vermont Avenue)
- National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle)
The Details
- What: Support Logan Circle Heritage Trail. Whole Foods Market will donate 5% of its net sales.
- When: Wednesday June 26, from 8 am to 10:30 pm
- Where: Whole Foods Market, 1440 P Street NW
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Map of Dupont East Moratorium Zone. (Courtesy ANC 2B)
The liquor licensing (ABRA Policy) committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont will hold a meeting tonight, June 24. Time is 7 pm in the ground-floor ballroom of the Chastleton Cooperative (1701 16th Street NW).
The meeting will be the second of three listening sessions on the possible extension of the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone, also known as the 17th Street Moratorium. The ANC asks that members of the public come and let ANC commissioners know their opinion on the moratorium, which is set to expire September 23.
Representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department and DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) have also been invited to attend the meeting.
According to a new blog post on ANC2B’s website, the moratorium was put in place in 1990. It was renewed in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. It currently limits the liquor-selling establishments in the zone to two liquor stories, two grocery stores, 16 restaurants, and two taverns. No nightclub licenses are permitted in the moratorium zone.
There are currently five liquor license moratoriums in DC, including East Dupont Circle. No liquor license moratorium, once in effect, has ever been completely repealed.
After consulting community opinion, the ANC may make a recommendation to DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board on this matter. The ANC may recommend continuing the moratorium or modifying it. Under law, the ABC Board must give ANC opinions “great weight,” but it is not obligated to agree with ANC opinion.
ABC Board decisions on liquor license moratoriums are normally approved by the DC Council and signed into law without modification.
At a meeting of ANC 2B’s liquor licensing affairs committee meeting on June 19, ANC 2B Committee Chair Kevin O’Connor said, based on his observation of the ANC Board’s reaction to the recent debate on the proposed U Street liquor license moratorium, the Board would be unlikely to agree with a resolution to continue the moratorium without modification.
“An ‘as is’ moratorium would be dead on arrival,” he said.
If the ANC decides to let the moratorium expire, it may simply choose to take no action. However, community groups may independently petition the ABC Board for an extension of the moratorium.
At the previous listening session on May 22, opinion was divided on the moratorium, with nearly equal numbers of speakers for and against. A compromise solution to lift the moratorium on new restaurant liquor licenses only was discussed.
If you can’t make the meeting, the ANC is also encouraging people to send their comments by email to 17thStCommissioners [at] dupontcircleanc dot net.
There will be a final listening session on Wednesday, August 7. It is planned that the committee’s draft proposal will be made public at this meeting. After further public comment, the full ANC will then consider the proposal at its regular monthly meeting the following week, Wednesday, August 14.
From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Editor’s Note: The posting of this article generated interest in this topic and comments on the City Paper Housing Blog and Greater Greater Washington Breakfast Links. As a result, the architect involved re-examined whether a zoning variance for reduced parking is actually necessary. The answer seems to be “no,” because the building was built before 1959, the year the current zoning regime went into effect. Thank you to readers for their help.
Scottish Rite Temple at 16th and S Streets NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont modified a resolution last week in hopes of protecting the green space facing 15th Street NW behind the Scottish Rite Temple (1733 16th Street).
The modification was part of a larger resolution to endorse the general facelift for the 97-year-old building and its surrounding grounds. ANC 2B’s Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee approved the general renovation plan in a meeting the previous week.
The Scottish Rite Temple reportedly supports preserving the green space as well. However, DC zoning requirements specify that a building of the Scottish Rite Temple’s size have more than 100 parking spaces available.
Currently, there are less than 50 spaces, which are used by the Temple’s permanent staff. In order to satisfy the parking requirement, the Temple would have to pave over its entire property to the street. It does not wish to do so. On the occasions when the Temple is full to near-capacity, it uses shuttle buses from nearby hotels and other locations to ferry participants to the site.
To preserve its green space, the Temple will require a zoning variance.
At the previous week’s ZPD meeting, representatives of Hartman-Cox Architects said that part of the green space will have to be given up temporarily to serve as a staging area and space for temporary office trailers connected with the renovation. But after the renovation is complete, the plan is return the space to its original condition.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
A surprise appearance by unhappy neighbors caused Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont to recommend delaying approval of a proposed expansion of a row house at 1451 S Street NW.
Expansion at 1451 S Street NW does not require zoning approval or variance of any kind. (Luis Gomez Photos)
ANC 2B voted unanimously at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 12, to ask DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) to delay consideration of the project until its July meeting, a one-month delay. This reverses the recommendation to green-light the project made the previous week by ANC 2B’s Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee.
The project does not require zoning approval or variance of any kind.
Trout Design Studio, an architecture firm, presented in support of a proposal, which would add a third story with a master bedroom to the house. The third story will not be visible from the street, but will be visible from the rear alley.
Trout Design Studio presented letters of support from neighbors at 1435 and 1461 S Street. They also presented a letter of support from 1515 Caroline Street. This address, Trout Design Studio claimed, abutted the house from the rear. However, ANC Commissioners pointed out the abutting house to the rear actually fronts onto Swann Street. Caroline Street is one block north and one block west, across 15th Street.
The residents of the abutting house to the west appeared before the committee. “Things have not gone well,” one of them said.
The first meeting with the architects concerning the expansion had only occurred the previous Sunday, he said. The neighbor said he was concerned about how the expansion would change the block.
“This will be replicated on every house,” he said.
It was also reported that Trout Design Studio had tried and failed the previous evening to obtain an endorsement for the project from Dupont Circle Conservancy. The Conservancy does not normally provide official rationales for its decisions. A representative of the Conservancy explained the Conservancy was concerned because the expansion resembled ones they had seen that eventually became multi-residence condominiums.
Efforts by Trout Design Studio and the ANC to contact the abutting neighbor to the east were unsuccessful. This neighbor did not appear at the meeting. One of the residents of abutting house to the west reported that he contacted the man who lived in the abutting house to the east the previous Sunday.
“He does not use email,” he said. “He had no idea.”
In the light of this new information, Commissioner Noah Smith, 2B-09, withdrew his original motion to endorse the expansion, and the ANC instead requested a one-month delay to get more input from the neighbors.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
15th Street NW Bike lane. (Luis Gomez Photos)
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will repave the two-way bicycle lane on 15th Street NW.
The news was announced at the monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont on Wednesday, July 12. The repaving will be finished by the end of the summer, according to Commissioner Noah Smith, 2B-09, The path runs through Smith’s district.
The bike lanes are in serious need of assistance, with southbound lanes between Massachusetts and K Streets often resembling a washboard.
On his website, Smith adds that there will also be new signs and markings on the path. The news came after the last November’s ANC 2B resolution calling for improvements to the path, and subsequent lobbying of the DC Council.
Smith has also announced that, after ANC prodding, DDOT has agreed to a request to coordinate the pedestrian walk signals through Dupont Circle. It will no longer be necessary for pedestrians to stand on the median between four lanes of traffic when crossing into or out of the circle.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Taqueria Nacional at 1409 T Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
At its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, June 12, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont endorsed the request of Taqueria Nacional restaurant (1409 T Street NW) for outdoor seating. Tacqueria Nacional opened its doors on May 15.
ANC 2B approved a resolution supporting the public space application with a proviso saying the outdoor seating have shorter hours of operation than the indoor portion of the restaurant.
The public space can operate from 10 am until 11 pm Monday to Thursday, and midnight Friday and Saturday. Taqueria Nacional has an fountain in its outdoor area.
Elwin Ferris, Secretary of the Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance told the ANC the restaurant should remember to drain the fountain every evening at the close of business. The neighborhood has a rat problem, Ferris said, and an open fountain would give the vermin population an addition place to find water.
Restaurant management said they currently drain the fountain every night and intend to continue doing so. Drunk passersby using the fountain as a urinal was a concern, the management said.
A neighbor testified the fountain is drained nightly and covered.
The ANC voted to include a clause in its resolution noting with approval this practice, in the hopes it will continue.
The public space use application now goes to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for final approval.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Policy on 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Raj Multhani, manager of Policy Restaurant (1904 14th Street NW), is seeking to terminate an agreement because he says it puts the restaurant at a competitive disadvantage.
“This agreement has hamstrung this establishment,” Multhani told the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Committee 2B/Dupont on June 12. ANC 2B voted to protest termination of the agreement when the matter comes before DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.
Liquor-serving establishments in the Borderstan area normally enter into “settlement agreements” (formerly known as “voluntary agreements”) with local ANCs, community groups and neighbors.
These agreements normally may deal with the hours of operation of the establishment (both inside and outside if applicable), the time and frequency of garbage pickup, vermin control, valet parking, outdoor seating and other details.
Policy Restaurant’s settlement agreement is with ANC 2B, the Dupont Circle Citizens Association and a group of five neighbors. Since Policy has opened, many restaurants with more liberal settlement agreements have started up nearby.
“Things have changed around us,” Multhani said. “No other establishment has the restrictions that Policy has.”
Multhani and his attorney talked about the ways that their current settlement agreement limits Policy’s ability to operate. Policy cannot expand into its basement space. It must restrict the hours when it can receive deliveries to an even narrow period than that allowed by law. It cannot offer live music.
The most contentious issue, however, seems to be hours of operation. The current settlement agreement specifically lists Policy’s hours of operation, which are also the same hours that restaurants are normally allowed to operate. However, several times a year the DC government gives liquor licensees leave to stay open later on special occasions, most frequently on the Sunday evening of three-day weekends.
When Policy wishes to stay open as late as its neighbors, it must seek out all of the parties to their settlement agreement and get their permission. Some parties have refused to give permission.
Elwyn Ferris, Secretary of the Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance, appeared as a representative of the group of five neighbors.
“It is vitally important that the voluntary agreement stay in place,” Ferris said.
Commissioner Noah Smith, 2B-09, proposed the motion to protest the termination of the settlement agreement, but said that he hoped he could help negotiate an agreement which is satisfactory to all sides.
Policy Restaurant opened near the corner of T and 14th Street in 2009. It has sponsored benefits for Haiti and Toys for Tots.
The final vote was 8-0 to protest the termination of the settlement agreement. Commissioner Mike Silverstein, 2B-06, recused himself from the vote because his position on the DC Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; Silverstein recuses himself on all ANC 2B liquor licensing matters.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Cafe Ghana at 1336 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
The owner of Cafe Ghana asked for assistance from MPD at last week’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle meeting.
After a briefing on local crime by a representative of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the proprietor of the Ghana Cafe (1336 14th Street) told the committee homeless people were harassing people in front of his restaurant.
He also reported homeless people participating in oral sex at a nearby bus stop. By the time police responded, the proprietor said, the behaviors had ceased. The MPD representative pledged to work on the problem.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Garrison Elementary School. (Luis Gomez Photos)
At its regular monthly meeting last week, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle Commissioner Matt Connelly, 2F-08, reported good news and bad news for Garrison Elementary School (1200 S Street NW). The good news is that money to begin a long-delayed renovation of the school had been found in the DC budget, and the push to find more money is continuing.
The bad news is that sink holes are opening up in the school’s fields. Engineers were hired to study the holes and recommend action.
They completed their study. But the engineers will not release their findings. The reason: DC’s Department of General Services is refusing to pay the engineers.
“Government at its finest,” remarked ANC 2F Chair Matt Raymond, 2F-07.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Compass Rose still fighting opposition at 1346 T Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Rose Previte and David Greene, aspiring proprietors of the bar/restaurant Compass Rose (1346 T Street NW), will try to take another slow painful step toward operation next Tuesday. That’s when the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) will hear the request of the Shaw Dupont Citizens Alliance (SDCA) for a decision that will effectively prevent Compass Rose from opening.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street weighed in on the side of Compass Rose against the SDCA at its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, June 6. A motion by Commissioner Jeremy Leffler, 1B-02, to write a letter to the BZA supporting Compass Rose passed unanimously. Leffler is also the chair of ANC 1B’s liquor licensing affairs committee.
Previte and Greene announced their intention to open Compass Rose in January. They received the go-ahead for their liquor license in April in spite of resistance from the SDCA.
The SDCA is also the petitioner for a liquor license moratorium in the 14th and U Street area.
The story of the SDCA’s second front against Compass Rose is a complicated saga of the Uptown Arts-Mixed Use (ARTS) Overlay District, a zone created by the DC government in the hopes of encouraging development on the 14th and U Street corridors. This zoning overlay was supposed to limit the size and number of liquor licensees by limiting the frontage of liquor-licensees on any block to 50 percent.
The SDCA contends ANC1B and DC authorities have been deaf to its appeals to enforce the Overlay District, and more than one block in the area exceeds the 50 percent limit.
“The ANC has, on multiple occasions, discussed tools and other solutions to address the over concentration of liquor licenses (as opposed to a moratorium). When they had an opportunity to support the use of tools and solutions such as the enforcement of the ARTs Overlay, they refused to do so,” Sterling said in an email.
I am not a lawyer but, as far as I can tell from looking at the documents, there are two major points of contention. They are:
- Is the ARTS Overlay District intended to apply only to businesses facing 14th Street, or does the district wrap around the corner of T Street? If the latter is the case, then Compass Rose, which will face T Street, will be subject to their restrictions.
- Assuming the district wraps around to include T Street, does the total frontage of the area include more than 50 percent liquor licensees? In this case, there is a disagreement about whether the nearby Source Theater (1835 14th Street) is considered a liquor licensee for the purpose of frontage calculation. The Source Theater has a liquor license, but its primary use is not as an eating or drinking establishment, so DC authorities have ruled it should not count toward the frontage limit. The SDCA disagrees. If the Source Theater is not included in the frontage calculation, Compass Rose may open without exceeding the 50 percent limit.
“If the Board decides to deliberate, they would have 90 days to make a decision. We’ve already invested tens of thousands of dollars. As a tiny business, we watch every cent. Every day we are delayed and can’t open, it becomes harder. Three more months could be devastating,” Previte said in an email.
The public hearing concerning the SDCA’s petition will take place on Tuesday, June 18, at 1pm, at the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment, 441 4th Street NW.
Documents relating to the case can be viewed at the Interactive Zoning Information System of Office of Zoning by entering case number 18568 into the search bar.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
AME Zion Church at 14th and Corcoran Streets NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
At the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle meeting last week the Rev. Vernon A. Shannon of the John Wesley AME Zion Church (14th and Corcoran Streets NW) asked for the commission to support a shift of the northbound 14th Street bicycle lane as it passes by the church building.
Members of the church, he said, were getting ticketed when they double-parked in the bicycle lanes while preparing to depart in funeral processions. The Rev. Shannon previously brought this problem to the ANC’s attention during its March community forum on Sunday parking. There is a long tradition in DC of churchgoers double parking near churches.
Although the church and DC Department of Transportation have worked around the issue, a solution is still to be reached.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Site of proposed apartments on 1400 block of Church street NW. (Luis GOmez Photos)
At its regular monthly meeting Wednesday night, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle voted on an unusual residential development on Church Street
The full ANC concurred with last month’s Community Development Committee recommendation to support the application by Brook Rose Development for zoning relief on its proposed development at 1456, 1458 and 1460 Church Street NW. The new apartment buildings, as planned, will contain 37 rental units. The size of each unit will be 250 to 400 square feet, and will rent for $1800 to $2000 per month.
An unusual aspect of the development is that tenants will be required by the terms of their lease to refrain from applying for a Residential Parking Permit (RPP). Applying for an RPP will be grounds for termination of the lease.
It is possible to get information about RPP applications from the DC government through a Freedom of Information act request. Otherwise, DC authorities were “reluctant” to give out this information.
Commissioner John Fanning, 2F-04, had concerns about the monitoring, reporting, oversight and enforcement of this part of the lease agreement.
“I think that we need to have some clearer oversight,” Fanning said.
Commissioner Cain said the developers had promised to report to the ANC on a quarterly basis, and might be open to more frequent reporting if asked. Cain also said there was no enforcement mechanism.
“We’re just going to take their word for it,” Fanning concluded.
There was a discussion of the limits of ANC authority to make and enforce agreements, and also the future of parking regulation in the light of planned changes in DC zoning regulations that will essentially eliminate the requirement for parking in new construction.
The final vote was 7-0 in favor of support the application for zoning relief, with Fanning abstaining.
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From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.
Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans. (Luis Gomez Photos)
DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) will come back to the heart of 14th Street to announce his candidacy for DC Mayor tomorrow morning, Saturday, June 8. Then he’ll be hanging around to participate in the Capital Pride Parade, the culminating event of Capital Pride Week, according to Evans’ Facebook page.
Go ahead and get your picture taken with him – you know you want to do it.
Evans-spotting: Where to Go
Evans’ official declaration will take place at 10am in front of newly-opened Le Diplomate Restaurant at 14th and Q Streets NW. Evans has said the choice of location highlights the renaissance of the Logan Circle area.
The Capital Pride Parade will start at 4:30pm at the corner of P and 22nd Streets. It is expected to last three hours. The end point will be at R and 14th Streets.
Evans and the Local Issues
Evans has a long history of ties to the area. His most recent City Council campaign was headquartered was at 1402 14th Street NW, near the corner of Rhode Island Avenue.
In 2012, Evans opposed the proposed closing of Garrison Elementary School at 1200 S Street. In January 2013, the decision was reversed. Evans is also on record as supporting the prompt and complete renovation of the school, which is currently in search of funds in the city budget.
Well-known local landmarks like the P Street Whole Foods, the Washington Convention Center, the Watha T. Daniel Library and the future City Market at O Street in Shaw were established with Evans’ help and influence.
More recently, Evans declared his opposition to the proposed U Street liquor license moratorium in a letter to the DC Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Other announced candidates for DC Mayor include Councilmembers Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). Current DC Mayor Vincent Gray and Councilmember David Catania are rumored to be pondering a run as well.
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