Advisory Neighborhood Commission
6D
Present: Commissioners
Hamilton, Litsky, McBee, Moffatt, Siegel, Skolnik, and Sobelsohn.
The meeting was convened at 7:00
p.m.
1. Agenda
The
agenda, moved by Commissioner Sobelsohn and seconded by Commissioner Litsky,
was approved without objection.
2. Commissioner Announcements
Commissioner Sobelsohn
announced that roundtables sponsored by the ANC, SWNA and the South
Washington/West of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative (SWWR) to
discuss neighborhood priorities for community benefits for Southwest would be
held on May 19th and 21st.
Commissioner Litsky
announced that Councilmember Wells and other city officials would lead a walk
about in the area south of M Street to identify trouble spots of various kinds,
on Thursday, May 24th, meeting at 4th and O Streets at
6:30 p.m.
3.
Community Concerns
Gene Solon, of Harbor
Square, made remarks about transportation planning for Southwest.
Paul Greenberg, president of
Tiber Island Homes board, commented on its opposition to the Waterfront
project.
Gerald Schwinn, a librarian
at the Southwest branch of the library, spoke in support of opening a coffee
house at the library.
4.
Old
Business
Forest
City/Waterfront Mall PUD
David
Smith of Forest City Washington, and Gordon Fraley, of Charles E. Smith/Vornado
presented the plans for Waterside/Waterfront Mall prior to a hearing at the
Zoning Commission on June 7th for approval of a revised 1st
Stage PUD.
They
reviewed plans for the project: the
first stage will be 2.5 million square feet, comprised of the two office towers
and two residential buildings. The
existing Mall will be demolished, and the east and west towers will have their
skins stripped and their systems upgraded, but will keep the same size and
shape. They plan to make the re-opened
4th Street corridor the focal point of the project, with a lot of
activity on the street. There will be
retail on 4th and M Streets, and there will be landscaping on the
east and west plazas of the development.
There will be special traffic calming measures. The project will contain 125,000 square feet
of small and local retail space, and 160,00 square feet total of affordable
housing, both at 50% of AMI and workforce housing at 80% of AMI. The office buildings will be built to Silver
LEED standards, and they will coordinate with Marina View Towers to coordinate
the M Street setback. They have
developed at construction security plan, and have committed 1000 square feet
for community use, although, they said, the City is obligated to provide space
for ANCs, and will carve out such space “if they want to be good
citizens.” The residential buildings
will be 114’ high, and the office structures will remain at 130’.
They
reported that there would be a full service grocery store. If negotiations with Safeway, which are
progressing, fail, they will make every effort to find a grocer to occupy the
555,000 sq. ft. space they are planning for that purpose. They will also seek to locate a “niche”
grocer in the space.
They
pledged to have on-going meetings about security during construction on an
on-going basis, and will have 24-hour security around the plaza.
Motion:
Commissioner Litsky moved/Commissioner Siegel
seconded a motion to support the application of Waterfront for its first stage
PUD before the Zoning Commission on June 6th. The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner
Moffatt in opposition.
Motion:
Commissioner Litsky moved/Commissioner Moffatt seconded a motion that
Commissioner Moffatt be authorized to represent the Commission before the
Zoning Commission.
1325
South Capitol Street
This
was a request for support of a resubmission of the plans for a residential
development at 1325 South Capitol Street, which the Zoning Commission requested
the applicant to do, changing the project to a PUD with a map amendment for a
change of zoning, prior to a hearing on May 31st.
Christine
Roddy, representing Camden Development, developers of the project, said the
plans were identical, but that the Zoning Commission felt that a PUD would be a
more comfortable fit for the development.
She said that the construction and management agreement between the ANC
and the Applicant would be put into the Zoning Commission order, and would have
the weight of Commission enforcement behind it. Motion: Commissioner
Hamilton moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to reaffirm the ANC’s
support for the residential project at 1325 South Capitol Street SE, The motion passed 7-0.
Arthur
Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI Project
David
Cortiella, of the DC Housing and Community Development Agency (DCDHC), the
project manager, presented an update of the progress on the Arthur
Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI development.
He said the first senior building was completed in December 2006 and now
has 162 living in it. The second senior
building will be completed in June, but there has been a change in the
occupancy designation, and while it will remain 100% public housing, it will
not be 100% senior housing. Seniors,
however, will have preference. He
reviewed the future development of both public and mixed income housing, which
will begin to be occupied in October 2007, and said that they had received a
#37.3 million PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) from the Federal government for
public infrastructure, the opening of I Street and the removal of the trash
transfer station. He said that DCDHC
was working with DC Public Schools for the joint redevelopment of Van Ness,
keeping the school at the same location.
5.
New Business
Supplemental
Stadium Surface Parking
Joel
Lawson of the DC Office of Planning appeared before the Commission to request
support for an emergency Zoning Commission application for potential surface
parking lots for use by season ticket holders for the ballpark, for a period of
five years. The hearing was scheduled
for May 21st.
Mr.
Lawson presented a plan showing seven lots, all but two east of South Capitol
Street and the remaining two on Buzzards Point. They could provide 3,375 parking spaces, which would be assigned
to season ticket holders and would be distributed by the Nationals on a
geographic basis. He said the plan had
been reviewed by DDOT and DCRA, and was based on the traffic plan prepared for
the stadium. The lots would be replaced
by underground parking in new buildings.
He said the lots would be available three hours before and after events
at the stadium, would be lit, and would probably be available to the public on
days when there was no event at the stadium.
The
discussion by the Commission focused on traffic patterns, particularly around
the Southwest lots, the fact that the stadium parking plan was flawed, and the
use of residential streets for stadium traffic. Motion: Commissioner
Litsky moved/Commissioner Skolnik seconded a motion to oppose the OP plan for
supplementary parking for the stadium before the Zoning Commission and to
authorize Commissioner Litsky to represent the Commission in the matter. The motion passed 5-0-2, with Commissioners
McBee and Hamilton abstaining.
6.
Committee Reports
Community Outreach and Grants
Southwester
Newspaper Boxes
The
Southwester newspaper submitted a proposal to the Commission for a $1000 grant
to acquire 10 newspaper boxes in order to expand the distribution of the paper
at locations throughout the Southwest community. Motion: Commissioner
Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to approve the
grant. It passed 7-0.
KidSafe
Class Trip
KidSafe,
an after-school program for children from Bowen and Amidon Schools, requested
$1000 to provide a day trip for 20 of the program’s children. The money will be used to rent a DC Ducks
vehicle for a city tour, and a bus to transport the children and chaperones to
and from Union Station. Motion: Mr. Sobelsohn made/Mr. Skolnik seconded a motion
to approve the grant. It passed 7-0.
Potbelly
Sandwich Works Update
Commissioner
Sobelsohn reported that he had reached an agreement with Potbelly Sandwich
Works that resolves a problem with one section of the previous agreement, and
provides an additional job fair for Southwest students. Motion: Commissioner Sobelsohn
moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to approve the agreement. It passed 7-0.
St.
Augustine’s Church Ramp
Commissioner
Sobelsohn reported that the Office of the Attorney General had issued a ruling
on whether the ANC could give a grant to a church. The opinion, however, had not been formally sent to the ANC
office, and so the grant will be on the agenda of the next meeting. The OAG says the ANC can give a grant to St.
Augustine’s.
Alcoholic Beverage and Licensing
Commissioner
Skolnik reported receiving a notice from ABRA that Jenny’s will have a license
renewal hearing at the end of July. The
issue was given to Committee Chair Alan Holland for action.
Development
There
was no Development Committee report.
7.
Minutes
Motion: Commissioner Skolnik moved/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded
a motion to approve the minutes for March. It passed 4-0-2, with Commissioners
Sobelsohn and Siegel abstaining.
Motion: Commissioner Skolnik moved/Commissioner McBee seconded a
motion to approve the minutes for April. It passed 8-1, with Commissioner
Sobelsohn abstaining.
8.
Treasurer’s
Report
Commissioner Skolnik presented the Treasurer's Report for April
9-May 14, 2007. A copy of his report is
attached to these minutes. ANC 6D has
$40,730.33 in current funds. The
savings account has $5,133.53, including an interest payment of $2.11. The report includes expenses submitted for
approval staff salary, $554.10 (Check #312), $108.04 to Verizon for telephone services
(Check #313); $90 to St. Augustine’s Church for space rental (Check #314);
$27.00 to the DC Treasurer for State withholding (Check #315); $275.40 to the
US Treasury, for Federal withholding (Check #316); $122.55 to Robert Siegel for
office supplies (Check #317); $100 to Roberta Weiner for petty cash (Check
#318); $17.87 to Andy Litsky for office supplies (Check #319);and $992.18 to
MPD-ID CAC for a Teen Summit grant (Check #320) Motion: Commissioner
Skolnik made/Commissioner McBee seconded a motion to approve the May report and
to authorize payment of the expenses. The motion passed 7-0.
Motion: Commissioner Skolnik made/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion
to approve the Quarterly Report for the second quarter of FY07. It passed 5-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn
in opposition.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 pm.