Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D
Business Meeting
Courtyard Marriott – Washington Capitol Hill

September 14, 2009
Andy Litsky, Chairman

Minutes

As Approved by ANC 6D, October 14, 2009


Commissioner Litsky called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Present: Commissioners Hamilton, Jorgensen, Litsky, McBee, Moffatt, Siegel, Sobelsohn.

 

1.  Agenda.

Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to approve the agenda as proposed.  Without objection, the following commissioners moved to amend the proposed agenda as follows:

 

Commissioner Litsky: to add a proposed intermodel transportation center at Banneker Overlook, an amendment to the voluntary agreement for the Bullpen, a proposed chainlink fence on South Capitol Street, and St. Augustine Episcopal Church’s invitation to participate in its autumn carnival.

 

Commissioner Siegel: to add a discussion of a proposed Square 697 alley closing.

 

Commissioner Jorgensen: to add an update on the park at 6th and I Streets, SW.

 

Commissioner McBee: to add Westminster Presbyterian Church’s application to hold its Jazz Preservation Festival in the park at 6th & I Streets, SW.

 

As amended, the motion to approve the agenda passed 6-0.  Commissioner Hamilton did not vote.

 

2.  July Minutes.

 

Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to approve the proposed July 13, 2009 minutes.  Commissioner Moffatt moved/Commissioner McBee seconded to amend the proposed July minutes to indicate, as to each motion, in addition to the name of each commissioner who abstained the number of commissioners who abstained.  The motion to amend passed 6-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn opposed.  The motion to approve the July minutes, as amended, passed 7-0.

 

3.  Liquor Licenses.

 

    a.  Generally.

 

Commissioner McBee moved/Commissioner Hamilton seconded that “The ANC6D eliminates the requirement that Voluntary Agreements include the statement that ‘clear plastic bags will be used for sales of alcoholic beverages’ and instead indicates that it is not a requirement that this statement be included in future Voluntary Agreements.”  Commissioner Moffatt moved to amend the motion to retain a blanket requirement to package, in clear plastic bags, all single sales of beer, malt liquor, ale, or spirits.  The motion failed for want of a second.  Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to amend the motion by adding, after the word “requirement,” the phrase “going forward.”  The motion to amend passed 6-1, with Commissioner Moffatt opposed.  The main motion passed 5-2, with Commissioners Moffatt and Sobelsohn opposed.

 

    b.  Specific Applications

 

        1)  Safeway.

 

Commissioner Moffatt moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to designate Commissioner McBee and Alcohol Beverage Control Committee chair Coralie Farlee to represent ANC 6D at hearings of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission on the Southwest Safeway’s pending application for a Class B liquor license.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

        2)  Bullpen.

 

In April, across N Street from Nationals Park’s centerfield gate, Fairgrounds LLC opened an open-air beer garden it calls the Bullpen.  ANC 6D supported Fairgrounds’ liquor-license application conditioned on inclusion in the license of a specific voluntary agreement.  That agreement required that the Bullpen close at the end of the Nationals’ baseball season.  Commissioner Siegel moved/Commissioner Jorgensen seconded to amend the voluntary agreement to permit the Bullpen to continue operations in 2009 until November 1.  Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner McBee seconded to amend the motion to add two more changes in the voluntary agreement: (1) in paragraph 6, replace the sentence that starts “The applicant agrees to provide” with “The applicant agrees to cause a copy of its street-closing permit to be received by the ANC 6D office at least 7 days before the permit’s effective date”; and (2) in paragraph 12, replace the sentence that begins “As employment opportunities arise” with “As employment opportunities arise, the applicant will make job announcements in the ANC 6D neighborhood and buy ads in the Southwester soliciting job applicants.”  The Sobelsohn motion to amend passed 4-2, with Commissioners Jorgensen and Moffatt opposed and Commissioner Siegel abstaining.  The main motion passed 7-0.

 

4.  Development.

 

    a.  Southwest Waterfront Residences.

 

City law requires the set-aside (as “affordable”) of 15% of redeveloped Southwest Waterfront residential units for residents with 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and another 15% for residents with 30% of the AMI.  City law also requires that, if Southwest Waterfront redevelopment includes any for-sale residences, half these set-aside “affordable” units must be for rent, half for sale.  The pending Affordable Housing For-Sale and Rental Distribution Amendment Act of 2009, Bill B18-304, would repeal this latter requirement, and let the developer decide the allocation of set-aside “affordable” units as between for-rent and for-sale (and also apply to similar projects in Hill East and Poplar Point).  Commissioner Jorgensen moved/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded that ANC 6D support Bill B18-304.  The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Hamilton opposed.

 

    b.  Trapeze School.

 

Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to support a text amendment to the Southeast Federal Center Overlay District to permit a trapeze school and aerial performing arts facility to rent space within Parcel “O” of The Yards in Southeast. Parcel “O” consists of about 1.27 acres east of Nationals Park, southeast of the US Department of Transportation headquarters, with Tingey Street, SE, at its northeast corner.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

    c.  Intermodal Transport Center.

 

The DC Office of Planning’s recommended revised Comprehensive Plan includes an intermodal transportation center at the Banneker Overlook.  Commissioner Jorgensen moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to hold an ANC 6D community meeting to discuss this proposal.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

    d.  South Capitol Street Fence.

 

Commissioner Siegel moved/Commissioner Moffatt seconded to support Steward Investment Company’s application, to the

Public Space Management branch of District Department of Transportation (DDOT), for permission to build a chain-link fence at 1724 South Capitol Street, SE.  The motion passed 5-2, with Commissioners Hamilton and Sobelsohn opposed.

 

    e.  Public Alley Closing.

 

Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner McBee seconded to postpone ANC consideration of the application of Theodore N. Lerner and L.E. Lerner, Trustees, to close a portion of a public alley in Square 697, bounded by South Capitol Street, K, Half, and L Streets, SE.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

    f.  Traffic-Calming Devices.

 

Commissioner McBee moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to send a letter to DDOT urging prompt installation of certain traffic-calming devices in ANC 6D06, including (a) four raised crosswalks at 1st and N Streets, SW; (b) returning to working order the flashing lights at 1st and Canal Streets, SW; (c) installing signs alerting motorists to the presence of children; and (d) making the Canal Street intersection with Delaware Avenue, SW, a fully controlled intersection.  Commissioner Moffatt moved/Commissioner McBee seconded to amend the motion by replacing the last four words with “an intersection fully controlled by stop signs.”  Without objection, the motion was so amended.  As amended, the motion passed 6-0.  Commissioner Sobelsohn abstained.

 

5.  Public-Space Permits.

 

    a.  Jazz Preservation Night.

 

Commissioner McBee moved/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded to endorse a resolution supporting the application of Westminster Presbyterian Church for a license to hold its 8th annual Jazz Preservation Festival September 26 at the park at the corner of 6th and I Streets, SW.  A copy of that resolution is attached to these minutes.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

    b.  Walks.

 

        1)  Komen Breast Cancer Walk.

 

From October 9-11, Energizer will sponsor a three-day sidewalk-only walk to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.  A copy of the proposed route is attached to these minutes.  Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Jorgensen seconded to support the Energizer Breast Cancer walk.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

        2)  Walk to Fight Diabetes.

 

On October 24, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the American Diabetes Association will sponsor a Walk to Fight Diabetes, to start and end at Nationals Park.  The walk will not require closing any streets and the sponsor reports no previous complaints regarding similar events it has sponsored in DC.  A copy of the proposed route is attached to these minutes.  Commissioner Siegel moved/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded to support the Walk to Fight Diabetes.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

        3)  Fannie Mae Walk for the Homeless.

 

On November 21, from 8:30-11:30 a.m., Fannie Mae will sponsor the Help the Homeless Walkathon.  A copy of the proposed route is attached to these minutes.  The Walkathon will not traverse any residential part of ANC 6D.  Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Hamilton seconded to support the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon.  The motion passed 6-0.  Commissioner McBee did not vote.

 

6.  Announcements and Reports.

 

    a.  Announcements.

 

        1)  Upcoming ANC Meeting.

 

Commissioner Litsky announced that the ANC will hold its next public business meeting starting 7 p.m. Monday, October 19, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 600 M St., SW.

 

        2)  Department of Transportation.

 

Commissioner Litsky reported that the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) is behind schedule on reopening the 9th Street tunnel, and that Kathleen Penney has announced her pending departure from DDOT.

 

    b.  Reports.

 

        1)  Public-Safety Report.

 

The Metropolitan Police Department’s Sergeant Whitaker reported that, in Police Service Area 104, violent crime dropped 38% from July 2009 to August 2009 (a decrease of 6 incidents), and promised to report back to ANC 6D on (a) vandalism in Harbour Square and (b) “graffiti tags” and “106 tags” in ANC 6D.

 

        2)  Flood-Plain Remapping.

 

Mary Wiedorfer, the city’s engineering consultant, and Tim Karikari, of the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), made a presentation about the pending remapping, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), of the Potomac Park Levee system floodplain.  The preliminary revised floodplain map designates a “Special Flood Hazard Area” nearly all of Southwest north of P Street and east of 3d Street.  Jeffrey Seltzer, of the District Department of Transportation, promised, by November 30, to report to ANC 6D the percentage of homeowners in the Special Flood Hazard Area who live in a Capitol Park IV townhouse.  The map is scheduled for completion by January 2010 and to take effect by summer 2010.  Inclusion in a Special Flood Hazard Area will mean a legal requirement that all homeowners with mortgages or home-equity loans purchase flood insurance.  Commissioners McBee, Moffatt, and Sobelsohn volunteered to make up a task force to address issues related to FEMA’s proposed flood map.

 

        3)  Safeway Town Meeting.

 

Commissioner Sobelsohn reported on the September 10 Southwest Safeway Town Meeting.  

 

        4)  ANC6D Bookbag Distribution.

 

Commissioners Hamilton and McBee reported on ANC 6D’s distribution to area youth of 650 free bookbags.  Representing the Resident Council Group, Lenwood Coleman urged that ANC 6D reimburse the Group for an $600 outlay for bookbags.

 

        5)  6th and I Street Park.

 

Commissioner Jorgensen moved/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded to send an ANC letter to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) requesting that DPR replace the pond pump in the park at 6th and I Street.  After Commissioner McBee suggested the pump could be repaired, Commissioner Jorgensen moved to table her motion.  Without second or objection, the motion was ruled tabled.

 

        6)  ABC Committee.

 

Coralie Farlee, chair of the ANC 6D Alcohol Beverage Committee, made a written report of her committee’s August and September meetings.

 

7.  Appropriations.

 

    a.  Treasurer’s Report.

 

Commissioner Jorgensen moved/Commissioner Moffatt seconded to approve the Treasurer’s September report, a copy of which is attached to these minutes.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

    b.  Fiscal Year 2010 Budget.

 

Commissioner Jorgensen presented a draft budget, which is not “definitive.”  She promised a “more exact” budget at the October meeting.  Commissioner Jorgensen moved/Commissioner Moffatt seconded to approve the draft budget.  The motion passed 5-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn opposed and Commissioner Hamilton not voting.

 

8.  Community Concerns and Audience Time.

 

Southwest resident Nancy Masterson reported on an upcoming Friends of the Southwest Library book sale, and on prospects for environmental sensitivity in the Waterfront Station development.

 

Rick Bardach, of the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA), appealed to Southeast residents to get involved with SWNA, and announced a contribution by the September ANC meeting’s host, Marriott, to SWNA’s Scholarship Committee.

 

9.  Extension of Time and Adjournment.

 

Commissioner McBee moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to extend the time of the meeting to 10:30 p.m.  The motion passed 5-0, with Commissioners Hamilton and Moffatt not voting.  At 10:35, noting that 10:30 p.m. had passed without a motion to further extend the time of the meeting, Commissioner Sobelsohn made a point of order, which the Chair did not recognize.  At 10:45, Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded to adjourn.  Without objection, the meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m.