Monthly Archives: July 2012

July 29, 2012 · 9:46 pm

Three ANC6B Commissioners Will Not Seek Re-election – Filing Deadline is August 8

Three ANC6B Commissioners Will Not Seek Re-election – Filing Deadline is August 8

by Larry Janezich

At least three ANC6B Commissioners will not seek re-election this fall:  Commissioners Neil Glick, Carol Green, and Norm Metzger have all announced they will not be candidates in the November election.

Three candidates are seeking Metzger’s 6B03 seat, including James M. Loots, 634 G Street, SE; Philip Peisch, 506 G Street, SE; and Randy Steer, 535 7th Street, SE.

Chander Jayaraman, 1436 Independence Avenue, SE, is the only candidate currently registered to run for Glick’s 6B08 seat.

So far, no one has registered for candidacy Carol Green’s SMD, 6B07.

Commissioner and ANC6B Chair Jared Critchfield has not yet filed for candidacy and is undecided about running, but two 6B06 residents are seeking Critchfield’s  seat –  Chris Harlow, 1306 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE #202 and Nichole Opkins, 542 14th Street, SE.

The deadline for filing for candidacy is Wednesday, August 8, and additional candidates could emerge.

Commissioners Dave Garrison 6B01, Ivan Frishberg, 6B02, Kirsten Oldenburg 6B04, Brian Pate, 6B05; Brian Flahaven, 6B09; and Francis Campbell, 6B10 are all seeking additional 2 year terms on the Commission.

ANC6B has ten seats, each representing a single member district (SMD).  The new SMDs for ANC6B governing the November election can be found here: www.ancdc.us

The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the District’s annual budget.

In each of these areas, the intent of the ANC process is to ensure input from an advisory board that is made up of the residents of the neighborhoods that are directly affected by government action.  The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the Council.

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July 22, 2012 · 10:20 pm

The Week Ahead…..

Nothing this week.

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July 15, 2012 · 11:33 pm

The Week Ahead….

The Week Ahead….

by Larry Janezich

July 17, Tuesday

ANC6B Bylaws Review Working Group meets, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Hill Center, to continue review of ANC6B Bylaws and proposed standing rules.

July 17, Tuesday,

CHRS Board of Directors meets at 6:30pm, Capitol Hill townhomes

Note:

The filing deadline for those who seek to run for one of the ten ANC6B Commission seats is (corrected to August 8).  Those who have filed as of last Thursday are as follows:

6B01Dave Garrison *

6B02 Ivan Frishberg*

6B03 Philip Peisch

6B03 James M. Loots

6B03 Randy Steer

6B04 Kirsten Oldenburg*

*incumbent

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July 12, 2012 · 4:59 pm

Zoning Commission Concludes Public Hearings on the Hine Development

Zoning Commission Concludes Public Hearings on the Hine Development – Supporters and Critics Have Their Final Words

by Larry Janezich

Last night, the DC Planning and Zoning Committee held its third and final hearing on whether to change the zoning on the Hine Development.  The session was devoted to groups and individuals in support of the change, and the individuals who are opposed.  Those groups opposing the change presented testimony during the June 22 hearing.

The change, requested to accommodate greater height and density of the project, was supported by a range of civic and business organizations, including CHAMPS, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, Barracks Row Main Street, DC Preservation League, and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.  Debbie Daniels, owner of Forecast, and restauranteur Xavier Cervera supported the change, as did a handful of residents and other interested parties.  Support for the project was based in terms of the support for businesses and services the project would bring to the community as well as its achieving the broader “new-urbanist” goals of concentrating population density at transportation hubs.

Some two dozen residents registered their opposition to the project on the basis that the requested C2B zoning would be unique and inappropriate in the Capitol Hill Historic District, that the height and mass are inappropriate for the neighborhood, that affordable housing residents were being isolated and treated differently, and that the environmental impact of the project would adversely affect the nearby neighbors.

During the period for rebuttal by the development team at the end of the hearing, the following information was revealed:

  • Architect Amy Weinstein said the current design represents a 2.9% increase in square footage over the original design.
  • Buwa Binitie of Dante Partners said the affordable housing component was “quite typical” for development projects in DC and defended separate amenities for those residents.
  • Joe Sternlieb of Eastbanc said – perhaps for the first time – that the developers might sell the southern part of the project and that the affordable housing component might have separate management.  With respect to an attention-drawing archway and streetscaping on 7th Street, he noted that the ANC had “traded away” developer funding for other community-supported initiatives, including “day care, a playground, and free office space for the ANC.”  The inclusion of the latter appeared gratuitous, since accommodation for the ANC came late in the process.  Sternlieb said that the Memorandum of Agreement between the developer and the ANC had not yet been finalized though he expected it to be shortly.  He expressed confidence that, despite the Eastern Market legislation (with its proposed solution to the downsizing of the flea market) being stalled by opposition from Mayor Gray, “whoever is mayor” after the 2014 election will agree to close 7th Street to accommodate the weekend flea market.
  • 10,200 truck trips over a period of six months will be necessary to demolish and excavate the Hine site.  The current plan is for the trucks to exit the site near 8th and C.
  • A Construction Management Plan has not yet been reached with the nearby neighbors, but an agreement is close.
  • SEB has indemnified all houses within 200 feet to protect them from construction damage.

The Zoning Commission will take up the Hine development again at its September 10 meeting.  It is likely that they will issue a zoning order at that time which will take into consideration the issues raised by the community during the hearings.

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July 9, 2012 · 10:32 pm

Management of Flea Markets Presents Hurdle for Eastern Market Legislation

Management of Flea Markets Presents Hurdle for Eastern Market Legislation – ANC6B Support on Hine Contingent on Legislation’s Success

by Larry Janezich

Last Monday, July 2, at the City Council’s Committee on Government Operations hearing on Councilmember Tommy Well’s Eastern Market legislation, an array of stake holding organizations lined up to oppose two key provisions of the bill.  The first issue was language requiring the proposed Eastern Market Trust to give the current weekend flea market operators the first opportunity to contract “under substantially similar terms” to provide the weekend flea markets.  The second was language providing for self-perpetuation of the proposed Trust to oversee Market operations.

Opponents of the “substantially similar language” provision included the Task Force set up by Wells to make recommendations for a new Market-governing structure, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.  The Eastern Market Tenants’ Council opposed the self-perpetuating provision and Eastern Market Community Advisory Council Chair Donna Scheeder pointedly stated that that provision had not been their recommendation.  The Tenants’ Council’s position is that they should have six of the total number of seats on the new Trust. 

Committee Chair Muriel Bowser (Ward 4), expressed concern about both provisions.  A representative of Mayor Gray said that while the Mayor supported the objectives of the bill, he opposed the legislation as currently written due to “public policy concerns about the purported establishment in the legislation of a non-District entity to lease and operate a valuable government asset.”

ANC6B has no formal position on the “substantially similar” language, though Commission representative Brian Pate said he had concerns about the provision since he lacked the contracts to review and was hesitant to tie the future Trust to terms of the contracts.  Commissioner Ivan Frishberg, testifying as an individual, stated he thought concerns about the “substantially similar” language were ‘over-stated” and thought a middle ground could be found on which to move forward.

ANC6B has endorsed the legislation and has made its support of the Memorandum of Agreement regarding community benefits and amenities for the Hine development contingent on approval of the legislation which offers a solution to the widely-opposed halving of the weekend flea markets occasioned by the construction of the Hine project. 

The opposition to the “substantially similar” language is based on the bill’s stated objective of making the Market self-sustainable in ten years.  Eastern Market operations ordinarily need to be subsidized by the city.  Granting a too-favorable contract to weekend flea market managers instead of allowing the future Market Trust to benefit from the revenue which would accrue from bringing the flea markets under its jurisdiction diverts income from a city resource to the private sector.  Some critics claim the two weekend flea market managers gross more annually than the market itself.  Flea market managers dispute this.

Regarding the “substantially similar” language, Chair Bowser said on one hand, there might be some flexibility in city policy regarding first refusal – usually reserved for housing issues – when it comes to other public goods.  On the other hand, she said outside vendor managers may not be in the interests of the Market.  Regarding the self-perpetuating issue, she said the issue of accountability requires the City Council to make sure the Trust is directly accountable to the taxpayer – and “one way to do that is to have members of the Trust appointed by elected officials and approved by the Council.” 

Wells is hoping for the first of two Council votes on the bill before July 15, and has said he will continue to clarify the bill with input from the community.  Mayor Gray’s representative said the Mayor would like to have further conversations with Wells about the governance of the Market.

More information may become available when ANC6B meets Tuesday night.  On the agenda:   Discussion and possible action regarding recent events related to proposed Eastern Market legislation.  The meeting is at 7:00pm in Hill Center.

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July 8, 2012 · 10:33 pm

The Week Ahead….

The Week Ahead….

by Larry Janezich

July 10, Tuesday

ANC 6B Commission meets, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Hill Center. 

Watch for:

Hine School Redevelopment: Discussion and possible action regarding recent events related to proposed Eastern Market legislation. (According to press reports this week, Mayor Gray opposes the bill.  ANC6B has made its support of the Memorandum of Agreement regarding benefits and amenities concerning the Hine project, contingent on resolution of the issues related to  the weekend flea markets which the proposed legislation purports to address. 

July 10, Tuesday

Inauguration of an afternoon weekday farmers’ line, 3:00pm – 7:00pm, at Eastern Market.

July 11, Wednesday

Zoning Commission holds the third and probably the last day of hearings on the application of Stanton-Eastbanc for a change in zoning for the Hine site.  The meeting will be 6:30pm at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC.

July 12, Thursday

ANC6B Transportation Committee meets at 6:30pm in the basement of Southeast Library to discuss extension of the Performance Parking Pilot boundaries north of Pennsylvania Avenue.

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July 7, 2012 · 10:37 am

Weekday Eastern Market Farmer’s Line Starts Tuesday Afternoon With Ten Vendors – Five New Faces

Weekday Eastern Market Farmer’s Line Starts Tuesday Afternoon

Ten Vendors – Five New Faces

by Larry Janezich

On Tuesday, July 10, a late-afternoon weekday farmers’ line will begin operation at Eastern Market.  The hours will be 3:00pm – 7:00pm.

The initial farmers’ line will include five new vendors plus five regulars from the current weekend farmers’ line.

The new faces include:

John Stoltzfus and Christian Hertzler from the Amish Farmers Market in Charlotte Hall, MD;

Ben Hertzler, “The Watermelon King” from St. Mary’s County, MD;

Julie “Baaaa Baaaa” Bolton Groff’s Content Farm, MD;

Shyla and Steven “Heirloom” Kennedy from Purcellville, VA;

Charles Flemer from Walnut Hill Farm in Colonial Beach, VA.

The current weekend farmers’ line regulars who will participate include:

Lee and Stephanie from Barbour’s Fruit Farm, PA;

Daniel and Russell from Dunham’s Produce, W VA;

Ashton Farms from W VA;

Ma Brown’s Stand – Freshly Baked Goods;

Bob King and his Swiss Peelers.

The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) voted unanimously in late March to direct Market Manager Barry Margeson to establish a weekday farmer’s market.

Margeson was further directed to seek out organic and local producers for the market in so far as spaces are available.  The possibility of a weekday farmers’ line at the Market has been discussed for the past ten years.  EMCAC will review what is essentially a pilot program periodically and make adjustments as necessary.

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