The Week Ahead & Some Photos from the Past Week

Mother Blossom Cannabis Products Opens on Barracks Row.  Mother Blossom had a soft opening on Friday at its new location at 406 8^th Street, SE, and was open for regular business on Saturday.  The shop is owned by Dee Martin and the general manager is Al Hagler.  It’s the latest addition to the cannabis gifting outlets on Capitol Hill and the third on the 400 block of 8^th Street, SE. 

The store offers cannabis, tinctures, edibles and topicals as well as non-psychoactive cannabis products.  A couple of features which sets it apart from most gifting shops are a lounge with a bar and an open air patio. 

Here’s a still-under-construction image from last Thursday of the bar and lounge where cannabis product-infused smoothies will be served. 

Update on Auto Zone Project.  The ANC6A Planning and Zoning Committee heard an informational presentation on the proposal to develop the nearly 1 acre Auto Zone site at 1207 H Street, NE, from Ben Miller.  Miller is co-owner of the H Street development firm WestMill Capital and is also co-founder of the crowd funding platforms Popularise and Fundrise.  Miller told the committee his company hopes to be able to obtain financing to develop the project and is close to submitting a package to the Bureau of Zoning Adjustment.  He anticipates a 240 unit project with up to 40 off them being affordable units.  Above is a preliminary architectural rendering of the north elevation of the building. 

Update on 1000 – 1016 H Street, NE.  The ANC6A Planning and Zoning Committee also recommended that the full ANC support local developer Sanjay Bajaj’s plan to put up a $30 million, 78 unit, five story residential project at this location after the developer conceded to the committee’s demand for more retail space on the ground floor.  Originally, the developer had offered only 1223 square feet, but under pressure from the Committee raised that to 3261 square feet – the maximum feasible for the site he claimed.  Committee Chair Brad Greenfield said that thought the desire was for something closer to 100%, this was probably the best they could get.  The Committee agreed and voted 6 – 1 with one abstention to forward the proposal to the full ANC. 

Update on New Residential Project at 1 K Street, SW – Last Monday night, ANC6D voted 8 – 0 to oppose the Historic Preservation Review Board  design review of the W.C. Smith Development plan to construct a 13 story 352 unit entirely residential building at 1 K Street, SE, adjacent to the long-time South Capitol fixture, the Skyline Inn.  The committee found that the project’s design is inconsistent with the context of the surrounding neighborhood due to design elements, that the uses are not in context with the surrounding neighborhood given the mixed use requirements of construction in the D5 Zone, that vehicular traffic caused by the building will not minimize contacts between pedestrians and vehicles or the environment, and that congestion caused by the building will not be in context with surrounding neighborhoods or street patterns.  Here’s a view of the building looking southeast with the smaller Skyline building in front of it.   

The Week Ahead & Some Photos from the Past Week

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 19, 2023

Monday, March 20

ANC6A Transportation and Public Space Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

For info on joining the meeting, go here: https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda: 

• Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) camera request for westbound H Street NE. Commissioner Dooling has requested an update from DDOT on this specific request.
• Traffic on the 1400-block of G Street NE. Commissioner Dooling requested a discussion of ongoing traffic issues on the 1400-block of G Street NE.
• Illegal parking within the H Street, NE, corridor. Commissioner Dooling will lead a discussion about longstanding issues with local business employees and visitors parking in front of residents’ garages within the H Street NE neighborhood.
• FOIA request for TSIs closed as a result of TSI 2.0 implementation. Commissioner Shapiro will lead a discussion about a FOIA request to DDOT for a listing of all TSIs closed out as a result of the January 6, 2023 implementation of TSI 2.0, to include TSI #, location, problem cited and resolution requested, and any subsequent action.
• FOIA request for all ANC 6A TSIs Filed after TSI 2.0 Implementation. Commissioner Shapiro will lead a discussion about a FOIA request to DDOT for a listing of all ANC 6A TSIs Filed after the January 6, 2023 implementation of TSI 2.0, to include TSI #, date filed, location, problem cited, resolution requested, current TSI dashboard category, detailed data and scoring used to select of defer the TSI, and specific data sources used in scoring the TSIs.
• FOIA request for Sidewalk Risk Management Data. Commissioner Shapiro will lead a discussion about a FOIA request for Sidewalk Risk Management Data for DC by ward for the last three years, to include the dollar amount and number of claims paid by the District related to sidewalk conditions.
• Sidewalk Experience Survey. Commissioner Shapiro will introduce a Sidewalk Experience Survey she has drafted to collect input from ANC 6A residents on overall sidewalk conditions in the neighborhood.
• Florida Avenue NE Streetscape Project Permit Enforcement. Commissioner Chatterjee and TPS Committee Co-Chair Lynch will discuss conditions of the Florida Avenue NE bike lanes during construction related to the Florida Avenue, NE, Streetscape Project, specifically ongoing permit enforcement challenges with Washington Gas contractors performing work on PROJECT pipes main and service pipe replacement program.

ANC6B Special Committee On Public Safety will hold a virtual meeting at 8:00pm.

For info on how to join the meeting, go here:  https://anc6b.org/arcive/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• Review and Comment on Draft Statement of Purpose
• Open Discussion of Committee Priorities and Set Meeting Schedule for the Year
• Identify Topics of Interest and Potential Expert/Guest Speakers
• Identify Agenda Items for Next Meeting

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Library of Congress Concert at 8:00pm. 

• Mark’s will host a Library of Congress concert featuring Ars Nova Copenhagen, a premiere choir that specializes in both early and new music. Tickets: Free, but advance-registration is required. https://www.loc.gov/item/event-407487/ars-nova-copenhagen/2023-03-20/

Sunday, March 26

ANC6B Library Taskforce will hold an in-person meeting at 2:30pn at SE Library, lower level. 

Agenda not available at press time.