The Week Ahead ….
by Larry Janezich
Tuesday, March 13
ANC6B meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center.
Agenda items of interest:
Application of Acqua Al 2 to expand operation upstairs with 36 additional seats and extend hours of operation.
Approval of Hine Redevelopment Subcommittee Preliminary Recommendations on Amenities & Benefits and Design Changes in order to begin negotiations with the developer.
Discussion of Transportation-Related Mitigations related to the Hine development.
Comments Off on The Week Ahead ….
Filed under Uncategorized
Acqua al 2 at 212 7th Street, SE
ABC Committee Lends Conditional Approval to Acqua Al 2 Expansion – Some Neighbors Raise Strong Objections
by Larry Janezich
ANC6B Commissioner Carol Green’s ABC Committee last night endorsed Aqua al 2 restaurant’s request to add seating for 36 guests upstairs and extend hours of operation until 1:00am on weekdays and 3:00am on weekends. The approval was conditional on the restaurant agreeing not to use either the back of the second floor or the first floor rear garden for guests, to provide an additional trash container in the rear, and to discourage parking in the alley and deliveries to the rear of the business. The restaurant, at 212 7th Street, SE, across from Eastern Market, specializes in Tuscan fare and tends to attract a tony clientele.
Some nearby neighbors objected to the expansion, saying it will make existing problems concerning trash, noise, and deliveries worse. They also said it would be a bad precedent for other restaurants and bars on the block and those which might come.
Co-owner Ari Gejdeson, appeared before the ANC to support the application. He stressed that the expanded hours were meant to accommodate late=staying diners rather than to encourage a late night bar scene.
Much of the neighborhood unhappiness stems from the narrow alley separating the rear of 7th Street restaurants from their back yards. Of particular concern are deliveries to 7th Street restaurants that block the alley and prevent access to garages. Gejdenson explained the lengths he goes to in order to be a good neighbor, an assertion supported by several neighbors who suggested that he provides a good example of a business owner taking responsibility for the conditions which his business created and who works with the neighbors to ameliorate those conditions.
The ABC Committee voted unanimously to forward the application to the full ANC for consideration at its meeting next Tuesday.
Comments Off on ABC Committee Lends Conditional Approval to Acqua Al 2 Expansion
Filed under Uncategorized
Sapore Arrives on Capitol Hill
Sapore Moves Into Former Quizno’s on Pennsylvania Avenue
Artisanal Oils & Vinegars – Pasta – Salts
by Larry Janezich
Sapore Oil & Vinegar has leased the space in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, which formerly housed Quizno’s Subs. Owner Renee Sheilds Farr, awaiting one more city permit, hopes to open the doors on Sunday, March 18. The store will be DC’s first purveyor of fresh, premium extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars, according the Farr.
Sapore (Italian for “taste” or “flavor”) will carry 16 traditional and flavored extra virgin olive oils, 12 basalmic vinegars, a variety of specialty oils and exotic salts, including Himalayan Pink, Fleur del Sel, Indian Black, Hawaiian Red and Wood Smoked. The store will also carry a variety of pastas.
In keeping with the tradition of many European olive oil outlets, customers will be encouraged to sample before they buy.
Comments Off on Sapore Moves Into Former Quizno’s on Pennsylvania Avenue
Filed under Uncategorized
Planning and Zoning Committee Chair Francis Campbell (third from left) leads the vote to send requests for Hine development design changes to the full ANC
ANC6B to Take Up Requests for Hine Design Changes/Benefits & Amenities – Schedule Released Leading Up to Zoning Commission Hearing
by Larry Janezich
Tuesday night, ANC Commissioner Francis Campbell’s Planning and Zoning Committee voted to forward initial requests for design changes to the Hine project as well as a list of initial requests for benefits and amenities to the full ANC. Following consideration at next Tuesday’s ANC meeting at Hill Center, the ANC’s Hine Subcommittee, chaired by Commissioner Ivan Frishberg, will begin negotiations with Stanton/Eastbanc to achieve these goals.
Additional benefits, amenities, and mitigations are being worked on by the Subcommittee’s working groups: i.e., Design, Transportation, Open Space, and Retail. The Subcommittee will meet later this month to consider these additional issues.
The first group of requests regarded changes in the project’s design:
The motion to forward these requests to the full ANC was agreed to 6-1, with Commissioners Campbell, Critchfield, Frishberg, Pate, Metzger and resident member Wildermann voting for the motion and Commissioner Oldenberg voting in the negative.
The second group of requests concerned “big ticket” benefits and amenities:
A motion to forward these requests to the full ANC was agreed to unanimously.
There is strong sentiment among ANC commissioners and members of the community that the façade of the 8th and D Street building fails to achieve the distinction that the signature buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue require; further consideration of this issue awaits the developer’s response to similar concerns by the Historic Preservation Review Board. The developers are scheduled to present new drawings to the Board on March 23.
Other major issues which are expected to be addressed in the near future include the height of the office building on 7th Street, the interior courtyard, space for the weekend flea market, and maintaining of a buffer between the project’s retail component and nearby residences in the neighborhood.
The proposed schedule for further consideration of the project and management of negotiations with the developer is as follows:
March 13 Developers submit a design revision to HPRB to respond to requests made in HPRB’s preliminary review in 2011
March 20 Hine Subcommittee meets to review the proposed list of mitigation issues and additional benefit/amenity issues for the April ANC cycle
March 29 Hine Subcommittee continues work from the March 20 meeting, including consideration of a response to the design revisions presented to HPRB
April 3 Planning and Zoning Committee considers recommendations on full amenities and benefits list, mitigation list and recommendations to HPRB
April 10 ANC6B considers recommendations from Planning and Zoning Committee
April 26 Hine Subcommittee meeting on tentative agreements with developers
May 1 Potential action from Planning and Zoning Committee
May 8 Potential action from the ANC
May/ June Possible Hine Subcommittee and ANC special call meeting to prepare for Zoning Commission hearing
Late June likely beginning of Zoning Commission hearing
Filed under Uncategorized
The Week Ahead ….
by Larry Janezich
Monday, March 5
6:30pm CHRS Historic Preservation Committee meets at 420 10th Street, SE, first floor. (Agenda when available)
Tuesday, Marcy 6
7:00pm ANC6B Planning and Zoning Committee meets at St. Coletta’s School, 1901 Independence Avenue, SE.
Report from Commissioner Ivan Frishberg on Hine PUD Subcommittee on major recommendations regarding Hine Design Changes
Letter to Deputy Mayor on Marathons on Capitol Hill
Resolution regarding Reservation 13
Wednesday, March 7
6:30pm ANC6B Transportation Committee meets at Hill Center. Discussion of what the community wants the developer to do to compensate for the transportation problems created by the Hine development.
6:30pm EMCAC Committee of the Whole meets in the North Hall of Eastern Market. To discuss taking a formal position on three issues concerning the Hine development.
Thursday, March 8
7:00pm ANC6B ABC Committee meets at Hill Center.
7:30pm CHRS Zoning Committee meets at 420 10th Street, SE, first floor.(Agenda when available)
Comments Off on The Week Ahead ….
Filed under Uncategorized
ANC Commissioner Brian Pate (white shirt at table) Explains Performane Parking Restrictions to Constituents
Residents Weigh Extending Parking Restrictions North of Pennsylvania Avenue
by Larry Janezich
About 25 residents of ANC6B Commissioner Brian Pate’s Single Member District (SMD05) met Thursday night to hear a proposal to extend the Performance Parking Pilot north of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Recently, DDOT informed commissioners in ANC6B that the department would support extending the program north of Pennsylvania Avenue, but the initiative had to come from the ANC and subsequently the residents of the streets affected. DDOT has also stated that the program must be extended in the four adjacent ANCs, 6B01, 6B02, 6B05, and 6B04, rather than piecemeal. Commissioners Pate in 6B05, Garrison in 6B01, Oldenburg in 6B04 support the extension. Commissioner Frishberg in 6B02 is still assessing the views of his constituents. (See map: http://www.anc6b.org/map.html)
The program anticipates addressing parking problems by imposing restrictions, as follows:
As Commissioner Pate explained it, residents will have to weigh the pros (the permanent guest parking pass, parking protection, access to Performance Parking Funds for non-transportation projects) vs. the con (difficult parking for guests for dinner or other gatherings who park between 7:30am and 9:30pm).
The Performance Parking Pilot program was started in 2008 around Nationals ballpark to address the parking problems associated with the ballpark. The affected areas benefit from a “Neighborhood Revenue Share” program funded by the parking pilot under which the affected areas receive grants for non-automotive transportation improvements. Currently, some $750,000 is expected to accrue to the fund from parking proceeds. Applications for grants are processed through the ANCs or directly by DDOT.
Comments Off on Residents Weigh Extending Parking Restrictions North of Pennsylvania Avenue
Filed under Uncategorized
Developer Releases Winter/Summer Shadow Studies on Hine Development
by Larry Janezich
Stanton/Eastbanc has released projections of how the sun’s shadow will affect the surrounding streets and buildings in summer and winter. The studies are required by the Planned Unit Development appication necessary to change the zoning of the Hine site in order to accommodate greater height and density. Consideration of the height issue by community organizaitions has been delayed pending receipt of the studies. Consideration of the scale and mass continues to await the arrival of the three dimensional model of the project and the surrounding blocks scheduled to be available in mid March. The ANC6B Hine Subcommittee working group on design will meet at 5:00pm today, to continue its work on design issues given this new information.
For additional information on shadow studies, click here: http://www.3rddimension.ie/news/equinox-shadow-studies/
Comments Off on Developer Releases Winter/Summer Shadow Studies on Hine Development
Filed under Uncategorized
ANC6B Working Group Wrestles with Hine Design Issues – Delays Considering Height Issue Pending Forthcoming Shadow Study
by Larry Janezich
Last Tuesday night the ANC6B Working Group on the Hine Design met to consider recommendations to improve the design of the Hine project, but deferred consideration of the height issue until the results of the shadow study are made available, possibly later this week. The shadow study is required by the Zoning Commission as part of Stanton/Eastbanc’s application to change the zoning of the site permitting a building height up to 90 feet. A private consultant, hired by Stanton/Eastbanc, will determine what shadows the building will cast by time of day and time of year.
At the meeting, working group leader Gary Peterson called the height of the proposed development “the elephant in the room.” Former ANC6B Commissioner Ken Jarboe noted that the building on 7th Street is two stories higher in the current plan than it was in the proposal which the city selected when awarding the bid to Stanton, making it three stories higher than the building housing Le Pain Quotidian across the street. Jarboe said, “[e]ven with a step down of the building toward C Street, building to the property line creates a canyon effect.” Peterson agreed with this, saying that “there’s something wrong with the height.” ANC6B Commissioner Dave Garrison differed, however, saying “it doesn’t look like a canyon to me. I’m hard pressed to say this is a canyon.”
Also at the meeting, the façade of the 7th Street building came under fire for the windows all being the same size and the confusing attempt to break the single building into three sections to make it look less monolithic and more human in scale. While the working group seemed to agree with these goals, the feeling was strong that the design efforts to do this were unsuccessful.
Peterson put to rest the idea that the development might be set back from 7th Street to encompass a view of Eastern Market from the Metro plaza as “a dead letter,” saying the National Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Review Board were opposed. He also shot down any idea of having an entrance or exit to underground parking on D Street or Pennsylvania Avenue, saying because the city will oppose a curb cut, “it’s not going to happen.”
The group will meet next on Thursday, March 1, when the shadow study might be available. Peterson said he hoped it Stanton/Eastbanc would put it on the Hine website for viewing by the community. There was no discussion at the design working group of the 3-D scale model, reported by Stanton Eastbanc to be delivered from China mid-March.
The next meeting of ANC’s Subcommittee on the Hine PUD process will be on Wednesday, February 29, at 7:00pm in Hill Center.
Filed under Uncategorized
The Week Ahead …..
by Larry Janezich
Monday, February 27
ANC6B Hine PUD Subcommittee Design Working Group meets 5:00 – 7:00pm at Kirby House, 420 10th Street, SE.
Tuesday, February 28
ANC 6B Executive Committee Meeting. 8:00pm, The Hill Center.
Tuesday, February28
ANC6B Hine PUD Subcommittee Retail Working Group meets. Time and place TBA.
Wednesday, February 29
The Sub-committee on the Hine School Development will meet at 7:00pm at the Hill Center to discuss the starting points for amenities and benefits suggestions.
Wednesday, February 29
Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee meets at 7:00pm in the North hall of Eastern Market.
Wednesday, February 29
Councilmember Wells will hold a public roundtable on nominees to the Historic Preservation Review Board. 1:00 pm, Room 123, of the John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
The nominees are:
Andrew Aurbach
Joseph E. Taylor
Robert C. Sonderman
Gretchen K. Pfaehler
Graham Davidson
Rauzia R. Ally
Thursday, March 1
ANC Commissioner Brian pate invites you to attend a Single Member District community meeting at 7:00pm in Southeast Library, lower level. Topics for discussion include possible expansion of the Performance Parking Pilot, update on Eastern Market legislation, update on the hine development, update on derelict properties and sidewalks and alleys.
Filed under Uncategorized
Deputy Mayor’s Office Blames Unnamed Federal Agency for Hine Project Delay -Chair Kwame Brown Cites Pressure on Council to Fast Track Hine Project
by Larry Janezich
Yesterday, Corey Lee, Hine Project Manager for the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, was asked by Kwame Brown, Chair of the City Council’s Committee on the Whole, to explain why little on the project had happened since Council rushed to approve it in 2010. Lee offered that this project is “pretty complex” and claimed that delay was related to having to “figure out what other federal entities who have tried to reach in and whether they had any jurisdiction over the project.” Lee said, the agency in question “is slipping my mind right now.” He went on to explain that it was “really a question of oversight with respect to design, and whether another agency would have input and how that would – and how that would impact the townhouses….”
This is the first time that the specter of a federal agency inserting itself into the Hine design process has come to the attention of the neighborhood and community organizations following the development of the Hine project. It has been clear that the City Council has expedited approval of the project. As Brown characterized the imperative; “we’ve got to move this right now, the whole world was going to fall apart if we don’t move the surplus and disposition.”
Recently, it has also been clear that Office of Planning has been pushing the project through the PUD process. Last week, the Zoning Commission heard the Office of Planning agree that Stanton/Eastbanc’s Planned Unit Development (PUD) application on the Hine Project was “unsettled” and perhaps not quite ready for a final hearing before the Zoning Commission. None the less, the Office of Planning recommended that the project be moved forward to a final hearing, based on assurances in an “animated discussion with the developer” that the project would be ready for that hearing when it was scheduled.
Brown’s questions were framed in the context of the Council being told that the deal would fall apart, unless the project were approved without delay, and yet little had happened since council approval. Yesterday, Brown was told that the reason the City Council had to fast track approval of the Hine Project in 2010; the developer, Stanton/Eastbanc, refused to commit $3 million on design work for the project until the Council had approved it.
Excerpts from the hearing appear below.
Committee of the Whole Hearing today, Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7:55:00 in the hearing tape, Kwame Brown asks Corey Lee about Hine status:
Lee: Right now the Hines [sic] Jr HS project has recently been set down for zoning hearing for PUD. We have gone through a pretty intensive community engagement process over the past 12 months or so. Gone before HPRB. There’s a small group of citizens who are not in favor of the project, but it’s very nominal. At this point we are looking forward to a great project.
KB: What happens now? I mean, the reason I ask the question is because what we received from the committee is that we got this, we’ve got to move this right now, the whole world was going to fall apart if we don’t move the surplus and disposition and then when we move it, it just stops. Right? Like, nothing kind of happens. Where are we now because the world was going to fall apart a little while ago?
Lee: “Well, I’m not familiar with the world falling apart…
KB: I mean in terms of it had to hurry up and get out of the Council, if it didn’t then the whole deal was going to fall apart. So we did that a little while ago and I’m just like OK….?
Lee: It’s a pretty complex project, so it takes quite a bit of time as opposed to some of the smaller projects that you’ve mentioned today. This is a project that we’ve had to figure out what other Federal entitites that have tried to reach in and whether they’ve had any kind of jurisdiction over the project.
KB: Over the Hine school?
Lee: That is correct. Because it is a former school site.
KB: What part would the Feds have? I mean…
Lee: Well, we had to make that argument through working with OP, working with HPRB (Historic Preservation Review Board), to insure that just based on the location and the ownership structure, and also with Hine being in that historic overlay along Pennsylvania Avenue, whether or not somebody else would have the ability to reach in. I’m actually…the name of the agency is slipping my mind right now.
KB: The reason I asked that question is because when the world was falling apart and I had hurry up and move it, all that had been taken care of. They told me everything was taken care of, it was ready to go. And now and I’m like, well I thought, a lot of that had been settled, because why would we surplus or disposition something that we don’t even know if we can surplus and disposition because it might not even be ours.
Lee: It wasn’t a question of surplus or disposition, it was oversight with respect to design. Whether another agency would have…how that would affect the timeline.
KB: So this was more about the design.
Senthil Sankaran (Director of Development) interjected here: Correct. What you heard Corey indicate all came out through the design and development process by which the developer has refined his design over the last year since the approval of the surplus disposition.
KB: Two years, almost two years. It’s almost two years.
Senthil Sankaran: Sorry, almost two years. They are on schedule per the LDA that was negotiated in which they were recently set down by the Zoning Commission for their PUD hearing. PUD, depending on the workload of the commission, could be six to twelve months. After which they’ll be able to achieve a financial settlement and a groundbreaking by [crosstalk]…July 20, 2013 is their groundbreaking, which will keep it within the terms of the disposition agreement.
KB: So that’s on schedule. Was that part of the “Moving Projects Forward?” [crosstalk discussion of why Hine was not included in list of projects going to groundbreaking in 2012] …. Mr. Jackson just told me the developer wouldn’t pay the money until the Council approved it. So that’s why we had to approve it, so the developer could spend on the design work the $3 million dollars. So, I got the answer to that.
View the hearing video here: http://dc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=1086 Go to 7:54:10
Filed under Uncategorized
