CAPITOL HILL CORNER

Rendering of Restored Facade of Mt. Joy Baptist Church

Mt. Joy Baptist Church Condo Project Gets First Hearing before CHRS Committee – Developer Seeks Historic Preservation Approval  

by Larry Janezich

Monday evening, Altus Real Estate principal Charlie Kehler and representatives of Cunningham and Quill architects, appeared before the Capitol Hill Restoration’s Society (CHRS) Historic Preservation Committee, the first step in getting approval for the historic preservation application for conversion of Mt. Joy Baptist Church and adjacent townhouse into 12 condo units.  The developer and architect team is also converting The Maples – formerly Friendship House – into residential units, a process currently underway. 

The familiar white painted façade of the Church and townhouse at 514 4^th Street, will be stripped to the original mid-19^th Century brick, and restored to their original appearance, with no major changes to the historical aspects of the structure, though a utilitarian addition at the rear of the church dating to the early 20^th Century will be removed. 

There will be a total of 10 condos in the former church and two in the adjacent townhouse.  The project will provide 6 to 10 underground parking spaces (probably 6) in the church.  Residents in units without underground parking will use street parking – less impact, the architects point out – than regular parking by a 300 member congregation. 

Each of the condos will have two bedrooms, with the largest unit on the church’s third floor spanning the width of the building and overlooking 4^th Street.  This unit will benefit from all three of the arched windows on the building’s front.  The architects predict that construction will take about a year and is tentatively scheduled to begin in the fall of 2012.   

The developer and architect are scheduled to appear before Commissioner Francis Campbell’s ANC6B Planning and Zoning Committee on Tuesday, December 6, at 7:00pm at St. Coletta’s School, 1901 Independence Avenue SE.  The full ANC6B will consider the application at their regular meeting on Tuesday, December 13, at 7:00pm at The Hill Center.  The historic preservation application goes before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on December 22.

The CHRS Historic Preservation Committee is chaired by Nancy Metzger, whose nomination to the Historic Preservation Review Board by Mayor Gray was announced last month.  Metzger is also active with the Historic Districts Coalition.  Her nomination was endorsed by the Committee of 100, but not the D.C. Preservation League or the DC Business Industry Association (DCBIA).  DCBIA is the main non-profit trade association representing the real estate development industry in the District of Columbia. 

Altus Realty Management is an Arlington-based firm that provides brokerage services and property and construction management.  The firm is headed by Terry Hindermann and Charlie Kehler, both listed as principals on the company website.

Forecast for ANC6B

by Larry Janezich

8^th Street Pizza

Steve Salis, the entrepreneur who hopes to open up a gourmet pizza place in the space formerly occupied by China Wall, may still have some heavy lifting to do before getting ANC approval.  He’ll have to find a way around the moratorium on fast food places on Barracks Row, despite what appears to be community enthusiasm for the new pizza place with gluten free options.  It’s not yet clear when the proposal will come before the ANC. 

Eastern Market Governing Authority Legislation 

ANC6B will announce a date soon for a Special Call meeting on proposed Eastern Market governing authority legislation.  The date will likely be December 19th in the Peoples Church, contingent on approval of parties involved.  ANC6B Commissioner Brian Pate is drafting a resolution of recommendations to be brought before the ANC and the community which he expects to make public on December 12th.   The legislation is not likely to be taken up by the City Council until January. 

iGaming

Look for ANC6B to come out in opposition to DC government sanctioned iGaming (internet gambling) within DC at its next meeting on Tuesday, December 13.  The City Council sees this as a revenue-enhancing measure to ease budget shortfalls.  The need for cash is a hard argument to overcome.  

Hine Zoning Subcommittee Website

ANC6B’s Subcommittee on the Hine Rezoning process (PUD) is planning to launch a website to distribute information and possibly elicit community feedback. 

18^th Amendment Sidewalk Cafe

ANC6B will have another crack at the application of the 18^th Amendment for a sidewalk café.  The ANC’s feathers were ruffled when the DOT Public Space Committee granted the restaurant a permit for a sidewalk café without running it by the ANC.  However, the fact that the restraint’s voluntary agreement with the neighbors will have to be amended by the Alcohol Beverage Review Administration (ABRA) gives the ANC an opportunity to weigh in with an opinion.  That will happen first on this coming Thursday before the ABC Committee which will meet in The Hill Center at 7:00pm.

Boxcar, Across from Eastern Market, Will Open Later this Month

7^th Street Wine Bar to Open by Month’s End – Exclusive Photo

by Larry Janezich

Boxcar, Xavier Cervera’s new wine bar, across from Eastern Market in the space once occupied by Petite Gourmet, is scheduled to open by the end of December, according to Cervera.  Named, perhaps, for the room’s long narrow shape, the new bar is the latest in a growing list of Cerverea’s Capitol Hill bars and restaurants including, Lola’s, Molly Malone’s, The Chesapeake Room, and Senart’s.  Also being added to the list is the old Hawk & Dove which Cervera purchased earlier this year and which has been completely gutted for renovation.

Eastern Market Report – New Rules Coming for North Hall

by Larry Janezich

North Hall

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC), Market Manager Barry Margeson announced that a full time manager for the Market’s North Hall has been hired to schedule and manage events in the facility.  The North Hall manager will have an office in the North Hall in space previously reserved for use of caterers.  Margeson also said part of the new manager’s responsibility will be to “curb excessive use” of the hall by nannies and children who congregate there during the day on a regular basis.  He said that new rules governing the day time use of the Hall will be forthcoming.  Members of EMCAC have recently expressed concern regarding liability issues for the new governing authority, as well as excessive wear and tear occasioned by use of the facility as an unrestricted play zone.   

New Governing Authority for the Market

Vendors, farmers and merchants are still grumbling about the as-introduced version of the legislation put forward by Councilmember Wells to create a new governing structure for the Market.  They feel the measure does not protect their rights regarding grandfathering and right of first refusal.  “Grandfathering” refers to protecting the status of those vendors and merchants who were with the market when the last legislation governing the market was passed in 1997.  “Right of first refusal” refers to those vendors and merchants who have come to the Market since 1997 but have been there long enough to deserve protection. 

The timeline for passing the bill has been pushed back into the new year, allowing additional time for meetings and stakeholder input, and it seems likely that some of these concerns will be addressed before the bill is finalized.  A meeting of EMCAC’s Committee of the Whole to consider final recommendations on changes to the legislation will be held Tuesday, January 3 at 7:00pm in North Hall.  The meeting will be open to the public but since it is a working meeting, there will be no opportunity for public comment.   (An article on EMCAC’s discussion of possible changes to the legislation will be posted this weekend.) 

Rent Increase for Farmers and Vendors

As of December 1, rent increases for the farmers and food vendors who work outside the market went up 10 percent.

The new rates for farmers and food vendors range from $30 a day for a tent to $44 a day for a bay beneath the farmer’s line shed.  For non-food vendors,  rates run from $28 a day to $44 a day, depending on location. 

EMMCAC’s next regular meeting will be on December 28.

Councilmember Wells’ Changes to Ward Six Redistricting Plan Get Solid Backing From Ward’s ANC Commissioners and Fengler

by Larry Janezich

The City Council heard on Tuesday, November 29, from all Ward Six ANC Commissioners and Ward Six Redistricting Task Force Chair Joe Fengler (the latter by proxy) that the commissioners and Fengler had lined up solidly behind Councilmember Wells’ amendments to the Ward Six Task Force Redistricting plan. 

For ANC6B, this means united support from all quarters for the plan which would leave East Capitol Street as the northern boundary of ANC6B, eliminating the threat that ANC6C’s southern boundary would be extended to Independence Avenue between 7^th Street and the Capitol Building.  Last fall, residents in the affected area had mounted an intense campaign to stay within ANC6B. 

The united front increases the likelihood that the Redistricting Subcommittee – comprised of Chair Michael Brown, Councilmember Jack Evans, and Councilmember Phil Mendelsohn – will back Wells’ plan. 

The City Council left the official record open until December 9^th, after which the door will close on public comment.  The three members of the Subcommittee will then “take stock” and hold a public “mark-up” session during the week of December 12.  At that meeting, the Subcommittee will introduce and consider their recommendations for the Ward and ANC single member district boundary changes. 

The first reading of the bills to set the new boundaries before the City Council will occur on December 20.  Under DC law, the second reading and final passage of the bill to set the Ward boundaries must occur before the end of December.  The law requires boundaries of single member districts to be set by the end of January, so second reading and final passage of that bill will occur after the New Year.

Site of Proposed Development

Deputy Mayor’s Office Cited Misleading Data Justifying Award to Hine Developer – FOIA Permits Closer Look at Manufactured Consensus for Stanton’s Hine Development

by Larry Janezich

In a June 2010 email, Corey Lee, Deputy Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (DMPED) Project Manager for the Hine Jr. High development, listed community support as one of the five reasons the contract was awarded to Stanton-Eastbanc, i.e., “(v) the large amount of community support (none of the ten (10) teams documented more community support for its project than S-E).”

A Freedom of Information Act request reveals that, indeed, the Stanton/Eastbanc team garnered 119 emails of support during the public comment period, which ran from June through August of 2009, while its closest competitor, the Menkiti/Streetsense/DSF team, had only 34.

Yet a closer look at those emails supporting Stanton shows some startling results.  Of the 119 letters, 74 were form letters.  More troubling, research demonstrates that most emails, whether form letters or not, were written by someone who had a conflict of interest – realtors who work alongside one of the principals of Stanton Development, business associates, tenants, family members, or friends of the family.  But the Deputy Mayor’s Office solicitation of public comments required no disclosure of such conflicts, and in all cases but five no disclosure was given.  Nor was a supporter required to give an address; several letters supporting Stanton were written from outside Capitol Hill, or even outside the District of Columbia.  While the Deputy Mayor’s Office cited “documented” community support as one of the reasons it selected Stanton/Eastbanc, the office had no resident or conflict of interest screening mechanism by which to judge the letters of support that it received. 

If the pool of emails – both form letters and original letters – in support of Stanton is narrowed to those without a known business or personal connection to the developer and to those sent by Capitol Hill residents, then the support for Stanton is reduced to 28 letters, compared to 34 for Streetsense, all of which came from Capitol Hill residents, and none with obvious conflicts of interest.  To tally these results, each person whose name appeared on a letter in support of a developer was counted as one vote, regardless of the number of emails sent. 

As many readers will remember, the process of selecting a developer for the Hine project became controversial on June 17, 2010, with the endorsement of Stanton-Eastbanc by the CHRS on a perfunctory and nearly unanimous voice vote (there was one abstention) of the CHRS Board, without questions or debate, and based on the recommendation ad hoc committee comprised of a few board members.  (Then-Councilmember Kwame Brown subsequently said publicly that it was the CHRS decision which was the deciding factor in his vote for awarding the contract to Stanton.)  The first form letter supporting Stanton was sent to the Deputy Mayor’s office earlier that same day, originating with a Stanton business neighbor.  This first wave of support for Stanton was seemingly aimed at influencing the upcoming June 30 ANC6B vote on recommending a developer, since the letters in this first wave – both form letters and unique letters of support – copied ANC6B Commissioner Mary Wright (in whose Single Member District the project lies), and ANC6B Chair Dave Garrison. 

When the ANC met on June 30 in a small, overcrowded room in the Old Naval Hospital, it heard from the community members.  By the end of the meeting, it was clear that a strong majority of those present favored the StreetSense proposal.  The Commission avoided making a recommendation, and instead voted for a series of criteria which should be met by whichever developer was awarded the project.    

Following this public show of support in favor of Streetsense, between July 4 and July 10, a blizzard of form letters in support of Stanton arrived at the Deputy Mayor’s office inbox, no longer copied to ANC Commissioners.  The first of this second wave of form letters starts on July 4, from family friends of the developer.  Another set of form letters begins on July 6 from a realtor associated with the one of the principals of Stanton Development; this set is copied to the entire city council. 

Developers often have ties and relations to certain commercial or community interests, and it may well be that enumerating these connections provides a useful indicator or measure of something.  Whatever that something is, it is not community support.  Community members unfettered by conflict of interest issues have a role in naming their preferences among the finalists, whether as individuals or local groups.  This role extends to noting components of a design that spell trouble, and asking for benefits in return for the negatives the project brings to the community, including more crowded neighborhoods and streets.  

Almost a year ago, Capitol Hill resident Kathleen Frydl requested a meeting with the Deputy Mayor’s Office to discuss how it assesses community support since the selection of Stanton, but to date, the Office has not scheduled the meeting.

“I think a distinction needs to be drawn between documenting community connections,” Frydl says, “versus documenting community support.”  The former might be impressive, she notes, but compromised by sufficient conflict of interest questions so as to reduce the value of the input given.  “While it may be insightful and it may be heartfelt, input from people with a financial or personal relationship to the developer is just not the same as input spontaneously given by a neighbor who reviews the plans,” she said.  Frydl also believes that an open-ended and unscreened process might be the District’s preference, but, if so, she thinks that the Deputy Mayor’s Office should not rely upon it as a mechanism to help select a winning bid. 

On November 23, Stanton-Eastbanc filed an application for a Hine Planned Unit Development with the city’s Office of Planning.  That initiates a process under which a final design for the development will be agreed upon and amenities granted to the community to compensate it for the increased density the project will bring to the community.  The Office of Planning is organized under and reports to the DMPED, but as a practical matter it operates as a separate agency. 

DMPED tracks the project for the Mayor and, as the facilitator for the original Land Disposition and Development Agreement (LDDA), interprets the terms of the agreement on behalf of the Mayor.  In this sense, DMPED will likely continue to be a key stakeholder in the process, especially regarding definition of terms.

In this PUD process, the community will be represented to the Office of Planning and the Zoning Commission by a Subcommittee of ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee.  The Subcommittee includes resident members representing CHRS, EMCAC, CHAMPS, EMMCA, Eyes on Hine, and the Eastern Market North Neighbors Association.  CHRS is participating with the understanding it will seek separate party status in the final hearing before the Zoning Commission, which will give it special status, time for a lengthier presentation, and the ability to call expert witnesses in support of its position.  In the last PUD process CHRS participated in, the group negotiated an $83,000 mitigation for the demolition of twelve historic buildings in the way of the new Dreyfuss development on H Street, NE.  CHRS then used those funds to conduct a survey for its “Beyond the Boundaries Project,” for the purpose of facilitating the expansion of the Historic District. 

Subcommittee Chairman Ivan Frishberg has stated that it is not the Subcommittee’s intent to preclude any organization from seeking party status, but rather to strengthen the ANC position in negotiations with Stanton-Eastbanc and the Office of Planning. 

CHRS will host a meeting for Stanton-Eastbanc to present its latest plans to the public on December 12.  The next meeting of the Subcommittee will be on December 14.

View of North Building from C Street, Looking North

View from 8th Street, Looking West

View from 8th Street, Looking West

View from 7th Street, Looking East

View from Pennsylvania Avenue, Looking North, Showing Height in Relation to Adjacent Buildings

View from Pennsylvania Avenue, Looking North

Stanton-Eastbanc Files Application For Public Unit Development on Hine Project – Latest Drawings For Hine Development Released

By Larry Janezich

Stanton Eastbanc filed an application for a Public Unit Development on the Hine Development on Wednesday, November 23.  Included in the document are the latest architectural renderings for the project.  To download an electronic copy, please click on the following or copy it to your browser address line. 

https://www.yousendit.com/download/T2dlb2VPdzh0QTJLRmNUQw

Since it is a large file it may take several minutes to download.

Stanton-Eastbanc Files Latest Hine Plans and Zoning Change Request Today – Community Group Organizes on Hine Re-Zoning Process

by Larry Janezich

On Monday night, ANC 6B hosted the first meeting of its special Subcommittee to deal with the Hine Redevelopment re-zoning request – part of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process.  The PUD process is designed to overcome existing zoning requirements, giving the community an opportunity to make changes in the development in exchange for those variances.  The Subcommittee is chaired by ANC6B Commissioner Ivan Frishberg, with Commissioner Brian Pate serving as Vice Chair.   

The Committee brings together ANC 6B Commissioners with representatives of CHRS, EMCAC, CHAMPS, Eyes on Hine, Hine School North Neighbors, and EMMCA.  Former ANC 6B Commissioner Ken Jarboe is also part of the group.

Stanton Eastbanc is expected to file their request for the zoning change with the Office of Planning today.  This will be a massive document containing the latest project drawings and specifications.  Hard copies of the document will be limited, though the Subcommittee will insist that the developers provide a copy for Southeast Library, and it will be available on line, with links from the ANC website. 

The process will culminate in negotiations involving concession (changes in design), amenities (gifts to the public), and mitigation (palliative measures).  The entire negotiation is designed to compensate the community for the impact of the increased density which the $300 million project will bring to the Eastern Market neighborhood.  The PUD process will necessitate months of meetings involving the developer, the community, and the Office of Planning; these will culminate in a final hearing next spring where the Zoning Commission will hear from the public.

The Subcommittee is working on the assumption that the final Zoning commission hearing will be next May.

Vice Chair Pate outlined suggested operational procedures for the Subcommittee involving an initial organizational phase, an outreach phase including an ANC Special Call meeting, negotiation with the developer regarding mitigation and amenities beginning in January, and the formulation of a final position to take to the Zoning Commission.

At the meeting, several working groups were appointed.  One will be a technical working group to dissect the PUD filing; another will be an outreach group to engage the community; another group will address specific aspects such as transportation, construction management and maintenance of the flea market; and a final group for financial analysis. 

In a separate action, CHRS will hold a public meeting on December 12 for Stanton Eastbanc to make a presentation to the community on the PUD filing.  The next meeting of the ANC 6B Subcommittee will be on December 14.

DC Lottery Hosts Public Meeting on Internet Gambling in North Hall on Monday Night

Ward Six Representatives Attack Process of Enactment of DC Internet Gambling Law

DC Lottery Seeks Community Support in Ward Six Meeting

by Larry Janezich

More than 60 people turned out Monday night for DC Lottery’s last in a series of public meetings to assess public support for legalized internet gambling (iGaming) in DC.  The meeting held in Eastern Market’s North Hall was hosted by DC Lottery, the sponsor of iGaming, and was attended by Councilmembers Tommy Wells and Michael Brown.

iGaming typically refers to websites where players wager money on games of skill or chance such as Blackjack, Bingo, and Poker.  Last December, the DC Council adopted language as part of the Budget Act that authorizes the DC Lottery to offer iGaming via the internet within the District.  Councilmember Michael Brown sponsored the iGaming initiative; Councilmembers Wells and Mendelson have introduced legislation to repeal the measure.

In opening remarks, Wells made clear that iGaming is gambling and said it would not result in many new jobs for the District.  Stating that the Monday night meeting was not part of the Council’s process and not a substitute for a hearing, he noted that proper process was not followed by the Council in approval of the law.  Wells asked for a show of hands, which revealed that Ward Six residents were a minority of those present.  One Ward Six resident who attended the meeting said that all of the non-Ward Six attendees who spoke were in favor of iGaming. 

Councilmember Michael Brown put forward the legislation as an amendment to the Budget legislation last December, circumventing the public hearings typically required for such legislation.  ANC6B Chair Neil Glick, a strong critic of the process by which the measure became law, believes, that this maneuver was “not democracy,” adding that the “last time I checked we live in a democratic society.”  Glick said he would introduce a resolution opposing iGaming in DC for a vote at ANC6B’s December meeting. 

Though Councilmember Michael Brown has justified his support of iGaming as a means of raising badly needed revenue, critics say that Brown’s anticipated annual revenue of up to $6 million from iGaming is inflated.  DC Lottery says iGaming will be available only within DC boundaries in businesses such as bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels, but not in public buildings like schools, libraries, or federal buildings.