Minutes for December 1, 2005 (as  of Jan 20)

Sibley Memorial Hospital, Ernst Auditorium, 5255 Loughboro Road NW

MINUTES- DECEMBER 1, 2004

Chair Alma Gates called the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of ANC3D to order at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, December 1st.  Other Commissioners present:  Ann Haas.  Commissioner Mullane arrived shortly thereafter.  Commissioners absent:

Hamilton, Heuer and Shapley.  There was not a quorum present. 

Community Concerns: 

Elsie Carome, 4747 Fulton Street, addressed the commission for a second time to report that the retaining wall at 4825 Dexter Terrace resembles a prison wall.  She has continued to be in touch with DCRA about the builder, Frank Economides.  As reported last month, the 30-foot wall blocks the view of the park from Fulton Street and has had tremendous impact because of improper soil erosion control measures. At issue is the adverse consequence of Wesley Heights' not having a Tree & Slope Overlay (TSO), which would provide a level of protection under the DC Zoning Code. Since the November ANC meeting, Ms. Carome has seen the Stop Work Orders placed on the site routinely torn down.  Construction has continued even though stop work orders were issued. She wants to hold the builder accountable and asks if the ANC could continue to stay in touch with DCRA.She believes that the developer has exceeded property lines in the construction
process. 

George Watson, a member of the ANC Zoning Committee and a Wesley Heights resident asked that the Zoning Committee be reactivated.  The chair stated that the committee is still active but that a new chair will be appointed once new commissioners are in place.  He mentioned that there would be a Spring Valley-Wesley Heights Citizens Association meeting on Dec. 2^{nd that} would focus on a covenant between the Spring Valley community and WC & AN Miller Company.

Caroline Quandt, 5320 Macomb Street, spoke further about the horrendous situations that occur near Economides developments, i.e., at 5524 MacArthur Blvd. Piles of construction debris and garbage are all over the site.

Kent Slowinski thanked the chair for her testimony on the Washington Aqueduct and the Army Corps clean up of WWI munitions in Spring Valley.

Police Report:

Officer McElwee of the Second District gave a brief report.  There have been 2 burglaries, one robbery and several thefts from auto in the past month.

He offered holiday tips and gave a report on traffic violations -- there were 71 speeding tickets given in the 5100 block of MacArthur Blvd, 15 on Foxhall Road and 15 on New Mexico Avenue.  Officer McElwee personally pulls people over on MacArthur and says he will change his location several times during the coming weeks.

Driveway Cuts:

Richard Spigler of 4320 Forest Lane requested that a new driveway cut be permitted and that an existing driveway be eliminated.  This was approved 3-0-0.

Gibson Builders requested two driveway cuts at 3065 University Terrace This was approved 3-0-0.

Upgrades to Fields at Palisades Recreation Center:

Architects from Rhosedale and Harwell gave a Power Point presentation of the proposed master plan for Palisades Recreation Center.   Anita Taylor and Jackie Stanley of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation joined the discussion on the upgrades.  

Plans include a well-landscaped crescent walk, improvements to the baseball field and basketball courts and the addition of a skateboard course.  A shade pavilion/picnic area will be added and a new ADA compliant walkway will be added as well as an improved layout of the parking lot.  A youth soccer field will be added which raised a few questions regarding the need for additional parking and opposition expressed by neighbors at an earlier ANC meeting regarding Listrani’s Restaurant Chair Gates commended the architects and park and recreation people on the design and green space of this plan.  The following resolution was passed 3-0-0 and will be forwarded to Jackie Stanley.

WHEREAS the Department of Parks and Recreation has worked cooperatively with the Palisades Community through recommendations and concept drawings to develop a plan for the use of park space, and

WHEREAS the Department of Parks and Recreation has ensured that the park space is being used in accordance with Department standards, community input and available resources,

WE, the members of ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3D, endorse the planned upgrades to the proposed plans for the Palisades Recreation Center.

BZA #17259 – Request for a special exception to allow a rear addition to an existing single-family detached dwelling under Title 11 223, not meeting the rear yard requirement at 4641 Clark Place NW.

Nathan Gross, Zoning and Land Use Specialist with Arnold & Porter, presented the case on behalf of the Tschudys and Mr. Bloom. Mr. Gross noted that the Tschudy put an addition on the rear of their home in 1979 and believed that all land extending to a fence behind the home was theirs.  The rear yard of their 4646 Greene Place home abuts the rear yard of 4641 Clark Place.  A survey was not done by the Tschudys at the time of their 1979 application to the BZA for Special Exception and subsequent Order #12997.  In fact, three feet of land they have been enjoying for years, belongs to 4641 Clark Place, NW and therefore this Special Exception Application was filed to permit them to purchase the additional three feet of land from Mr. Bloom, owner of 4641 Clark Place.  According to Mr. Gross, the sale of the three feet would put the property at 4641 Clark Place out of compliance with the rear yard setback requirement.  Mr. Gross noted, that under section 223 of Title 11, “the zoning regulations contemplate variations in area requirements and for that reason grant special exceptions in cases like this one.” 

The chair noted that a special exception under Section 223 of Title 11 presumes the request will be submitted prior to the commencement of construction not after the completion of construction.  In addition there were several irregularities on the Self-Certification Form and supporting documents including the Application Form, Surveyor’s Plat and Permit Application for resulting permit #B462371.

Commissioner Ann Haas, led the commission through the application and noted the complexity of the application that affects two abutting properties, neither of which has the required rear yard setback of 25 feet. She noted the overall height and massing of the house in relation to Section 223 of Title 11  -- The light and air of the neighboring properties as well as privacy of use and enjoyment of neighboring properties shall not be unduly affected.  She remarked that the house is neither compatible in scale nor does it suit the general character of adjacent and nearby houses. The deck at the rear of 4641 Clark Place towers over the back of the Tschudy’s Greene Place.

The Commissioners voted 3-0-0 to oppose this application. A letter will be sent to the BZA, Toye Bello and David Clark.

Sympathy was extended to Mr. and Mrs. Tschudy that the vote was a disappointment for them.  It was further suggested that Mr. Bloom remove the deck to allow the required rear yard set back and then return to the ANC and BZA.

Proposed Development of the Former Phillips Estate:

Richard Nettler, attorney for Ted Visnik, developer of property formerly known as Phillips Estate, made a preliminary presentation on plans for a new development to be known as Dunmarlin.  Mr. Nettler noted that in an R-1-A zoned district 73 houses would be allowed, however, under this proposed plan only 47 will be built – 12 matter of right homes along Foxhall Road and W Street and an additional 35 on interior theoretical lots.  Each house will be unique on lots larger than the required 7,500 sq. ft. and cost in the range of $2-3 million each.

Neighbors surrounding this property expressed concerns about drainage problems, loss of tree coverage on the property opposite the existing homes on W Street.  They also expressed concern about development of the Brady Estate.

Architect, Ankie Barnes, discussed the overall architectural concept of the development as well as green space, interior roads and entrances. Mark Merchek, who performed a tree inventory of the property, noted that a minimum of 60 trees will be saved and are marked with orange ribbons.  Every effort will be made by the developer to preserve the old growth trees during construction.

Richard Nettler noted he had not been informed of a date for the BZA hearing but the chair had received notice of a February 1, 2005, hearing date.  He stated that a full presentation will be made to ANC 3D in January.  The chair will distribute copies of the proposal to all commissioners prior to the January meeting.

The Treasurer’s report was accepted.  There is a balance of $15,722.35 in the Bank of America checking account.

The minutes from the November meeting were read and approved with corrections noted.

The next meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission will be January 5, 2005. 

For more info. call 244-0360, email anc3d@hotmail.com or go to www.anc3d.org