ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3D
Minutes
October 5, 2005
The regularly scheduled monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D was held on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at Sibley Memorial Hospital’s Ernst Auditorium. Commissioners present: Alma Gates, Ann Haas, Ann Heuer, Hugh Mullane, Jill Stern and Rachel Thompson. Absent: Sarah Shapley and Carl Ross, both by prior notice.
There were about 65 community members in the audience.
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Chair Alma Gates.
Police Report
Officer Tony McElwee noted that in the past month our area has experienced a 130
percent increase in crime, mostly thefts—including thefts from autos, but also
two robberies.
Police are continuing enforcement efforts to address speeding along Foxhall
Road, Canal Road, and MacArthur Boulevard. Of 35 motorists cited for violations
on MacArthur Boulevard, 31 were out of state. The highest speed was 47 mph. On
Canal Road, 21 of 28 people who received tickets were from out of state. The
highest speed was 56 mph. The chair asked that attention be paid to
Massachusetts Avenue in the coming weeks.
Community Concerns
1, Aircraft Noise Abatement: Matt Thorpe, Chair of the Palisades
Citizens Association’s Committee on Aircraft Noise, reported that Palisades has
been invited to join the Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions
Reduction (PARTNER). PCA is the only citizens association to be represented in
PARTNER that includes a broad cross-section of industrial, governmental and
professional organizations in the aviation community. The PARTNER Center of
Excellence (COE) for Aircraft Noise and Aviation Emissions Mitigation fosters
breakthrough technical, operations, and workforce capabilities enabling quieter
and cleaner aircraft. The COE is a long-term partnership of academia, industry,
and government established to create a world-class consortium that will identify
solutions for existing and anticipated noise and emission-s related problems.
Palisades is the only citizens association invited to become a member. Matt
Thorpe will represent PCA at a meeting in Chicago early next year.
2. American University’s 5K Run through Spring Valley: Jonathan Brady,
an AU student, asked the Commission to support the race on October 22, 2005.
The run will include parts of Rockwood Parkway, Glenbrook Road, Upton Street,
47th Street, Tilden, University Terrace, Quebec, and back to Glenbrook Road and
Rockwood Parkway.
Commission Action: The Commission voted 6-0-0 to support the AU 5K race.
3. Construction of an Illegal Stable at 2800 Chain
Bridge Road: Judith Lanius of the Chain Bridge Road Preservation Committee
asked ANC3D to appeal the dismissal by the Office of Administrative Hearings of
the violation issued by DCRA against Morton Bender for constructing a stable in
a residential area without a permit and a special exception. The Department of
Consumer and Regulator Affairs issued a notice of infraction at the beginning of
November 2004, confirming that the structure was in violation of the Zoning
Code. Mrs. Lanius reported that neighbors also reported the illegal
construction of a stable to the Historic Preservation Review Board which sent an
inspector.
The Zoning Administrator agreed to permit Mr. Bender to have a hearing before
the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) on September 29, 2005. The OAH
judge dismissed the case because the District was unable to produce the
inspector who issued the Notice of Violation.
Commission Action: The Commission voted 6-0-0 to “call
the matter up to the agenda.” The Commission also voted 6-0-0 to file a Form 300
with the Compliance Officer of the Office of Zoning to ensure the necessary
hearing before the BZA takes place.
4. Historic Preservation Possibility for Foxhall Village: Paul DonVito,
Chairman of the Foxhall Village Preservation Committee, discussed its
exploration of a historic designation to protect the architecture of the
neighborhood built in the Tudor style in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He mentioned
the current construction boom and real estate boom and the resulting development
pressure. A third-generation Washington resident, Mr. DonVito visited the
Cotswalds last year to learn more about the inspiration for creating a village
within the city. He noted that Dick Conn, a Foxhall Village resident,
recognized the historical significance of the neighborhood and its architectural
value in 1979 when he wrote a booklet about the community. The Foxhall
Citizens’ Association will have a formal meeting on the prospect of historic
preservation on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, featuring David Maloney from the
District and a representative of the firm Traceries. Mr. DonVito gave each
commissioner a packet containing the 1979 booklet, a cover letter to area
residents, and information about what a historic designation means.
5. Georgetown Day School’s Quarterly Meeting with the Community: Kate
Lindsey, Chief Financial Officer of Georgetown Day School, announced the
quarterly meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, at 7 p.m. in the library of the
lower school at 4530 MacArthur Boulevard. She said that a notice would be
mailed the next day to immediate neighbors.
6. Community letter requesting speed bump at Norton and Sherier Streets
Rachel Thompson, commissioner for ANC 3D 04, read into the record a letter to DDOT infrastructure program manager Muhammed Khalid requesting a new speed bump on Norton Street at Sherier Place where drivers routinely accelerate from Potomac Avenue to the light on MacArthur and Loughboro. The letter was signed by a dozen neighbors. The commission voted 6-0 to transmit the letter to DDOT with a cover letter supporting the request for a traffic study.
AGENDA ITEMS
Revised permit application for a driveway cut at 5024 Upton Street NW.
In response to Buzz Cooper’s request to be permitted to construct a second
driveway to accommodate a medical condition, the Commission voted to send a
letter to the District’s Public Space Office citing the Commissions discomfort
with sidestepping department policy to allow only one driveway cut per property.
Commission Action: ANC 3D voted 6-0-0 to conditionally
approve the second driveway cut at 5024 conditioned on the approval by the
Public Space Office.
DC is Electric Campaign
Zula Evans of the Public Service Commission presented facts regarding the
deregulation and the choice that consumers have about their supplier of
electricity. The campaign’s objectives are to provide clear, concise, and
unbiased information to District of Columbia consumers regarding the changes
taking place in the electricity market. The goal is to help consumers make
informed choices about their energy supplier. Pepco is the default provider, in
the event that consumers do not make another choice.
Sibley Hospital’s Proposed Expansion Plans: Initial
Presentation
Jerry Price, Chief Operating Officer of Sibley Hospital, described its
“ambitious expansion program” and noted that the community has been asking
Sibley for its “campus plan” for some time. Accompanied by a zoning attorney
and architect, he outlined the campus master plan and the request to have the
hospital’s zoning changed from R-1-B to R-5-A to provide Special Purpose Zoning
through a PUD and permit increased density for a new hospital, doctor’s office
building and parking lot.
The medical office building for 100 doctors and parking structure is planned to
retain doctors who might otherwise be leaving the District because medical
facilities like the Yater Clinic are closing. Also concerns over insurance
rates are creating a change in the way doctor’s practice medicine.
A new main entrance is planned for Dalecarlia Parkway. Metrobus traffic will be
diverted from Loughboro Road onto Little Falls Road at the back of the site,
where there will be a bus layover and turnaround site. The need for these
upgrades will require a zoning change. Overall lot density will double.
Expanded outpatient services and a new conference center are also planned.
Retail space is being considered for the first floor of the medical office
building and might include a pharmacy, optometry, a cafeteria and deli and dry
cleaning services.
Mr. Price noted that hospitals typically lose money on in-patient activities.
Sibley is the only hospital in the District that operates “in the black.” The
plan is to bond the hospital and doctors. Georgetown and George Washington
Hospitals both have office buildings.
The hospital plans to file its application with the Zoning Commission on
November 1, 2005 and expects a hearing in late March or April 2006. The
development team will address the Palisades Citizens’ Association on November
2. Sibley will provide more than $6 million in charity cases this year,
according to Mr. Price. It was the number one hospital in supporting Catholic
charities, he said.
Zoning Commission #02-27 - American University’s
Planned Expansion of the School of International Service
David Taylor, chief of staff, Office of the President at American University
and Jorge Abud discussed the proposed expansion of the School of International
Service, citing the “importance of the structure for the academic program.”
Founded in 1957, the school now has 2000 students. It offers bachelors and
masters degrees and doctorates. The proposed building would have 65,400 square
feet of space and a parking garage for 300 cars.
The 2000 campus plan imposed conditions including widening Nebraska Avenue to
minimize the impact of traffic. The university’s current proposal does not add a
lane on Nebraska, with the stated reason of not reducing green space on Nebraska
Avenue.
American University’s 2005 traffic study stopped collecting data at 5 p.m. and
concluded that the new structure would have no noticeable effect on traffic, an
analysis that one commissioner observed was baseless. The comment was that the
university had marshaled its data to support its proposal, working backwards
from the conclusion. The intersection of Nebraska Avenue and New Mexico Avenue
is currently at a D level of service. A neighbor, citing existing congestion,
commented that even a 5 percent backup would be a problem and suggested entering
the garage from elsewhere on campus.
Failure to communicate with the community was another issue. Representatives of
the university commented that they had talked with the President of the Spring
Valley-Wesley Heights Citizens Association, but Commissioner Stern did not
receive a single notice about the plan or any of the community meetings. One
element of the campus plan requires the university to work with the community.
Commission Action: The Commission voted 6-0-0 to oppose American University’s
proposal to build a new School for International Service. This vote reflected
concern about the impacts of increased traffic, inadequate communication with
neighbors, future development on the site of the current SIS building (which is
not being removed as cited in the plan), and unilateral modifications to the
campus plan. The Zoning Commission will take up consideration of the SIS
building on November 7.
BZA # 17383 – The Lab School of Washington
Alison Prince, an attorney representing the school,
described The Lab School’s plan to “solve a very real problem” of the need for
staff parking, which at 182, is well over its current approved cap of 95.
Having searched unsuccessfully off-site for a solution, The Lab School is
proposing to create 47 diagonal parking spaces on Whitehaven Parkway in what is
currently public parking space, as a temporary solution, paying annual rent to
the District of Columbia for the use of public space. The school would build a
sidewalk behind the parking spaces for pedestrian safety. A long-term solution
could be constructing a garage on site.
Allyn Kilsheimer, a Lab School board member, showed drawings of the parking
plan. With a combination of angled spaces and on-site spaces, the school would
provide 144 spaces; it is required to provide 130. The Lab School’s proposed
temporary parking project would carry a price tag of $250,00. The school is
asking for time to raise the money for the new on site parking garage.
Among the concerns expressed was a question about what the community would do
for parking if public space is converted to private use. The Lab School’s
current BZA Order prohibits school use for parking on Whitehaven Parkway. It
also required the school to create a safe walkway from the school to MacArthur
Boulevard on its own property. This walk currently exists. The school was also
required to appoint a staff community liaison.
The Lab School will return to the commission on November 2 when a vote will be taken of its application to: install 47 diagonal parking spaces on Whitehaven Parkway; use a newly purchased property on Whitehaven Parkway for administrative services; increase its student cap from 310 to 330 students; and, increase its staff cap from 90 to 182.
Commission Business:
The minutes from the September meeting were read and approved 6-0-0. The treasurer’s report was presented. There is currently a balance of $17,708.90 in the Bank of America checking account. We should be receiving a quarterly allotment by the end of October.
The fourth quarter report for FY-05 (July-September) will be presented at the November meeting. The budget presented and approved at the September meeting will be in effect as of October, 2005.
Due to the absence of the Secretary, the minutes were prepared by the Acting Secretary and Treasurer, Commissioner Ann Haas.
Respectfully Submitted
Ann Haas
Treasurer