MINUTES – May 2, 2007

ANC3D

 

The regularly scheduled monthly meeting of ANC3D was called to order at 7 PM by the chair, Rachel Thompson.  Commissioners present:  Gates, Haas, Heuer, Sandza, Smith, Thompson and Wells. 

 

There were approximately 35 people in the audience.

 

Police Report

 

Officer McElwee reported that the number of crimes in the neighborhood was up 127% from the previous month, due largely to thefts of GPS systems from parked automobiles.  He urged motorists to conceal such devices when they park their cars.  In the past month the PSA 205 traffic officers have conducted speed control on Canal Road, MacArthur and Massachusetts Avenue and had issued several speeding tickets.  The ANC was provided the Radar Enforcement records for Canal Road and MacArthur Blvd, but not for Massachusetts Avenue.  Officer McElwee also reported that the police of the Second Precinct had met with American University to coordinate on several matters, including emergency communication, in light of the recent shootings at Virginia Tech

 

Community Concerns

 

Kent Slowinski urged the ANC to promptly organize a meeting to address environmental concerns regarding the Phillips Park Development.  Commissioner Haas responded that the chief of the Watershed Protection Division of the Department of the Environment had advised the engineer at Phillips to return to the drawing board to implement measures to control erosion at the property.  The National Park Service has also been working with project officers at the development.  Commissioner Haas will continue to seek a site visit in the interest of conservation and a good-neighbor relationship. 

 

Resolutions Considered

 

1.        Application No. 17625 - Our Lady of Victory School – Special exception to place classroom trailers onsite during interior school construction

 

Commissioner Heuer moved a resolution approving an application by Our Lady of Victory School (OLV) for the purpose of adding one modular unit on their parking lot, partially out of public view, to be used as a classroom with the conditions that it be used for no more than five years, for students nursery school age through 8th grade, that the school's enrollment cap remain at 260 students and that the overall cap for the school and church staff, including priests, be 35.  The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Gates.  The discussion clarified the unit's proposed location, use, and the length of time it would be needed (probably less than the five years allowed).  The school's representatives noted that the temporary unit was needed to be used as a classroom while interior areas of their buildings could be reconfigured to accommodate the students. The resolution passed unanimously.  A related resolution authorizing either Commissioner Heuer or Commissioner Gates to testify in favor of OLV's application at the BZA also passed unanimously.

 

2.       Foxhall Village Application to become a Historic District

 

Commissioner Haas moved a resolution supporting the application of the Foxhall Village neighborhood to be designated a Historic District.  Commissioner Smith seconded the resolution.  The discussion included a brief description of what it means to be a Historic District and how the designation impacts changes that owners can make to the exteriors of their properties.  The discussion also included a description of the thorough vetting process the organizers of this effort employed over the past three and a half years.  The resolution passed unanimously and a related resolution by Commissioner Thompson, which was seconded by Commissioner Wells, authorizing Commissioner Haas to draft a letter and to testify on behalf of the ANC in support of the application also passed unanimously.

 

 

3.  George Washington University Mount Vernon Campus – Pelham Replacement Project [Special Exception Application for Amendment to and Further Processing of an Approved Campus Plan] Zoning Commission Case No. 07-12

 

Representatives of George Washington University presented plans to demolish Pelham Hall, a residence hall currently housing 78 students, and to replace it with a building housing 287 students and a potential dining hall.  A second driveway will be created on Whitehaven Parkway that will allow service vehicles to reach the new building.  The proposed 92,000 square foot building would be four stories above grade and two levels below grade, and is approximately 22,000 square feet larger than the building approved for the site in GW's campus plan.  The height of the new building would be the same as the existing Pelham Hall.  GW represented that if the enlarged new Pelham Hall is allowed, the 22,000 additional square feet would be reduced from other building space elsewhere on the campus.  The additional 209 beds would bring the campus population close to, but still under, its 1,000 student cap.

 

Residents of Berkeley Terrace testified in favor of the project, saying that their concerns had been accommodated by the University making its rim road a one way service-vehicles-only road, by reducing the number of stories of the north wing of the building to three, by the University abandoning its plan to use part of the building for executive training courses and by eliminating underground parking for 100 vehicles.  St. Patrick's Head Peter Barrett said his school supported the project because of some of the same accommodations made by the University.

 

The Commission declined to act on the GW proposal because they determined that they need to hear additional information at their June meeting.  The ANC will deliver a written information request to GW including such things as the University's storm water management plan; a visual depiction of the new entrance; and the impact of holding the building to its 70,000 square foot size allowed in the campus plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commission Business

 

The minutes from April 4 were approved 7-0-0.

The treasurer’s report was given.  There is currently a balance of $28,359.56 in the Bank of America Checking Account.  This includes a payment of $6,338.25 for quarterly allotment.

The quarterly financial report was given for January 2007-March 2007.  It was approved 7-0-0.

There will be an audit on May 7th of ANC3D from 2004-March 2007.

 

Commissioner Haas volunteered to compile a list of street, alley and sidewalk repairs needed in the District from input by the individual Commissioners and to present that list to DDOT.  

 

ANC3D's next meeting will be June 6, 2007.  

 

The Meeting Adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Elizabeth (Betsy) Sandza

 

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