Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D

St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church – 600 Maine Ave., SW

 

Minutes

January 14, 2007

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Chairman Moffatt
Present: Commissioners Hamilton, Litsky, McBee, Moffatt, Skolnik, Siegel, Sobelsohn (Commissioners Hamilton and McBee arrived late).
 
 1.    Approval of agenda
Commissioner Moffatt requested that a motion to approve meeting dates for 2007 be added after the election of officers.  He also said that a discussion of the closing of Bowen School should be added as item X a, and Commissioner Skolnik requested that an update of negotiations with H2O be added to the Alcoholic Beverage Committee discussion.   The agenda, as amended, passed 5-0.
 2.    Community Concerns
Gene Solon, of Harbor Square spoke on several issues.
3.         Public Safety
Lt. Nicholas Gallucci of the 1st District reported that there has been a 69% reduction in crime since the same period last year, and that several cases have been closed.  He reported that Commander Kamperin is working with a team to get more off-duty officers to work on crime at the new stadium.  He also reported that the 1st District plans to move to the Bowen School by November 2008.  Commissioner Moffatt requested information on a recent event on N M Street SW. 
 4.    Square 700 East Alley Closing-Half Street
Christy Shiker, of Holland & Knight, representing Monument Realty, presented a request for support for the closing of a 2400 square foot alley between Half and Van Streets SE, across N Street from the stadium, to permit the construction of a 130’ matter-of-right residential building with 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail.  There are scheduled to be 185 apartments.  The request for the alley closing will be submitted to the City Council in mid- to late February, and will be considered in March or April.
Monument is proffering to the community a contribution of $50,000 to the Community Benefits Fund; affordable housing units, the number to be determined by the Inclusionary zoning housing regulations that have not yet been finalized; and a First Source employment agreement.  Ms. Shiker also said that Monument would be working toward LEED certification for the project, and would provide below ground parking.  She said that there would be additional opportunities to negotiate a written agreement providing preferences for Southwest/Near Southeast residents in employment and access to the affordable housing units. Motion: Commissioner Siegel moved and Commissioner Litsky seconded a motion in support of the alley closing in Square 700, and welcomeing further negotiation with regard to community benefits as the project proceeds.  The motion failed 2-2-1, with Commissioners Sobelsohn and Skolnik in opposition, and Commissioner Litsky abstaining.

 5.    1111 New Jersey Avenue SE

Jeff Johnson, of Holland & Knight, Bob Donahoe, of Donahoe Company and Rosalind Doggett of WMATA presented a proposal for an office building to be constructed at New Jersey and M Streets SE, at the east entrance of the Navy Yard Metro.  Donahoe is seeking support for the matter-of-right project, which requires a Capitol Gateway Zoning Overlay architectural review.  The Zoning Commission hearing is January 31st.

This will be a 130’ glass office building with 5700 square feet of retail.  It will be LEED certified silver, with a 25’ setback on New Jersey Avenue that will be planted with a double row of trees.  Run-off will be re-used in the building. Mr. Johnson said that the developer feels that LEED certification, underground parking and ground floor retail provide sufficient community benefits.  Motion: Commissioner Siegel moved and Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to not support the project at 1111 New Jersey Avenue SE because of a lack of community benefits.  Commissioner Litsky offered a substitute motion to support the project.  It did not receive a second.  The original motion passed 5-0.  Motion: Commissioner Sobelsohn moved and Commissioner Litsky seconded a motion to authorize Commissioners Siegel and Moffatt the represent the ANC in this matter.  The motion passed 5-0.   Question-à Did Commissioners Hamilton and McBee arrive in time for this vote? I don’t see a note of arrival even though their numbers are included in the next vote

 6.    Riverfront (Florida Rock)

David Briggs of Holland & Knight, and a representative representing of Buckley Davis presented the new plans for the Florida Rock (now called Riverfront) development (now called Riverfront).  The project will go before the Zoning Commission this spring.

Mr. Briggs outlined the changes that have been made in the project to meet concerns of the Office of Planning and the Zoning Commission.  The orientation of the project has been moved to the west and is now designed to highlight the Grand Stairway of the baseball stadium.  Changes have been made in the green space—called the Pitch—to connect more closely with Diamond Teague Park, a covered retail Galleria and a large water feature have been added to the central part of the development, and the amount of residential housing has been increased.  The height of the hotel has been increased from 112’ to 130’.  They are planning for a water taxi and other marine elements.  There will be 29,000 square feet of workforce housing—25-30 units.  The development will have underground loading facilities. The project will be LEED certified, with a set-aside of funds to maintain the certification.  They also plan a bio-filtration system to recycle water for the river.  The project will have 1100 parking spaces.

They hope to begin construction by the summer of 2009.  Construction will be in three phases: the east office building and Galleria, followed by the residential building and hotel, and finally, the west office building, which has to wait for completion of the Frederic Douglass Bridge, currently scheduled for 2016. Mr. Briggs said that there would be community-oriented retail, particularly along Potomac Avenue, and they are looking at teachers and government employees to live in their affordable housing units.  They will have a coordinator to work with prospective employees to develop the skill sets needed to work on the project.  Motion: Commissioner Litsky moved and Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to support the project.  The motion passed 5-2, with Commissioners Moffatt and Hamilton in opposition.  Motion: Commissioner Sobelsohn moved and Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to authorize Commissioner Litsky to represent the ANC in this matter.  The motion passed 7-0.

 7.    Alcoholic Beverage and Licensing Committee
Commissioner Skolnik reported that negotiations with H2O are continuing and another meeting has been scheduled.  He said that Jenny’s has agreed to a voluntary agreement, and that the protest on Cantina Marina is proceeding.  Coralee Farlee reported that the ABL Committee is not functioning right now, and she has not been able to reach Alan Holland.  Commissioner Skolnik reported that he has appointed Susan Carpenter to the ABL Committee, and she is waiting to hear about meetings.
 8.    November and December Minutes

Motion: Commissioner Sobelsohn moved and Commissioner McBee seconded a motion to table consideration of the November minutes.  The motion passed 5-1-1 with Commissioner Moffatt in opposition, and Commissioner Skolnik abstaining. 

Motion: Commissioner Litsky moved and Commissioner Skolnik seconded a motion to approve the December minutes.   The motion passed 4-3, with Commissioners Siegel, Sobelsohn and McBee in opposition.

109. Treasurer’s Report

Commissioner Skolnik presented the Treasurer’s Report. The report shows that the opening checking account balance was $43.909.06, and that the savings account balance was $5,148.59.  There was an interest payment to the savings account of $2.19.  There were disbursements of $831.15 to Roberta Weiner (Check #354); $105.45 to Verizon for telephone service (Check #355); and $90 to St, Augustine’s church for rental (Check #356). At closing, there was $42,882.46 in the checking account, and $5,150.78 in the savings account. Motion: Commissioner Skolnik moved and Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn in opposition.

 

Motion: Commissioner Skolnik moved and Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to approve a $25 allocation to the ANC Security Fund.  The motion passed 7-0.

 

1110  Bowen School Closing

 

Commissioner Hamilton read the text ofmade and ?????Commissioner McBee seconded a resolution (text attached) stating reasons why the Anthony Bowen Elementary School should not be closed as part of the Mayor’s school closure plan, and requesting that Bowen be kept open, asking for the data on which the decision to close the school was made, and for a meeting with Mayor Fenty, School Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor Victor Reinoso to discuss the issue.  Motion to Amend: Commissioner Skolnik moved and Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to add “and Amidon Elementary School” to the section of the resolution that reads “ANC 6D will provide a letter of support to the Mayor and Chancellor in support of keeping Anthony Bowen (adding “and Amidon Elementary School”) open and preserving Lansburgh Park, etc.”  The motion to amend failed 2-4-1, with Commissioners Hamilton, McBee, Litsky and Siegel in opposition, and Commissioner Moffatt abstaining.

Second Motion to amend: Commissioner Siegel moved and Commissioner Litsky seconded a motion to strike the entire item (IV) from the resolution. What was the vote? The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn in opposition.  The original motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn in opposition.

1211.  Election of Officers for 2008

Richard Westbrook conducted the election of ANC 6D officers for 2008. For Chair, Roger Moffatt was the sole nominee and was declared winner; for Vice Chair, Andy Litsky was the sole nominee and was declared winner; for Treasurer, Max Skolnik was the sole nominee and was declared winner; for Secretary Rhonda Hamilton and David Sobelsohn were nominated, Commissioner Sobelsohn withdrew his name, and    Commissioner was declared winner.

1312. Meeting Dates for 2008

Motion:  Commissioner Litsky moved and Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion that the ANC regularly scheduled business meetings will take place on the second Monday of each month, except in August when no meeting is scheduled and in October when the meeting will be held on the third Monday because of the Columbus Day weekend.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:07 pm.