Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D65 I St., SWWashington, DC 20024 MinutesMay 9, 2005 Chairman Andy Litsky called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.Present: Commissioners Assalaam, Litsky, Moffatt, Siegel, Skolnik, Sobelsohn, and Williams 1. Approval of agenda
Commissioner Sobelsohn made/Commissioner Moffatt seconded a motion to approve the proposed agenda. Without objection, on request of the commissioner indicated, the agenda was amended to include the following: (1) City Council hearing on stadium financing May 13 and 16 (Sobelsohn); (2) update on Waterside Mall (Williams); (3) introduction of Gangplank Marina representatives (Skolnik); and (4) staff contract (Litsky). The motion to approve the proposed agenda, as amended, passed 7-0. 2. Community concerns
Gene Solon spoke about (a) a promised and now late DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) traffic study; (b) an ANC letter regarding Waterside Mall small businesses; (c) ANC sign-in sheets; and (d) hard copies of ANC minutes from prior meetings. 3. Police report
No one attended to report on behalf of the Police Department. 4. Minutes of April 11 meeting
By consensus, discussion of minutes of the April 11 meeting was deferred to the next meeting of the ANC. 5. Gangplank Marina Dave Gohson, general manager of the Gangplank Marina, introduced himself, The Marina is a rental facility, like a parking lot, but under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. 6. Waterside Mall
Sandra Fowler introduced herself. Fowler ((202) 530-5750 & sfowler@ncrcdc.com) is vice-president for property management of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), NCRC currently owns the land under the Waterside Mall and the waterfront properties. NCRC will soon turn over the waterfront land to the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation. Sale of the land under the Waterside Mall to Waterfront Associates is pending in the City Council. Commissioners Litsky and Williams reported on developments at the Waterside Mall. Commissioner Litsky reported that he urged Waterfront Associates to send a representative to the May ANC meeting. They declined, offering only to make a presentation at an “appropriate time.” Litsky will invite them every month until they send someone. He will also send a letter to members of the city council, the mayor, the Office of Planning, and the Office of Economic Development expressing neighborhood concerns about the mall. Commissioner Williams predicted that small merchants were unlikely to return to the mall anytime soon. She urged the Office of Economic Development to prepare an incentive package to lure a new major mall tenant; and urged all Southwest residents to lobby the City Council and especially Councilmember Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward Six) to delay final approval of sale of the mall to Waterfront Associates until neighborhood concerns are addressed. 7. Other zoning and development issues
a. Baseball stadium
1) Text amendment to zoning overlay Representatives of the city government made a presentation and addressed questions about the baseball stadium proposed for South Capitol and N Streets, SE. On June 2, the Zoning Commission will hear a proposed amendment to the zoning-regulations overlay to clarify that zoning regulations permit the building of a stadium at the proposed site and to establish a review process for approving a stadium design. Joel Lawson of the Office of Planning (OP) promised to distribute, to the ANC by May 23, 2005, an updated report on the stadium. He also announced another community meeting about the stadium proposal, to take place May 24. Toni Griffin of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation promised that any plan for the stadium would include preferences for residential parking. Kathleen Penney of DDOT promised to deliver to the ANC a consolidated plan for neighborhood traffic, including the impact of the proposed new stadium. Warren Graves of the Sports and Entertainment Commission and Alan Harwood of DDOT reported that, starting this spring, something resembling but not exactly the same as an environmental-impact study would be prepared to consider the impact of a new stadium on the surrounding neighborhood and the Anacostia River. Commissioner Sobelsohn made/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion that began “Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D opposes the proposed text amendment (05-08) to the zoning overlay, related to a proposed baseball stadium, unless that proposed text amendment is revised to read as follows: .” The specific revisions demanded are in a document, attached to these minutes, entitled “PROPOSED REVISIONS TO ZONING COMMISSION TEXT AMENDMENT FOR BALLPARK SITE.” Commissioner Moffatt made/Commissioner Skolnik seconded a motion to amend the underlying motion so that it would, instead, begin “Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D opposes the proposed text amendment (05-08) to the zoning overlay, related to a proposed baseball stadium, for reasons including but not limited to that proposed text amendment’s failure to read as follows: . . .” The motion would continue with the same specific revisions listed in the document, attached to these minutes, entitled “PROPOSED REVISIONS TO ZONING COMMISSION TEXT AMENDMENT FOR BALLPARK SITE.” The motion to amend passed 4-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn voting no and Commissioners Assalaam and Williams not voting. The main motion, as amended, passed 5-0, with Commissioners Assalaam and Williams not voting. 2) City Council hearing May 13 and 16 On May 13 and 16, the City Council’s Finance Committee will hold hearings on stadium-financing proposals. Commissioner Sobelsohn made/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to authorize Commissioner Litsky to send the committee a letter arguing that not enough information is yet available to evaluate stadium financing proposals, and including a reference to ANC 6D’s October 2004 vote to oppose the stadium proposal. The motion passed 5-0, with Commissioners Assalaam and Williams not voting. b. Old Friendship Baptist Church The owner of the Old Friendship Baptist Church building has applied for approval for his project from the Zoning Commission. His proposes to build 21 condominium units around the old church building, and promises an effort to rent the church building itself to a nonprofit organization if granted permission by the Zoning Commission. OP’s Lawson reported that the owner has withdrawn, from his proposal, the option of locating a “private club” in the church building. Lawson also advised that a part of the owner’s proposal including some portion of “affordable housing” would mean the sale of an undetermined number of units at an undetermined below-market price to a buyer with less than 80% of the DC area’s average median income. In addition he advised that the owner has not yet committed to any specific “green building” design features. Commissioner Sobelsohn made/Commissioner Moffatt seconded a motion to support the owner’s application for approval of the Old Friendship Baptist Church redevelopment on condition that he (1) commit to maintain Randall Park, just behind the church site; (2) provide more than one residential unit as “affordable housing”; and (3) commit to specific green-building design features. Commissioner Moffatt made/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to amend the underlying motion to remove part (1), maintenance of Randall Park. The motion failed in a tie vote: Commissioners Litsky, Moffatt, and Siegel voted yes; Commissioners Assalaam, Sobelsohn, and Skolnik voted no; and Commissioner Williams did not vote. Commissioner Sobelsohn moved to amend the underlying motion to add a requirement that the owner withdraw the option of building residences in the church building. The motion to amend failed for want of a second. Commissioner Sobelsohn asked to withdraw the underlying motion. By a vote of 7-0, the underlying motion was withdrawn. Commissioner Skolnik made/Commissioner Williams seconded a motion to oppose the Old Friendship Baptist Church proposal before the zoning commission. The motion passed 4-3, with Commissioners Litsky, Moffatt, and Sobelsohn voting no. 8. Alcohol Beverage Control matters
Commissioner Siegel made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to extend the time for the meeting to 10:15. The motion passed 5-2, with Commissioners Moffatt and Williams voting no. 1. The Lime
Commissioner Litsky reported that the owners of the Lime have applied for a permanent liquor license. After brief discussion, this item was withdrawn from the agenda. 2. Zanzibar
Commissioner Litsky reported that the Alcohol Beverage Control Board will hold a hearing on this license application June 2. He plans to attend. 3. H2O
Commissioner Litsky reported that the Alcohol Beverage Control Board held a hearing on May 4. He is waiting for more information in preparation for working out a voluntary agreement. 4. Cantina Marina. Commissioner Litsky reported that, weather permitting, Cantina Marina plans to do a “sound check” Friday May 13. 9. Staff contract Commissioner Moffatt made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to extend the contract of the current administrative assistant to June 30. After Commissioner Litsky promised to advertise the position through Naomi Monk, the City Paper, the Common Denominator, and the Southwester, the motion passed, 7-0. 9. Report of the Chair
Chairman Litsky reported that-- a. Comprehensive plan On May 17 at Hines Junior High School, the Office of Planning will hold a meeting, geared towards Ward 6 ANC commissioners, about changes to DC’s comprehensive plan. b. ANC 6D website The Office of ANCs has arranged for website hosting, through DCAccess, of ANC websites for $167 per year. The arrangement would include facilities for 10 e-mail addresses. Each ANC would have to maintain the website on its own. Commissioner Siegel made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to appropriate the required funds for the coming 12 months. By consensus the motion was tabled to the next ANC meeting. 10. Treasurer’s report
a. Quarterly report Commissioner Skolnik, as ANC 6D treasurer, presented a draft quarterly report. It is attached to these minutes. Commissioner Skolnik made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to approve the draft quarterly report. The motion passed 7-0. b. Monthly report Commissioner Skolnik also gave a treasurer's report for April 11-May 9, 2005. We have $39,067.64 in current funds. The printed report included three items for approval, totaling $658.13. Commissioner Skolnik orally added a fourth item, $59.06 for reimbursement to Robert Siegel, for a total of $717.19. This additional item is included in the revised treasurer’s report, attached to these minutes. Commissioner Sobelsohn made/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to approve the four items and generally to approve the treasurer’s monthly report. The motion passed 5-1, with Commissioner Williams voting no and Commissioner Assalaam not voting. c. Upcoming expenses Commissioner Skolnik made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to approve, in advance, $50 for postage and $82.50 for other office supplies. The motion passed 5-1, with Commissioner Williams voting no and Commissioner Assalaam not voting. 11. Adjournment
Commissioner Moffatt made/Commissioner Sobelsohn seconded a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:28 p.m.