Meeting Minutes
July 22, 2025, 7:30 pm
The meeting convened via Zoom at 7:33 PM with Commissioners Bender, Cohen, Gianinno, Graff, Hall, Mitchell, and Quinn in attendance.
Announcements / Open Forum– opportunity for members of the community to raise issues of concern or importance to the 3E neighborhood
An attendee stated there would be an informational session about the new bus routes via Zoom on Wednesday, July 23 from 7-8:45. A registration link will be posted in the chat.
Owen Cox, one of the Ward 3 liaisons from the MOCRS announced that on August 23, there will be a Roll Off Day for bulk trash collection in Chevy Chase. He also announced the Adopt-A-Block program to help keep DC clean. Details can be found at adoptablock.gov.
Leigh Catherine Miles, Chief of Staff for Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin stated they have been hearing a lot from constituents about high electric bills this summer. She shared resources for community members to help reduce the bill. The Council will be taking the second vote on the FY2026 budget on July 28. Residents can still submit feedback before Monday. The Council will be hearing testimony for the Robert F Kennedy Stadium deal July 29-30 starting at 10 am in the Wilson Building. More information can be found on the Council website. Frumin has a bi-weekly newsletter that residents can subscribe to via their website.
Presentation by 2nd District Police
Lt Sharmika Gatewood stated that crime is down 17% over the last 30 days over last year at this time. There has been one assault with a dangerous weapon (knife at Friendship Place and arrest made), two motor vehicle thefts (both recovered), seven thefts from auto, and 20 other thefts. MPD is increasing patrols on the 3700 block of Garrison and around the WaWa and Target. She also stated they are concerned about locker thefts at the Wilson Pool. Gatewood will be organizing a community walk the week of August 17 and will let us know the specific date.
Attendees had no questions. Commissioners asked what can be done about locker theft at the Wilson Pool. MPD is trying to work with Parks and Recreation to see what they are doing to prevent thefts. Commissioners stated this has been a problem for many years and suggested having cameras outside of the locker rooms given that it is a controlled space.
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution regarding application by Max’s Tavern Tenley for a new Retailer’s Class C ABCA license with a summer garden, sidewalk cafe and live entertainment endorsements at 4910 Wisconsin Ave
Max Bachmann, the owner of Max’s Tavern stated that he will be opening a bar at the old Tartuffo space on Wisconsin Avenue. The establishment would be a family-style tavern on the first floor, a cocktail/speakeasy space on the 2nd floor with a summer garden and ice cream window in the front. He would also like to host food trucks in front. Eventually, he would like to open a patio in the back but is not applying for that portion of the permit now. Commissioner Bender noted the fully enclosed front porch was not permitted under current public space policy and at some point, the owner might be told to take that down. Bender stated that although he is enthusiastic about the proposed tavern in principle, since the ANC has not reached a settlement agreement in advance of this meeting and it will not meet again before their hearing date, he authored a protest resolution that allows the Commissioners to continue to negotiate with the applicants and the protest resolution could be dropped before the hearing.
Attendees had no questions. Commissioners
- Asked if they would have live music. Bachman said he would like to in the upstairs space. Bender noted that in the past, a previous occupant had live music and there were complaints from the neighbors. The ANC was able to negotiate an agreement that addressed noise issues and hoped Bachman would also agree to similar guidelines.
- Stated they like the idea of the tavern and likes the idea of a place for residents to go after events.
- Stated they believe a class C license requires the establishment to have food service beyond an ice cream machine and an occasional food truck. Bachman said he checked with ABCA and they said he has to allow people to eat and people can bring their own food in or order from Uber eats.
Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Quinn seconded a motion to approve the draft protest resolution opposing Max’s Tavern’s ABCA application. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0-0.
Presentation by representative of Friendship Place regarding its work
Chris Rutledge from Friendship Place gave a presentation on the services Friendship Place provides. They have a welcome center at their 4713 Wisconsin Ave site and operate 4 buildings around the city including the Brooks on Idaho Ave. They offer an employment program, housing placement, and veterans program. He stated that if someone encounters a homeless person in crisis you can call 911 and ask for an officer trained in mental health response or call Friendship Place’s community support team at 202-673-6495. Friendship Place also has a pocket guide listing their services you can give to the person who needs help. They will be hosting a webinar on August 19 at noon and an open house August 20 from 4 PM -7 PM. If anyone has any questions, Rutledge can be reached at crutledge@friendshipplace.org
Attendees had no questions. Commissioners:
- Asked what to do if they see people sleeping on the streets. Rutledge said to call Friendship Place and they can send out a street outreach team and a nurse practitioner that provides help.
- Thanked them for the services they provide
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution regarding extension request by Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church for extension of special exception and variance relief to build a combined assisted living facility and church
Commissioner Bender stated the Wisconsin Ave Baptist Church applied for and received a special exception to build an assisted living on the church property. Legal wranglings delayed the project and the economy changed and their assisted living partner dropped out. The church has applied for an extension of their variance.
Lynn Bergfalk stated he has been the pastor for 25 years and lives in the community. They received BZA approval, and two groups appealed it. The appeals court approved their variance on May 1, 2023. After their first partner Sunrise dropped out, they have been in discussions with a new partner for a few months and they would like an extension to have more time to negotiate with the new partner. Patrick Dimaano, a representative for Experience Senior Living, said they would consider not asking for any modifications on the existing plans.
Chris Schumann, representing the Tenleytown Neighbor Association, stated they would prefer the extension request be denied as they do not believe another developer would agree to build the same project as the old one and the church had two years to find a new developer. They asked the ANC to add to the draft resolution a point that explicitly states that any other developer agree to all the previously agreed to provisions and put a time limit on the project.
Commissioner Quinn stated he drafted a resolution which states the if the extension is granted that all conditions in the MOU are adhered to. The resolution asks that the BZA rule on the timeliness issues of the extension application that the neighbors raise. If it is timely, we ask for a delay in the ruling so we can work with the developer and church.
Attendees:
- Said the last MOU had a payment to the ANC for $10,000. Commissioners replied that it wasn’t a payment to the ANC but an agreement that the developer would spend $10,000 in the neighborhood
- Said they had concerns that any pile driving for the development would damage nearby homes and the MOU said two different contradictory things regarding pile driving.
- Said that homeowners are selling their houses because of this proposed project and it has dragged on and they want finality. Bergfalk replied that the project would have been built by now if not for the neighbors opposing the project.
Commissioners:
- Asked when Sunrise backed out of the project. Bergfalk said in August 2024.
- Said they are not opposed to modifications to the MOU. Bergfalk replied they want to move forward with this and does not want to reopen the discussions with the ANC and community.
- Stated they would like any new developer to agree to what was approved.
- Stated they are opposed to tweaking the MOU and noted MOU was very thorough.
Commissioner Quinn moved, and Commissioner Bender seconded a motion to approve the draft protest regarding the two-year extension for the special exception and variances received for the Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0-0.
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution regarding proposed changes to alley lot regulations
Commissioner Bender stated the city has proposed changes to the alley lot regulations to allow people to build on them. Bender said there is one lot where a developer proposed building a large home. Commissioner Hall stated she has issues that the proposal states we need to increase affordable housing but there were no specifics in the regulations that address affordable housing. The resolution Hall drafted asked OP to consider affordable housing. The proposal was just set down, and a hearing notice has not been issued. Commissioner Bender stated we will table this until the September or October meeting.
ANC Business
- Approval of FY2025 Quarter 3 Financial Report – Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Quinn seconded a motion to approve the FY2025 Quarter 3 Financial Report. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0-0.
- Approval of expenditures – Commissioner Quinn moved, and Commissioner Bender seconded a motion to approve a payment of $14.88 to Sherry Cohen for reimbursement for ANC3E’s domain name registration, $318.00 to Sherry Cohen for reimbursement for ANC3E’s Vimeo account, and $530.00 to Sherry Cohen for administrative support. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0-0.
- Approval of June 2025 meeting minutes – Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Quinn seconded a motion to approve the draft June 2025 Meeting Minutes. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0-0.
- Commissioner Bender stated we are going to have to hire an expert on real estate valuation for the Wesley proposal. He stated that ordinarily Wesley would be required to offer 10% affordable housing at a minimum in their proposed dorm. In lieu of offering affordable housing in the dorm, Wesley is seeking to pay $8M to an affordable housing fund. When asked how they came up with the $8M, Wesley first said it was savings for not building a parking deck, then said it’s 10% of the cost of the building. But that’s not how to value affordable housing. After talking to a third-party developer, they calculated it should $12 -16M if they were required to provide 8% IZ. But now the minimum is 10% IZ. But the third-party developer is not willing to testify about this. We need to hire someone who can testify at the BZA.
- Bender said we probably will not need to do this before the next ANC3E meeting in September, but Wesley’s Zoning Commission hearing has not been set and there is a chance it could be scheduled shortly after the next meeting. Bender asked for preemptive authorization to spend up to $5k, if needed, before the next ANC meeting. There was a discussion about whether this is a valid expense and Commissioner Quinn said we would need to clear this with OANC. Commissioner Bender moved ANC3E reach out to OANC to see if there are resources they can provide. If not, ask OANC if this expenditure is allowable. If so, and we need to hire someone before the next meeting, we authorize Commissioner Bender to spend up to $5k. Commissioner Hall seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 6-0-0 with Commissioner Graff was not present for the vote.
The meeting was adjourned by acclimation at 10:13 pm.
ANC3E July 22 2025 Meeting Minutes – Final Signed
ANC3E July 22 2025 Meeting Minutes – Final