October 10, 2019, 7:30 pm
The meeting convened at 7:38 PM. Commissioners Bender, Ehrhardt, and Quinn were in attendance. Commissioner Hall arrived later.
Announcements / Open Forum– opportunity for members of the community to raise issues of concern or importance to the 3E neighborhood
Catherine Landfield, representing the Birth to Three DC Coalition, stated she had a petition supporting their proposed legislation for DC residents to sign.
Maria Barry, Director of Community Relations for American University invited community members to learn about Campus Planning process University at their “Planning 101” session on November 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Butler Building Board Room on the Main Campus.
Jessica Wertheim, Mayor’s Ward 3 Representative introduced herself and asked the Commission to submit our resolutions through the ANC portal.
Luz Martinez, Staff Assistant to At-Large Councilmember Robert White’s office introduced herself.
Presentation by 2nd District Police
Sgt. Davis from the 2nd District provided an update on police activity and crime in PSA 202. In the last 30 days, there were 43 total crimes, including one burglary, and three stolen vehicles. MPD has been ticketing cars: illegally parked on Wisconsin Avenue during rush hour, speeding on Ellicott St per a request made at the last Commission meeting, and parked in bike lanes. There have been a lot of thefts from cars parked near Wilson after the nearby schools are dismissed. He urged residents to not leave items visible in cars.
An attendee asked for continued enforcement of cars parked in front of the Wilson Aquatic Center in the evening. Commissioners thanked Sgt. Davis for the traffic and parking enforcement in the area. Sgt. Davis stated that he could be reached at richard.davis3@dc.gov with any questions or concerns.
Vote on grant application from Lisner Home for Community Fun Day
At the last meeting, Ward Orem, CEO of the Lisner-Louise-Dickson Hurt Home presented a grant request to support their annual Community Fun Fest day on October 19, from 11 am – 2 pm. The event is open to residents of the home, their families and the community. They asked for a $1391.00 grant to help pay for art supplies for the event. There were no questions about the grant request from attendees or Commissioners. Commissioner Quinn moved, and Commissioner Bender seconded a motion to support the grant. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0-0.
Presentation by GDS of their plans for construction work on Indigenous Peoples (Columbus) Day, October 14 and Veterans Day, November 11
Chad Oursler with Davis Construction is working with GDS on the construction of their lower/middle school. They are currently working on the building façade and would like to get as much of it completed while the weather is still mild. As such, Davis Construction would like to submit an application with DCRA to be able to work on both Indigenous Peoples (Columbus) Day and Veteran’s Day.
Attendees asked if they discussed this with the nearby neighbors and if they will be asking to work on other holidays. Commissioners asked: if they have been working on Saturdays; if 42nd Street would be repaved (not in the original plans) as they have excavated a trench runs the full length of the block; and about the timing of the installation of the traffic light at Wisconsin and Chesapeake.
Commissioner Bender moved and Commissioner Quinn seconded a motion to authorize Commissioner Bender to write a letter in support of the work over the holidays. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0-0.
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution regarding an application before Historic Preservation Review Board to designate Chevy Chase playground and field house as historical landmarks
Historic Washington Architecture submitted an application to the HPRB to designate Chevy Chase playground and field house as historic landmarks. Representatives from Historic Washington Architecture did not attend the meeting. Commissioner Quinn stated the application describes the entire lot while speaks specifically about just the building. It states that while there is nothing unique about the building and no historic events took place there, the building is representative of an era. The exact building was built at six parks in our area, five of which including the Palisades Rec Center which was historically designated are still in existence. The Chevy Chase field house was comprehensively renovated in 2011. There is a childcare co-op that operates in the building and they are concerned about the designation could lead to further backlogs in building maintenance. Commissioner Quinn authored a resolution opposing the designation. There were no questions about the issue or draft resolution from attendees or Commissioners. Commissioner Quinn moved and Commissioner Ehrhardt seconded a motion to approve the resolution against the historic preservation application. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution on a public space application to approve a valet parking permit for the new Surfside restaurant at 4200 Wisconsin Ave
Bo Blair from Surfside stated the restaurant will be providing free parking in the building garage and in the surface lot in the back. They would like the have a valet stand in front of the restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue for customers who do not want to park their cars themselves. The stand would be staffed by dedicated valets employed by the restaurant and the stand would occupy the first two parking spots behind the bus stop. Mr. Blair stated that after rush hour, the street is pretty quiet and no other businesses on that strip are open after 7 pm. He believes valet parking would take cars off the street and keep people from parking in the neighborhood. Commissioner Hall stated that Commissioner McHugh authored a resolution in favor of the valet stand.
An attendee asked where Uber Ears vehicles would park. Another attendee asked the Commission to oppose the stand as there is no dedicated bike lane on that block and it would likely cause myriad traffic problems.
Commissioners: asked how big the restaurant will be; had concerns about traffic backing up into the bus stop and people double parking along the block while waiting for a valet; asked what valet service they would use; discussed whether there was a need for a valet stand when people could park their cars themselves for free; noted the lack of a settlement agreement regarding the alcohol license; stated valet stands in busy areas can help reduce traffic; asked how traffic would flow into and out of the garage and asked them to pledge to not do any U-turns on Wisconsin Ave; asked them to not accept any food deliveries on Wisconsin Ave during the AM rush hour; and asked Surfside to require all food delivery services pick-up orders through the loading dock area. Commissioner Quinn offered friendly amendments to the draft resolution.
Mr. Blair agreed to put the following into the settlement agreement being negotiated with Commissioner McHugh: there would be no deliveries on Wisconsin Ave during the morning rush hour and to have Uber Eats drivers pick up orders through the loading dock.
Commissioner Hall moved and Commissioner Ehrhardt seconded a motion to approve the amended resolution in favor of the valet parking permit. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
ANC Business
- Approval of September 12, 2019 and September 25, 2019 Meeting Minutes – Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Ehrhardt seconded a motion to approve the Draft September 12, 2019 Meeting Minutes. Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Hall seconded a motion to approve the Draft September 25, 2019 Meeting Minutes. Both motions were approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
- Approval of expenditures – Commissioner Quinn moved, and Commissioner Hall seconded a motion to approve payments of $1391 to Lisner-Louise-Hurt Home, $570.00 to Sherry Cohen for administrative support and $75.35 to FedEx. The expenditures were approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
- 4th Quarter 2019 quarterly report – Commissioner Quinn moved, and Commissioner Hall seconded a motion to approve the report. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
- Approval of 2020 budget – Commissioner Bender moved, and Commissioner Hall seconded a motion to approve the 2020 draft budget. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
The meeting was adjourned by acclimation at 9:16 PM.