1D01: Frank Agbro Mount Pleasant 1D04: Rosa Rivas
Chairperson Vice chairperson
Commission
1D02: Adam Hoey 1D05: Arturo Griffiths
1D03: Jack McKay 1380 Monroe St NW, #117
Secretary/Treasurer Washington DC 20010 website: www.anc1d.org
Minutes of the January 20, 2015 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission
1-D
These minutes accepted at the February 18, 2015 meeting.
Call to order
[7:00 pm] Chair Hoey called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Present were all five commissioners: Adam Hoey,
Frank Agbro, Rosa Rivas, Arturo Griffiths, and Jack McKay. The commissioners offered opening statements.
Election of officers
[7:13 pm] Adam called for nominations for Chairperson. Jack nominated Adam; Rosa nominated Franko. Franko
was chosen by a 4 to 1 vote (Rosa, Franko, Arturo, and Adam voting for Franko, Jack voting for Adam).
Franko, taking the microphone as chair, asked for nominations for Vice Chairperson. Arturo nominated Rosa;
Jack nominated Adam. Rosa was chosen, by a 4 to 1 vote (Rosa, Franko, Arturo, and Adam voting for Rosa,
Jack voting for Adam).
Franko called for nominations for Secretary. Jack was nominated, and chosen by acclamation, there being no
other nominees.
Franko called for nominations for Treasurer. Adam nominated Jack, and Arturo nominated Adam, who
declined. Jack was then chosen by acclamation, there being no other nominees.
Public discussion
[7:39 pm] The meeting was opened to public discussion.
Calendar of meetings for 2015
[7:47 pm] The commission agreed, by a 5 to 0 vote, to a schedule of “Tuesday preceding the fourth Thursday” of
each month: January 20, *February 24, *March 24, April 21, *May 26, *June 23, July 21, *September 22,
October 20, November 17, December 15 (asterisks indicating deviations from third Tuesdays).
ANC1D meeting minutes, January 20, 2015, p. 1 of 3
District Government introductions
[7:51 pm] Visitors from DC Government offices introduced themselves: Claudia Barahona, Director of
Constituent Services, and Tania Jackson, Chief of Staff, for Councilmember Nadeau; and Ben Case, Ward
One Liaison for Mayor Muriel Bowser, spoke.
Secretary’s report
[7:56 pm] Jack asked if there were any corrections to be offered to the December 2014 minutes. None being
offered, the minutes were deemed accepted.
Treasurer’s report
[7:56 pm] Jack offered the following resolution:
Resolved that this Commission approves the ANC's participation in the Advisory Neighborhood Commission
Security Fund and authorizes the Treasurer to pay the $25 fee for the period January 1, 2015 through
December 31, 2015. The Chairperson and Secretary are authorized to execute the agreement. Passed, 5 to 0
vote.
Jack noted the following routine expenditures: Checks to Tony Grillo, $50, postering for January meeting;
HearSay Interpreting, $100, interpreting at the January meeting.
Jack presented the quarterly financial report for Q1FY2015, for submission to the DC Auditor, and requested
formal ANC approval. Quarterly report approved, 5 to 0 vote.
Unfinished business: crosswalk for Mount Pleasant Street
[8:02 pm] Chair Agbro brought the unfinished business from the last meeting to the floor:
Resolved, that ANC1D advises the District Department of Transportation to implement a second marked
crosswalk at the intersection of Kenyon Street and Mount Pleasant Street, crossing Mount Pleasant Street on
the south side of the intersection.
Why: A marked crosswalk will make it clear that crossing the
street where the Kenyon Street sidewalk ends is legal, whereas
currently that is unclear, because there is no matching sidewalk
on the opposite side of Mount Pleasant Street. The marked
crosswalk will promote driver stopping for pedestrians crossing
at this location, making it clear that pedestrians have the right of
way, whereas without the crosswalk markings, it is not clear
who has the right of way.
After some discussion, Jack moved that this resolution be tabled
until the next meeting. Motion to table approved, 5 to 0 vote.
Business cards
[8:13 pm] Jack, fulfilling a request by Franko, offered the following resolution:
Moved that the commission authorizes for each commissioner a one-time expenditure of up to $50 for the
purchase of business cards, to be reimbursed by the commission.
Motion approved, 5 to 0 vote.
ANC1D meeting minutes, January 20, 2015, p. 2 of 3
Accept HPO Staff Report for 3240 19th Street
[8:17 pm] Jack offered the following resolution:
Resolved, that ANC1D advises the Historic Preservation Review Board to accept the HPO staff report for
3240 19th Street NW (HPA 15-102), but with a relaxation of the requirement that “a stick test . . .
demonstrate that the roof addition will not be visible from 19th Street”.
Why: The first concern is that the location of this building is
such that the sides are exceptionally visually exposed, this
being the end of a row (see photo). This causes the “not
visible from 19th Street” condition to be especially restrictive.
The second concern is that solar energy installations are
highly desirable for producing renewable, pollution-free,
carbon-free energy. Plainly solar energy is far superior to
conventional sources, whether coal, gas, or nuclear, for the
environment, and should be encouraged by public policy. In
this case, due to the exposed side of this end-of-row building,
the restrictions on solar panels are especially troublesome,
significantly degrading the potential performance of the
panels. As the staff report says, “The solar panels would have to be flush-mounted to remain invisible from
the street, but flush-mounting is tricky on many kinds of roofs because of the difficulty of securing to or
through the membrane”. Furthermore, rainwater drainage underneath the panels must be provided, and
ideally the panels should be tilted to enhance solar illuminance.
The ban on visibility from the street appears only in the historic preservation guidelines, not in the historic
preservation law. The latter requires only "compatibility" with the character of the historic district. This
allows some flexibility in interpretation, and in this case, considering the societal benefits of solar energy, the
suitability of solar panels to enable "adaptive re-use", and the increasing number of solar panels in the Mount
Pleasant Historic District, it would be appropriate to permit some modest visibility of these solar panels.
Resolution passed, 5 to 0 vote.
Adjournment
[8:36 pm] The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 pm.
ANC1D meeting minutes, January 20, 2015, p. 3 of 3