Regular Meeting Minutes"
Wednesday, May 21, 2014; 7:00 p.m."
School Without Walls – 2130 G Street NW"
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Call to Order"
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Chair Patrick Kennedy (01) called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Commissioners
Rebecca Coder (02), Armando Irizarry (04), Jackson Carnes (07), and Peter Sacco (08)
were present."
Chair Kennedy made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Sacco seconded the
motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-0)."
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Community Forum"
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Public Safety Report"
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Officer Hunter was present to give the public safety report. He said that thefts from cars
were up and that people should keep their car doors locked."
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Chair Kennedy recommended installing a traffic cam outside of the 23rd Street underpass
on Virginia Avenue."
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New Hampshire Avenue Streetscape update"
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Ian Swain from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) was present to talk
about the progress of work on New Hampshire Avenue. Mr. Swain said that the
Washington Circle signalization was improving. He also said that Fort Myer Construction
would be going back and doing some light resurfacing in certain sections of the circle."
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With regards to the two-way traffic on New Hampshire Avenue, Mr. Swain said that
implementation of the two-way traffic was dependent on Pepco, which was working its
way down the street from Dupont Circle on signalization. He added that proper notice
would be given to the public once Pepco was ready."
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Commissioner Irizarry asked about the progress regarding light shields being installed
along the street, as well as whether the median on New Hampshire Avenue between H
and Eye Streets would be replanted and mowed."
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Presentation from the DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking"
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Philip Barlow, a Consumer Protection Advocate for the Department of Insurance,
Securities, and Banking, was present to give a presentation. Mr. Barlow said that the
Department was the regulator for the financial institutions and insurance agencies in DC,
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and tried to create a balanced marketplace for consumers. He went over some typical
scams that the Department deals with. He also talked about DC Health Link and DC’s
implementation of the Affordable Care Act."
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Appearance by Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans"
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Councilmember Jack Evans was present to give an overview of the FY 2015 budget
discussions. He started off by talking about how the budget was introduced and passed
through the DC government. He added that the city was financially thriving and that the
FY 2015 budget would be the largest budget in DC history. In the budget, the DC Public
Schools would be getting an approximately $70 million increase in funding."
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Chair Kennedy asked about moving up the renovation timeline for the School Without
Walls at Francis-Stevens."
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Councilmember Evans also talked about the need for a new public high school in Ward 2."
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Multiple community members were concerned with the proposed soccer stadium
negotiations."
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Report from the Ward 2 Education Network"
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Chris Sondreal, ANC 2A’s representative to the Ward 2 Education Network, was present
to give an update from the Network. He went over the new school boundary change
proposals that were released by the Deputy Mayor for Education’s office."
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A resolution that Commissioner Stephanie Maltz from ANC 2B had written in response
to the boundary change proposals was read aloud."
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Commissioner Carnes made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Coder
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-0)."
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Regulatory Agenda"
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Application for a Charity Race Hosted by the Four Seasons Hotel"
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Sean Dunlevy, the Director of Security at the Four Seasons Hotel, was present to talk
about the plans for the race. He said that the race, the Sprint Four the Cure, would support
cancer research and that no loudspeakers or music would be used along the course."
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Armando made a motion to raise no objection to the application for the Sprint Four the
Cure. Commissioner Sacco seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed
(VOTES: 5-0)."
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Request for a Letter of Support for the Jewish Community Center Park Concert"
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A representative for the Jewish Community Center was present and said that the concert
would be on Francis Field on Sunday, June 8th. She said that the organization had already
applied for and received a permit for the event. She added that the organization had great
sound engineers working on the concert to make sure their was no interruption on the
neighborhood."
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Commissioner Coder made a motion to support the concert. Chair Kennedy seconded the
motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-0)."
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Application by Hillel and G.W.U. for Zoning Relief and a Related Campus Plan
Amendment for Subject Property (2300 H Street)"
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David Avitabile from Goulston & Storrs was present representing the applicant. He
started off by saying that the applicant, GW Hillel, was a Jewish organization at GW that
was completely independent from the University. He said that GW Hillel has asked GW
to partner on the project so that the University could finance a portion of the construction
of the proposed building."
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Mr. Avitabile said that the Zoning Commission had decided to merge two separate
hearings on variances for the project and amendments to the University’s campus plan
into one hearing. He said that the current application asks for floor area ratio (FAR),
parking, and roof structure variances, as well as GW’s application for special use under
the 2007 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan."
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Mr. Avitabile said that GW had reached out to the staff at the Office of Zoning, and they
said that the project did not implicate the section of the Campus Plan that does not allow
for additional density in Foggy Bottom outside of the approved Campus Plan projects."
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Rabbi Yoni Kaiser-Blueth, the Executive Director of GW Hillel, gave an overview of the
organization, including what the organization does and why there was a need for the
project."
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The architect for the project went over the plans for the new building. She said that the
project would eliminate the curb cut currently present on H Street. The building would
have two kosher kitchens on the lower level, which would provide kosher meals to GW
students and staff."
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With regards to GW’s use of the building, Mr. Avitabile said that GW would lease the
top two floors of the building. He added that GW is proposing to not allow faculty and
academic offices to use the top two floors of the building and that the space would only
be used for student life purposes."
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Mr. Avitabile said that GW had agreed that, in order to use the additional density on the
Hillel site, they would not use additional density on a site behind the University’s
Lafayette Hall that they originally proposed to use additional density on."
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Chair Kennedy asked if the loss of density on the Lafayette Hall site would be permanent
or just for the duration of the 2007 Campus Plan. Mr. Avitabile said that it would be
permanent."
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Chair Kennedy said that the ANC had already voted to retain counsel on this matter."
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The Senior Warden of St. Mary’s Church was present to talk about the project’s effects
on the Church. He first talked about the history of St. Mary’s Church. He then said that
there were a few things that still need to be resolved, most notably that the two
organizations had not yet reached a construction management agreement for the project."
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Barbara Kahlow, the Secretary-Treasurer for the West End Citizens Association (WECA)
went over the problems that WECA saw with the current project proposal. She called for
GW to provide amenities for the project based on its negative impacts on the
neighborhood. Mr. Avitabile said that GW did not want to consider amenities because
there would be no net gain in density in the neighborhood."
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Mr. Avitabile explained that the variances were necessary because the lot was very small
and that GW Hillel needed to be able to increase the size of the building in order to
support the organization’s programming mission."
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No action was taken on the matter."
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Application by Bread & Chocolate for a New Class D Liquor License and Request for a
Stipulated License (2301 M Street)"
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Commissioner Coder made a motion to support the application. Commissioner Carnes
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 4-0-1)."
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Application for the Installation of a Bench on Public Space Outside of “RIS”"
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No one was present representing the applicant. Commission Coder said that benches were
being installed in the neighborhood under an amenities package previously agreed to by
the Hilton Garden Inn."
Chair Kennedy made a motion to object to the application on the basis of a lack of
information. Commissioner Coder seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed
(VOTES: 5-0)."
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Application for the Nation’s Triathlon"
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Diana Thomas was present representing the Washington Sports Alliance, the organizer of
the Triathlon. She went over the plans for the race."
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Commissioner Irizarry asked that the organization limit the noise outside of the
Watergate complex."
Commissioner Sacco made a motion to raise no objection to the application.
Commissioner Coder seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-
0)."
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Approval of the March Meeting Minutes"
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to approve the March meeting minutes, subject to
technical edits. Commissioner Sacco seconded the motion, which was voted on and
passed (VOTES: 5-0)."
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Approval of the Commission’s 2nd Quarterly Financial Report"
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Commissioner Carnes made a motion to adopt the 2nd Quarterly Financial Report.
Commissioner Coder seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-
0)."
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Patrick adjourned the meeting at 9:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Peter Sacco, ANC 2A Secretary.
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