Regular Meeting Minutes"
Wednesday, July 16, 2014; 7:00 p.m."
GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs – 805 21st Street NW, Room 310"
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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), Graham Galka (05), Jackson Carnes (07),
and Peter Sacco (08) were present. Commissioner Florence Harmon (06) arrived at 7:15
p.m."
Commissioner Coder made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Irizarry
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 6-0)."
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Community Forum"
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Report from the Office of Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans"
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Kevin Stogner, General Counsel for Councilmember Jack Evans, was present to give an
update from the Councilmember’s office. Mr. Stogner said that the Council was now on
recess, but in their final week they overrode the Mayor’s veto of the Council-passed DC
FY 2015 Budget."
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Future of MLK Library Discussion"
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Commissioner Coder said that the DC Library was holding a series of community
meetings on the future of the MLK Library. She said that Susan Haight, President of the
Friends of the West End Library, requested that ANC 2A co-host a meeting in the
neighborhood with a variety of other community organizations on the matter."
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Commissioner Coder made a motion to sponsor the meeting. Commissioner Carnes
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 6-0)."
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Commissioner Florence Harmon (06) entered the room."
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Update 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. Mr. Sondreal started by talking about the boundary
proposal formulation process that the Deputy Mayor for Education’s office was currently
going through, which would update the District’s school choice and in-boundary policies.
Mr. Sondreal first reiterated the need for strong neighborhood schools. He then said that
the current boundary proposal had gotten rid of choice sets and had turned many school
admissions into lotteries."
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Mr. Sondreal then went over the history of the School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens’
large in-boundary area, as well as how the boundary would be affected by the new
boundary proposal. He said that the proposal would result in a large loss of in-boundary
students for both the elementary and middle schools levels. He added that the school
community perceives anything that shrinks the boundaries of the school to be a threat to
try and close the school once again."
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Mr. Sondreal presented a draft resolution to the Commission that called for the Deputy
Mayor for Education’s office to enlarge the proposed attendance zone for the middle
school grades at the School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens."
Chair Kennedy made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Carnes seconded
the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Presentation by G.W.U. of Details Regarding its Acquisition of Corcoran Holdings"
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Charles Barber, Deputy General Counsel for GW, was present to talk about the
acquisition. He first said that GW had signed an agreement with the Corcoran to assume
control of the school as well as to take control of the school’s 17th Street building and its
educational building in Georgetown. GW had also reached an agreement with the
National Gallery of Art to operate the art gallery in the 17th Street building. "
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Mr. Barber said that the agreement was currently going in front of the DC Superior
Court, which has to approve the merger of the two schools. GW was hoping that the
Court would approve the agreement before the start of the academic year."
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Mr. Barber said that GW would operate the 17th Street building under its current zoning
status. GW had also looked at what impact the merger would have on the 2007 Foggy
Bottom Campus Plan, ultimately deciding that GW believes that the merger would not
violate the campus plan. Mr. Barber added that the 17th Street building was outside of the
Foggy Bottom Campus Plan area."
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Mr. Barber said that the new Corcoran students now admitted to GW would still be
covered under the University’s Foggy Bottom enrollment cap. He added that GW would
seek to clarify how Corcoran students would be treated under the Foggy Bottom Campus
Plan. Mr. Barber said that, in the fall, GW would be filing an amendment to the campus
plan to account for the new Corcoran students."
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Commissioner Coder asked about the perpetuity of GW’s agreement with the Corcoran.
Mr. Barber said that GW’s agreement with the National Gallery of Art was a 20-year
agreement that was subject to renewal, and that even if the agreement was not renewed,
the space would still be used to display art."
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In talking about the upkeep status of the 17th Street building, Mr. Barber first said that the
building was a historic building and thus the exterior could not be changed. He added that
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a large part of the current agreement with the Corcoran was that GW had agreed to fix
deferred maintenance on the building. The building would be renovated in phases, with
GW providing the majority of the funding for the renovations."
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Regulatory Agenda"
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Consideration of Follow-Up Action Regarding an 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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Commissioner Sacco recused himself from discussing and voting on this matter."
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Chair Kennedy said that GW Hillel had filed a motion with the Zoning Commission to
delay making a decision on the application until September in order to reach an
agreement with neighboring St. Mary’s Church."
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to amend the ANC’s position on the matter so that the
ANC’s support was contingent upon a construction management agreement being
reached by the Commission's meeting on September 8th. Commissioner Galka seconded
the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 6-0)."
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Application of Professional Associates and the International Finance Corporation (Case
No. 14-04) for Approval of a Consolidated PUD (2100 K Street)"
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David Avitabile from Goulston & Storrs was present representing the applicants. Mr.
Avitabile said that an additional approximately 40,000 square feet of density would be
gained on the site as a result of the project. He added that since the project’s last
appearance in front of ANC, the only major change was the proposed benefits and
amenities package. Mr. Avitabile then went over the proposed amenities. He added that
the applicant had now agreed that the retail space on the ground floor of the project
would remain a retail space, regardless of whether the applicant could immediately find a
tenant."
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The architect for the project went over the design of the penthouse roof element."
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Mary Bernstein from the Foggy Bottom West End Village was present and was thankful
that the Village was included in the list of amenities."
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Commissioner Harmon asked about the possibility of the Stevens School being included
on the Foggy Bottom Heritage Trail."
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Commissioner Kennedy stressed the need to have a community space that did not have a
photo ID requirement for entry."
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Barbara Kahlow, a neighborhood resident, looked over the applicant’s amenities filing
and said that a $1.5 million contribution to the Housing Production Trust Fund was
included in the list of amenities."
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Chair Kennedy distributed a resolution he wrote on the matter and read it aloud."
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Sacco seconded the
motion. "
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Commissioner Galka asked for a friendly amendment that the ANC would be able to
identify a community amenity of roughly equivalent value if the building manager would
not allow visitors to enter the community space in the building without photo ID. Chair
Kennedy and Commissioner Sacco accepted the friend amendment. "
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Commissioner Carnes asked for a friendly amendment to include funding for the
installation of elevators for a second Metro entrance at the Foggy Bottom Metro station
as the top alternative amenity. The amendment was not accepted as a friendly
amendment."
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The final motion was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Proposal for Flags to Be Installed at the Pan American Health Organization Building"
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Chris Turner was present representing the Pan American Health Organization. He said
that the organization currently had forty flagpoles on the organization’s property on
Virginia Avenue for their forty member nations. He said that the organization recently
added two member nations and thus had submitted an application to the District
Department of Transportation’s Public Space Committee to add two new flagpoles along
Virginia Avenue."
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Commissioner Carnes made a motion to support the application. Commissioner Coder
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Consideration of the Proposed “George Washington/West End Historic District” (Case
14-12) in Squares 58, 77-81, 101-104, 121, and 122"
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Commissioner Sacco recused himself from discussing and voting on this matter."
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Kim Williams was present representing the DC Historic Preservation Office. She said
that the Historic Preservation Review Board’s scheduled hearing on the proposed historic
district had been postponed until September."
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Ms. Williams went over the history of the “West End” name, including why it was being
added to the name of the historic district. She then reviewed the history of the
architectural styles that would be included in the new historic district. She also went over
the current status of the nomination petition for the historic district."
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Gary Griffith, a neighborhood resident, and Commissioner Coder talked about the
potential confusion of including “West End” in the name, as the historical use of the
name would conflict with the current use of the name."
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Commissioner Coder read a resolution aloud that she wrote on the matter."
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Commissioner Coder made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Irizarry
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 6-0)."
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Request for a Letter of Support from “Best Buddies International” to Stage the “5th
Annual Best Buddies Challenge” on October 18, 2014"
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Julie Hanson was present representing Best Buddies International. She went over the
mission of the organization and the plans for the race."
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Commissioner Irizarry made a motion to support the application. Commissioner Coder
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Consideration of a Resolution Regarding the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Early
Childhood Programs"
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Chair Kennedy read aloud a resolution that Commissioner Kishan Putta from ANC 2B
had written on the matter."
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to adopt the resolution. Commissioner Irizarry seconded
the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Administrative Agenda"
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Approval of the Quarterly Financial Report"
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Commissioner Sacco distributed the most recent quarterly financial report."
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Commissioner Carnes made a motion to approve the quarterly financial report.
Commissioner Coder seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-
0)."
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Second Reading of Revisions to the Commission’s Bylaws"
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Commissioner Irizarry recommended defining probable cause for removing officers in
the new set of bylaws. Gottlieb Simon from the Office of Advisory Neighborhood
Commissions, who was present, clarified that probable cause did not need to be defined."
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Chair Kennedy then made a motion to adopt the bylaws. Commissioner Sacco seconded
the motion."
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Commissioner Irizarry asked for a friendly amendment to change the notice for removal
of an officer to 30 days. The amendment was accepted as a friendly amendment."
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Commissioner Irizarry asked for a friendly amendment to remove the phrase “probable
cause for removal of an officer.” The amendment was accepted as a friendly amendment."
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Commissioner Harmon asked for a friendly amendment to remove the word “prior” from
Article 3, Section 5. The amendment was accepted as a friendly amendment."
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Chair Kennedy asked for a friendly amendment to take out “two-thirds” and add in
“majority” in Article 4, Section 10. The amendment was accepted as a friendly
amendment."
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Chair Kennedy asked for a friendly amendment to add an Article 13, which now read
“Article XIII. Supremacy Clause: In cases where these bylaws conflict with the laws of
the District of Columbia, the D.C. laws shall prevail.” The amendment was accepted as a
friendly amendment."
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Commissioner Galka asked for a friendly amendment to remove the phrase “or
influential” in Article 3, Section 7. The amendment was accepted as a friendly
amendment."
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Chair Kennedy called the final motion to a vote, and the motion passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to reopen the discussion on the bylaws. Commissioner
Galka seconded the motion."
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Commissioner Galka made a motion to revert back to the original language for Article 9.
Commissioner Sacco seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 5-
2)."
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Chair Kennedy made a motion to adopt the revised set of bylaws. Commissioner Coder
seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-0)."
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Fine for Delayed Filing from the District Department of Employment Services"
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Commissioner Sacco made a motion to approve a $100 payment to Department of
Employment Services (DOES) for a fine for the delayed filing of the ANC’s employment
status. He added that he would try to work with DOES first to drop the fine.
Commissioner Coder seconded the motion, which was voted on and passed (VOTES: 7-
0)."
Chair Kennedy adjourned the meeting at 11:00 pm.
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Respectfully submitted by Peter Sacco, ANC 2A Secretary."
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