Monthly Archives: January 2016

ANC 5A January 27, 2016 Meeting Recap

Posted by nextstoprp in ANC 5A

On January 27, 2016, ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting. All commissioners were present. The meeting primarily consisted of ANC business. The commissioners elected new officers:

  • Chair: Angel Alston (5A08)
  • Vice Chair: Adrian Jordan (5A03)
  • Treasurer: Sandi Washington (5A07)
  • Secretary: Jasmine White (5A06)
  • Parliamentarian: Isaiah Burroughs (5A04)

The commissioners voted to participate in the ANC security fund. They voted to support payment of up to $2,000 to have an electrical outlet installed in their new office for their copier. ANC 5A does not pay rent for its office at UDC-CC Backus. The ANC’s old office in the school had an appropriate outlet to support a copier, but the school moved them into a different room that does not.

Public Safety

PSA 405 Lieutenant Ashley Rosenthal presented a crime report. Generally, violent crimes are up; property crimes are down. Lt. Rosenthal reminded residents that officers are not able to provide a lot of detail about ongoing investigations, which is understandably frustrating for residents who think crime is not being addressed.

PSA 405 Crime Stats Jan 2016 and Year End Report

PSA 405 Crime Stats Jan 2016 and Year End Report

Elected Officials Reports

Ronan Gulstone, chief of staff to Ward 5 Councilmember McDuffie, discussed the markup of the councilmember’s public safety bill, the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results Act of 2015 (or NEAR Act). He stated some of the proposals in the mayor’s public safety bill are included in this bill. The councilmember supported a measure to continue the prohibition on smoking marijuana in private clubs. Gulstone also mentioned that DC’s Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants is responsible for promulgating regulations to implement the recently passed security camera incentive program. He believes regulations should be out soon.

Ward 5 school board member Mark Jones stated he was pleased the board passed a resolution to give GED holders after January 2014 a state high school diploma. He said having a diploma would better position GED holders as they apply for jobs or seek higher education.

Mamie D. Lee School Building

A community flyer was available with updates on construction progress for Briya Bridges Public Charter School and Mary’s Center, which will occupy the former Mamie D. Lee school building at 100 Gallatin Street NE. The flyer also contains contact information for construction employment and construction activity inquiries.

Briya Bridges St. Mary’s Community Letter Jan 2016

Briya Bridges St. Mary's Community Letter Jan 2016

Community Concerns/SMD Reports

There was protracted discussion about the EYA 12th and Allison project, also known as the St. Joseph Seminary project. In response to a question about Councilmember McDuffie’s lack of engagement, Ronan Gulstone stated Councilmember McDuffie’s office is listening to residents’ concerns about the project, but until the developer submits a planned unit development (PUD) application, there is not really anything the councilmember can do except listen. Once a PUD is filed, and the developers indicate one will be filed in the spring, then the councilmember along with residents will have clearer information about the project.

The commission tabled support of the Brookland/Edgewood Livability Study after Commissioner Jordan and a resident expressed concern that the study area excluded residents in ANC 5A who live on the outer edges of Brookland.

Commissioner Alston noted the Zoning Commission approved Comstock’s proposed development for approximately 40 townhomes near the Capital Area Food Bank and Emerson Park. See Zoning Commission Order No. 15-04 (Comstock). To comply with inclusionary zoning requirements, two homes will be set aside for households earning up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI) and two for households earning up to 80 percent of the AMI. The developer is also setting aside an additional home beyond the IZ requirement for a household earning up to 80% of the AMI. The development will include a paved, lighted pedestrian/bicycle path for people to more easily access Fort Totten metro station and other community benefits:

  • $4,000 towards a vibration study
  • $40,000 for repairs of homes of senior citizens in North Michigan Park, with $10,000 reserved specifically for senior citizens living in the 4700 and 4800 blocks of 6th Street NE
  • $35,000 towards the renovation of UDC-CC Backus, with a provision permitting use of space by ANC 5A and the communities represented by ANC 5A08 60 times over a 2-year period
  • $12,500 to help establish the Friends of Totten Mews
  • $5,000 to North Michigan Park Civic Association to support their annual scholarship program and back-to school supply giveaway
  • $10,000 to Capital Area Food Bank to service providers operating in Ward 5, specifically ANC 5A

Finally, the commissioners acknowledged they need to be better about communicating with residents. To that end, they have set up an ANC 5A twitter account (@ANC5A). And they pledged to do a better job of keeping the website up to date. Notably however, Commissioner Burroughs (ANC 5A04), who set up the twitter page, is still not listed on ANC 5A’s website. The position is still listed as vacant. Burroughs became ANC 5A04 commissioner on November 18, 2015.

Fort Totten Square fast food special exception application

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Square

Post updated with application and hearing notice

The developers of Fort Totten Square have filed an application(pdf) and statement in support(pdf) for a special exception on behalf of its tenant restaurants to operate fast food establishments. A Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) hearing on the application has been scheduled for February 23, 2016. View the Hearing Notice: Notice of Hearing to ANC 4B

Fort Totten Square is in the C-2-A zone district. That zoning designation permits fast food restaurants only by special exception, not by matter-of-right. DC’s zoning code defines a fast food establishment as one in which “(a) [t]he premises include a drive-through; (b) [c]ustomers pay for the food before it is consumed; or (c) [f]ood is served on/in anything other than non-disposable tableware.” (11 DCMR §199). That definition encompasses not just what one thinks of as the typical fast food restaurant but also what has been labeled “fast casual” restaurants. The developers have signed leases with Subway and Five Guys. A third restaurant is listed in the application, but a lease has not been signed with that restaurant.

According to DC’s zoning guide(pdf), a special exception is necessary when “the owner wishes to institute a use that is pre-deemed compatible with the Zoning Regulations for that particular district, but which needs to be reviewed by the BZA to ensure that certain negative impacts will not occur.”

The BZA considers:

  1. Is the proposal in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Zoning Regulations and Zoning Map?
  2. Would the proposal tend to affect adversely, the use of neighboring property? (11 DCMR §3104.1)

To address these questions, the applicant must show that the establishments comply with the zoning standards for fast food establishments in the C-2-A zone, regarding issues such as trash, parking, and deliveries. (11 DCMR §733). The Board may impose conditions related to the use. The applicant states it complies with all of the section 733 requirements and no conditions are necessary.

DC’s Office of Planning and the affected ANC, in this case ANC 4B, may each submit a report to BZA with respect to the application. Notification of the hearing was mailed to residents within 200 feet of the premises. Those residents who have an interest in this application should contact ANC 4B09 commissioner Douglass Sloan (phone: (202) 291-6282; email: anc4b09@anc.dc.gov) or LRCA president Barbara Rogers (email: lrcabarb@yahoo.com). ANC 4B may consider taking action on the application at its meeting scheduled for January 25, 2016, but because of the inclement weather, that meeting may be rescheduled.
Documents related to this application are available on DC’s Office of Zoning website under case number 17600B.

 

Neighborhood real estate prices

Posted by nextstoprp in Uncategorized

At the end of 2015, DC’s Office of Revenue Analysis published a really interesting post on its District Measured blog about housing prices in various DC neighborhoods since 2001. For Riggs Park, the news is a mixed bag. (The Office uses tax subdivisions for its analysis, so some of the transactions may be outside of what we in the neighborhood consider Riggs Park). Median sales price is up 96% since 2001.

District Measured Rise in Home Prices Since 2001

Source: Districtmeasured.com

But prices have not quite reached the high achieved in 2006, which was $398,250. The median sales price in 2015 was 11% lower than 2006.

District Measured Percent Change Median Sale Price from 2006 to 2015

Source: Districtmeasured.com

Since 2009, the median sales price has increased 25 percent.

District Measured Hottest Home Price Nabes Since 2009

Source: Districtmeasured.com

Here is the median sales price for each year since 2009, according to District Measured:

  • 2009: $283,050
  • 2010: $258, 276
  • 2011: $241,680
  • 2012: $254,800
  • 2013: $300,900
  • 2014: $328, 750
  • 2015: $355,000

2015 also recorded the highest number of sales since 2009.

District Measured Home Price Trajectory 2001 to 2015

Source: Districtmeasured.com

Of course these numbers obscure the difference in price between a fully renovated or newly constructed home and a non-renovated one. I waited to publish a piece about the analysis because I had my eye on one particular property, a high end renovation of one of the older, midcentury brick semi-detached homes that was originally listed at $650,000. The price was eventually reduced to $599,000. A few days ago, the house sold for $585,000. By my review, that price is the highest to date for one of the older homes, albeit one that has been fully renovated and one that sits on a larger lot than many of the neighborhood homes.

Newly constructed homes close to the metro are selling for well over $600,000. For a while, recently renovated homes were being listed in the range of $450,000 to $499,000 and selling right around that price point. Now we are seeing renovated homes selling for over $500,000. Non-renovated homes that need a good bit of work are selling for around $280,000 to $300,000. For the non-investor, there is still a bit of a risk of losing out to all-cash buyers for the true fixer-uppers, but homes that have been maintained in good shape but that have not been fully renovated are selling in the range of $315,000 to $375,000. These are just figures I have eyeballed from following real estate listings over the year, not the result of doing a detailed analysis of the numbers since I am not a real estate agent.

Interest rates will surely creep up this year. We will see what effect the increase has on the upward trajectory of neighborhood housing prices.

Galloway Street sidewalk closing again

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

Jersey barriers have been set up on Galloway Street NE between South Dakota Avenue and Fourth Street next to Art Place in anticipation of closing the sidewalk once again. Last year, the construction team closed the sidewalk for a period of time, but had to reopen it after complaints of ice accumulation and general disregard for the state of the temporary path (see this post). Let’s hope they have sorted out how to make sure the temporary path remains passable this time around.

IMG_20160109_083539047

 

 

 

2016: ANC Election Year

Posted by nextstoprp in Uncategorized

Happy New Year everyone! It is 2016 and that means local elections come November. We will soon be bombarded by ads and election signs for council races. But equally important are elections for our local advisory neighborhood commissioners (ANCs). Our neighborhood is split between Wards 4 and 5. I live in Ward 5, so I stay more attuned to what is happening in ANC 5A. My commissioner on ANC 5A is Frank Wilds, who represents single member district (SMD) 5A01. It is not a secret that Commissioner Wilds does not actually want to be commissioner. He says he ran because no one else would. So this is a call for residents in ANC 5A01 in particular, but also residents in other SMDs, to start thinking about representing our great community on ANC 5A.  map5A

Having a really good, well-functioning ANC can do wonders for a neighborhood, especially one like ours that is seeing so much development. Generally, I think most of the ANC 5A commissioners are good people. They are nice and usually professional. Invited guests often remark that ANC 5A meetings are well-run and they seem surprised by how civil residents are to guests. We usually do not have any raised voices, at least not by residents.

My main issue with ANC 5A–a longstanding one–is the seeming lack of concern about transparency. Simple things like updating the ANC 5A website with meeting notices and official ANC documents like minutes, resolutions, and letters on behalf of the commission, are not being done. It would be great for the commissioners to recognize that the SMD boundaries are artificial lines that straddle neighborhoods and that the actions of one commissioner who represents one SMD can affect residents of other SMDs because those residents actually live in the same neighborhood. That is really all I expect of my commissioners. I recognize that these elected officials are not compensated and people have limited time, so I do not expect all that much of them. I go back and forth on whether I think commissioners should be paid. Sometimes I think that if they were paid, then they would do things like update the website, provide meaningful notice of ANC meetings or projects in the neighborhood that warrant community input, rather than having us operate in an information vacuum, or be a little more proactive about representing residents. But we also have elected and nonelected officials who are compensated to represent our interests and respond to our concerns, who are sometimes responsive and sometimes not. All that to say, there is an opportunity on ANC 5A for someone or someones to make a difference, especially when it comes to making ANC 5A a bit more transparent and improving coordination between commissioners across SMD boundary lines.

Over the next several months, I will repeat the entreaty to residents to throw their hat in the ring to represent the neighborhood on ANC 5A. It does not matter how long anyone has lived in the neighborhood. We need a voice. I hope some of you will consider serving.