ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on November 18, 2020. Commissioners present: Grace Lewis – Parliamentarian (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio – Secretary (5A03); Ronnie Edwards – Chair (5A05); Claudia Barragan (5A06); Sandi Washington – Treasurer (5A07); Gordon Fletcher – Vice Chair (5A08). Commissioner Washington departed early. Lucky her, the meeting lasted until almost 10:30 pm.

DC Office of Attorney General

The DC Office of Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection has a price gouging taskforce. Concerns about price gouging can be made on the consumer protection hotline at (202) 442-9828 or email at consumer.protection@dc.gov. Other consumer protection complaints can also be submitted to the hotline.

MPD Report

The Riggs Park neighborhood is in MPD public service area (PSA) 406. MPD holds a Sector 2 meeting covering PSAs 405, 406, and 407 the second Tuesday of each month from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Carjackings are up citywide, but there have been a couple of arrests of individuals believed responsible for multiple carjacking offenses. MPD stated there is a spike in shootings between crews from recently released individuals. With the holiday season approaching, consider having packages delivered to safe locations.

There have been a few shootings in Riggs Park recently, specifically in the 800 block of Jefferson Street NE and the 800 block of Oglethorpe NE. MPD 4D Captain Bryan Christian stated some of the violence can be attributed to individuals who were released pending their hearing date due to COVID-19. In response to my question about having a permanent camera installed on Oglethorpe Street, Captain Christian stated that is a decision made by MPD leadership. In response to my question about whether the city provides case management services to these recently released individuals, Captain Christian stated the city does site visits to individuals’ homes through the Court Services Supervision and Offender Supervision Agency for DC (CSOSA).

ANC 5A08 Public Safety Task Force

For the ANC 5A08 public safety task force, MPD will work with Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) to set up a regular walk with MPD and other DC government agencies such as DDOT or DPW. MPD asked Commissioner Fletcher to have at least six residents available for the walks. The walks are supposed to be resident-led.

Ward 5 MOCR Report

Malik Miller is leaving his role as the Ward 5 mayor’s office liaison (MOCR). Nokomis Hunter will be the new Ward 5 MOCR.

Ward 5 State Board of Education

Ward 5 SBOE Representative Zachary Parker noted that DCPS has opened CARES classrooms in some schools, including LaSalle-Backus. View Mr. Parker’s presentation here. DCPS has a school readiness reopening checklist, but it does not include testing.

After the meeting, Mr. Parker sent the following points about CARES classrooms.

• Access to CARES classrooms is by invitation only; 400+ DC students have accepted seats so far 
• CARES classrooms are not covered by teachers and are merely an opportunity for students to engage in online learning in a school setting with supervision
• There are currently 29 elementary schools open with CARES classrooms; Ward 5 campuses include NOYES and Wheatley…..LaSalle-Backus EC should be of interest to you too 
• DCPS is looking to open more schools and CARES classrooms after Thanksgiving 
• CARES classrooms are primarily targeting high-need students (i.e., students with disabilities, those who are homeless, English language learners, etc.), though principals have some flexibility 
• These CARES classrooms are opening as COVID-19 rates are rising nationally, and in DC, our rate was 4.8% yesterday 
• All schools with CARES classrooms are supposed to have nurses on-site and will follow DC Health guidelines for COVID-19 precautions

In addition, following the meeting, Mr. Parker shared that OSSE has a new Special Education Resource Hub, which includes many resources for families. Also, the Office of the Ombudsman is a great resource for counseling and intervention for families who feel as though their needs are not being met at school. The Office works to mediate conflicts between schools and families.

Mr. Parker and his predecessor Ward 5 SBOE representative Mark Jones are standing up an organization called Ward 5 Education Trust to provide financial support to Ward 5 public schools.

Art Place at Fort Totten

The commission voted to support the public space application for two curb cuts on Ingraham Street NE and one curb cut on Kennedy Street NE for the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten.

ANC 5A Office Space

The ANC has finally received the self-insured document it needs to occupy space at the Modern at Art Place, which is being provided as a community benefit.

ANC 5A Website

Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) is continuing work on selecting a website designer to design a new ANC 5A website. The ANC plans to release a survey to solicit input on the features and resources residents would like to see in a new site.

Comprehensive Plan Amendments

Commissioner Fletcher testified on behalf of ANC 5A at the recent Comp Plan hearing. Written testimony may be submitted for the record. The record closes at 5:00 pm on Decemer 3, 2020.

Rocketship Social Justice Public Charter School

Correction 11/24/2020: Social Justice School presented at the meeting not Rocketship.

Rocketship Social Justice School received its charter earlier this year and opened the 2020-2021 school year with 50 students. Most of the students live in Wards 4, 5, and 8, and are engaging in distance learning. Approximately 10 students are receiving in-person instruction. These in-person seats were prioritized for students experiencing homelessness and for students whose parents are first responders.

Cityblock Health Services

CityBlock Health Services is seeking citywide support for its certificate of need application to DC’s State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) to establish “ambulatory community based health services.” Cityblock serves clients primarily in Wards 5, 7, and 8. They are not looking to open a physical location in ANC 5A; they are simply doing community outreach to councilmembers and ANC communities in which they provide services.

Lamond-Riggs Library Board of Zoning Adjustment Requests

Update 11/24/2020: View DCPL’s presentation here.

The ANC voted to support DC Public Library requests for special exception relief from the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to support the rebuilding of the Lamond-Riggs Library.

Lot occupancy

One request is to slightly exceed the allowable lot occupancy. For the R-2 zone in which the library sits, the allowable lot occupancy is 40 percent. The existing library actually already exceeds that restriction, occupying 47 percent of the lot. The new library will occupy 49.5 percent of the lot.

Parking

The other request concerns relief from minimum vehicle parking requirements. The library is supposed to have a minimum of 11 vehicle parking spaces. The existing library does have 11 spaces, but one is a noncompliant handicap space because it is outside of the lot line and another one has limited access because of its location next to the library’s dumpster. The new library will only have 9 parking spaces, one being a fully compliant handicap parking space, because of site constraints and the amount of amenities that need to be accommodated on the lot. The BZA case number is 20392. The hearing will be on January 13, 2021.

DCPL is still waiting for its raze permit. They expect to receive that in the coming weeks and the building will be taken down shortly thereafter. View the new library design and other rebuilding information on the project website at https://www.dclibrary.org/newlamondriggs.

UDC/Pepco Ag. Pod Project

UDC and Pepco are teaming up to establish an “Ag. Pod” at UDC’s Backus Urban Food Hub, housed at UDC Backus at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE. The system will be used to grow food year-round. See this post for more information. UDC has two surveys seeking community input.

(1) A community survey to introduce the project and capture people’s interest: 
https://udc.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6MyQ2BqV0l2uWVL

(2) A community survey to help the team select the best wrap design for the project: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9N696S

UDC is requesting input on both surveys by December 4, 2020.

Miscellaneous

The ANC does not usually have a regular public meeting in December. The ANC will welcome three new commissioners to represent single member districts 5A01, 5A02, and 5A06 in January 2021.

ANC 5A Public Meeting
November 18, 2020
6:45 pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86719715920?pwd=ZklRYmd3aEVxcU93QXVSRzF3Uy84dz09

Meeting ID: 867 1971 5920   
Passcode: 690348

Dial In: 301 715 8592

All residents will be muted.  Individuals will be called on once acknowledged by the Chair.

Agenda Items

1. MPD
2. Website
3. Art Place at Fort Totten
4. UDC/Pepco Project

ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on October 28, 2020. Commissioners present: Grace Lewis – Parliamentarian (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio – Secretary (5A03); Ronnie Edwards – Chair (5A05); Claudia Barragan (5A06); Sandi Washington – Treasurer (5A07); Gordon Fletcher – Vice Chair (5A08)

The ANC used this meeting primarily to discuss ANC business.

ANC Budget

The ANC is supposed to prepare a budget for the new fiscal year. They have to get public input, so there could be a special meeting in the next couple of weeks for that. Think about if you have specific ideas for how the ANC should use its funds.

ANC Annual Report

The ANC is supposed to prepare an annual report. The ANC did not submit a 2018-2019 report, so this year’s annual report will cover activities from 2018 to 2020.

Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan)

Chair Ronnie Edwards (5A05) thanked the residents who worked on the ANC’s resolution to the DC Office of Planning (OP) regarding the proposed Comp Plan amendments (see part one and part two of ANC 5A’s submission). OP responded to the ANC’s submission back in April of this year. OP accepted two of the ANC’s comments for inclusion in OP’s draft plan, acknowledged around thirty-five comments as consistent with and already incorporated elsewhere in the draft plan, and rejected around nine comments as either inconsistent with or out of the scope of the plan. OP’s response letter stated the agency would be interested in talking with the ANC about its submission (language included in responses to all of the ANCs), so Chair Edwards mentioned having OP at a meeting to do so. (Given that OP’s response was sent in April and the Council is having a hearing on the proposed amendments on November 12 and 13, I am not sure when a conversation will realistically happen). The ANC plans to testify at the Comp Plan hearing.

ANC 5A Website

Commissioners Gordon Fletcher (5A08) and Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) are leading the project to revamp the ANC’s website. The ANC will secure at least three bids for the design. Commissioner Claudia Barragan (5A06) implored the ANC to contract with someone who lives in the District (preferably in Ward 5). After all, she noted, the ANC often asks developers to hire Ward 5 residents and do business with local companies so it only makes sense for the ANC to hold itself to the same standard. If you or anyone you know may be interested in designing a website for the ANC that can be easily maintained, reach out to Commissioners Fletcher and Lucio for a scope of work.

ANC Office Space

The saga that is the ANC office space at Art Place at Fort Totten continues. The developer is requesting a self-insured document from the ANC so that the ANC may occupy the space free of charge. Getting that document is turning out to be a little difficult. During the meeting, Commissioner Fletcher, who represents the SMD where Art Place sits, displayed a document that other ANCs have received from District government for a similar purpose to explain what he needs. Director of the Office of ANC Gottlieb Simon was in the meeting and seemed to suggest that getting a similar document to ANC 5A would require jumping through a little more hoops for some reason. But they are working on it.

Art Place at Fort Totten

An item not on the agenda was a public space application for curb cuts for the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten. The permit expediter handling the application for the developer appeared at the meeting to explain that the request is for two curb cuts on Ingraham Street NE and one curb cut on Kennedy Street NE. The full commission was not aware of the application so they will review it for the next meeting.

Miscellaneous

The ANC will work on recording its public meetings.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on November 18 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.