(Note: I am super late in getting this post up. The meeting was unnecessarily over 3 hours long and was a bit of a mess. I’m sure I’m forgetting something.)

ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on September 22, 2021. Commissioners present: Damion McDuffie (5A01); Charles Lockett (5A02); Ronnie Edwards – Chair (5A05); Derrick Holloway (5A06); Sandi Washington – Treasurer (5A07); Gordon Fletcher – Vice Chair (5A08). ANC 5A04 is vacant.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton appeared at the top of the meeting. Usually her visits to public meetings can take a good portion of the meeting, but she had few remarks, mostly highlighting some wins she got for DC.

• Franklin Park downtown received a big renovation thanks to a partnership with businesses, District government, federal government
• New Frederick Douglass bridge opening thanks in part to funding secured by Congresswoman Norton
• There is more support for DC statehood in Congress

With respect to the Gallatin/Galloway pedestrian path, Congresswoman Norton said it has been delayed too long.

I asked Congresswoman Norton about the best way to approach getting an MOU and funding in place for Fort Circle Park at South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE similar to that for Franklin Park. She responded that she will get back to the ANC on this and that the Franklin Park MOU/renovation was something the businesses downtown really wanted.

MPD Police Report

Derek Staten, the former community liaison for MPD’s 4th District (which covers most of ANC 5A), has moved on to MPD headquarters for a broader outreach role within MPD. (Note: The new 4th District community liaison is Officer Robert Hamrick. His email is robert.hamrick@dc.gov. His phone number is (202) 744-0822. Interesting to me that the new community liaison is a police officer).

There was a shooting somewhere near Fort Totten Drive NE and 2nd Street NE. No other information provided about that.

Armed Forces Retirement Home

The development team for the Armed Forces Retirement Home is making the rounds of ANC meetings for affected ANCs. This will be a huge project. More information can be found on the project website at https://www.afrh.gov/aboutus/propertydevelopment and at https://www.ncpc.gov/projects/MP060.

Below are some screenshots from the presentation, which is not yet available on the ANC’s website.

Proposed Condo Conversion 65-97 Hawaii Avenue NE, 66 & 98 Webster Street NE (5A06)
BZA case number 20507

This is where the meeting went off the rails. I noted in my recap of the ANC’s June 2021 meeting that there were two projects in SMD 5A06. ANC Commissioner Derrick Holloway (5A06) missed that there are two different projects in his SMD. Anyhow, a lot of time was spent on the proposed condo conversion at 65-97 Hawaii Avenue NE because this will be a big project and there are a lot of issues. Chair Edwards likes to say that the commission cannot vote on anything unless there is a written document indicating exactly what the ANC is voting on. Well, the commissioners can be forgiven for not knowing exactly what relief they were being asked to vote on or what they were being asked to support because there was not a presentation (there was one at the June meeting) and Commissioner Holloway did not do a great job of explaining what a resolution to the BZA would say. (Note: This is why I have previously asked the ANC if they can circulate draft resolutions prior to the ANC meeting so that residents can know what they are voting on. How can residents know if the commissioners themselves do not even know, but I digress). Also, the ANC decided to forego a special meeting to discuss this project and turns out they probably could have benefited from some time devoted to just this project as we all got to witness the effect of not meeting on this project. Commissioner McDuffie recommended tabling a vote to discuss the issues more, but Commissioner Holloway was adamant about taking a vote. In the end, Commissioners McDuffie (5A01), Edwards (5A05), Holloway (5A06), and Fletcher (5A08) voted “yes” to support the project. Commissioner Washington (5A08) voted “yes with conditions” and Commissioner Lockett changed his original “no” vote to “yes with conditions” to follow Commissioner Washington.

On to the specifics, much of which we heard back in June:

Mark Mlakar with M Squared bought the property in October of 2020. He said he was surprised at the condition of property and said there was a huge squatter problem, no accountability with the people living there, property is being used as a dumping ground, and that he was doing his best to deal with the trash. He said he has frequent trash pickups, a team of residents sends him pictures whenever people dump trash, and the trash is picked up the same day or the next day. He said the proposed development will fix this issue by creating homeownership opportunities for each building. Each building will have dedicated, secure trash facilities so that no dumping is possible and there will be security cameras throughout the property. He said that the project will add 54 parking spaces that do not exist right now. He also proposes installing stormwater systems to deal with heavy rains. He said the biggest benefit of the project is providing good, safe, decent, affordable housing in buildings that have been neglected for the last 25 years. He said the buildings are beyond their useful life and that they have to be renovated. There will be 14 below-market inclusionary zoning, but he said market rate is actually below IZ limits, so the entire project will consist of affordable units.

Commissioner Holloway said the team has been moving people to other locations. He said the transformations have been good, the buildings have become a problem, there are MS-13 gang members living there (or something like that), and that he is taking care of his seniors. He said the development team is working with housing counselors and attorneys to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to help them relocate and explain their rights.

Commissioner Washington, whose SMD abuts the project, asked if Commissioner Holloway took a vote of the residents in support of or against the project. Commissioner Holloway stated he did not take a vote, but stated he held two SMD meetings. He said there were about 36 people signed into the meeting and there was no opposition expressed at the meeting. Commissioner Washington continued to express concern about the level of outreach done regarding the project and whether the ANC was addressing all of the concerns about the project.

Commissioner Lockett asked if the property owner had done mold remediation; Mr. Mlakar stated he did. Mr. Mlakar also repeated statements previously made by the developement team that the root cause of the mold needs to be addressed. In Mr. Mlakar’s view the root cause is what he says is an excessive number of people living in a one bedroom apartment that exceeds the housing code. Commissioner Holloway stated he contacted the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) about the mold issue and that DCRA worked with the owner to close down one of the buildings with the mold issues and relocate the residents.

(Note: The BZA hearing was on October 6, 2021. Looks like there will be a limited scope continued hearing on November 17, 2021. And just from briefly looking at the record in this matter, looks like there are some meaty issues here. The ANC filed two reports. I do not know that I would describe the conditions in either report as real conditions, but they are there for people to read).

Art Place at Fort Totten Phase 2 Proposed Modifications

The development team for Art Place at Fort Totten presented before the full ANC on proposed modifications to Phase 2, otherwise known as Block B. The team gave the same presentation the day before at Commissioner Fletcher’s SMD meeting. I covered this topic separately in these posts, so I will not recount the details here.

Commissioner Lockett asked about sit-down restaurants, to which the team responded they are excited about the food hall proposed for Block B.

Commissioner Fletcher moved to support the proposed modifications with the condition that there be protected bike lanes on 3rd Street. The commissioners present voted unanimously to support the motion.

Pepco DC PLUG Initiative

The DC PLUG initiative is a reliability/resilience project to underground power lines by putting primary feeders underground. Secondary/communications lines will remain above ground. The project is being funded by both Pepco & DC. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is responsible for all civil design/engineering. Pepco is responsible for electrical design/engineering. The project is currently in the design phase for a feeder that serves neighborhoods in ANC 5A. Once design is done, there will be open houses to share information about timeline and where the team will be working. Note, this is a different project from Pepco’s Capital Grid project. For DC PLUG related concerns, please visit www.dcpluginfo.com, email Pepco at questions@dcpluginfo.com, or email Laisha Dougherty at Laisha.Dougherty@exeloncorp.com

230 Webster Street (5A06)
BZA case number 20533

This is the second project in SMD 5A06. Commissioner Holloway was not prepared to discuss this project because he thought it was the same as the condo conversion project at 65-97 Hawaii Avenue NE. The 230 Webster project seeks to convert an existing two-unit semi-detached building into a three-unit building. There is currently one level on the top floor of the building. The second unit is actually two levels, so the developer is proposing to separate the two-level unit into separate units. The third unit unit will be located in the cellar level. The building slopes down towards the back of the property, so there is sunlight and it is a habitable space according to the developer.

The developer will make landscaping upgrades and renovate the property. The developer is not planning to make other changes to the home itself; they are not planning to add a floor to the existing structure.

The developer is seeking special exception relief to add the one unit in the cellar level.

The ANC will have a special meeting on the second Wednesday in October to discuss this project. The Board of Zoning Adjustment hearing is scheduled for October 27, 2021.

ANC Budget

ANC 5A has lots of money in the bank. Commissioner Washington, ANC 5A treasurer, presented a proposed fiscal year 2022 budget. The budget looked the same as it usually does year to year. The ANC’s original proposed budget breakdown:

• $10,000 for communications
• $8,500 for office supplies and equipment printing
• $1,000 for purchase of services
• $100 for bank charges
• $500 for miscellaneous items such as the ANC security fund.
• The original proposed budget also listed $5,000 for grants. The ANC voted to raise the amount for grants to $15,000, with Commissioner Lockett voting no.

Previously Commissioner Washington stated that the ANC was suspending grant disbursements until the DC Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC) could provide grant guidelines applicable to all ANCs citywide. Commissioner Washington stated at this meeting that OANC has provided those guidelines. It is not clear if ANC 5A’s website has the updated grant guidelines on the website. The current guidelines on the ANC’s website state that ANC 5A will not award more than $2,000 to an organization in a single fiscal year. Just perusing other ANC websites, it looks like some ANCs have guidelines with a higher maximum amount, so it is not clear if OANC or the individual ANCs set their own grant amounts. In any case, if you have questions about the grantmaking process for ANC 5A, email Commissioner Washington at 5A07@anc.dc.gov and the ANC commissioner for your area.

Miscellaneous

A resident inquired about the 5G cell towers that Verizon is planning to install in North Michigan Park near Sargent Road and Emerson Street NE (in ANC 5A02). The resident expressed health concerns about these small cell towers, and requested to meet with Chair Edwards. This topic comes up from time to time. This particular location is in Commissioner Lockett’s SMD, but the resident specifically requested to meet with Chair Edwards.

Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio was not present at the meeting, but she provided the commissioners with an ANC website update prior to the meeting. She stated that the ANC’s website development is on track on and on budget. I noted that it appears that some work still needs to be done. It is not clear when the website will be completed, but it is live and some of the pages are being updated. The ANC’s website is https://anc5a.org.