ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on March 22, 2023

Commissioners present: Duvalier Malone (5A01); Karlus Cozart (5A02) – Parliamentarian; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Secretary; Diego Rojas (5A04); Kweku Toure (5A06) – Vice Chair; Gordon Fletcher (5A08) – Chair; Zachary Ammerman (5A09) – Treasurer. Commissioner Hardy is the new commissioner for ANC 5A07 (effective 3/24/2023). ANC 5A05 is still vacant.

Commissioner Fletcher noted at the top of the meeting that the ANC previously stated at the February meeting that McDonald’s requested to be removed from the February meeting agenda and come to the March meeting, but the team still had other work to do so they were not scheduled for the March agenda.

UDC was on the agenda to discuss the Bertie Backus campus, but they did not present.

The representative for the gas station proposal at 4975 South Dakota Avenue NE was on the agenda but he did not appear and the ANC declined to take any action. There may be a special meeting to deal with this issue.

There was no presentation on the mayor’s proposed budget, which was listed as an agenda item.

Commission Business

Commissioner Zachary Ammerman stated that he is still working with Ward 5 Mutual Aid regarding their use of the ANC office space at 402 Galloway Street NE at Art Place at Fort Totten. He said that the group has identified a fiscal sponsor that will be able to secure liability insurance. He said that counsel for the Cafritz Foundation (property owner) alerted the ANC that some members of the Foundation’s board were hesitant about having the mutual aid group occupy the ANC office space because the lease/intention for the space was for it to be used solely as ANC office space. The board scheduled a vote on the matter on March 23. (Note: On March 23, the ANC notified residents that “the board voted unanimously to allow Ward 5 Mutual Aid to continue to use the ANC 5A satellite office space as a supply hub.” The ANC, mutual aid group, and the Cafritz Foundation will work on an agreement).

There was other discussion about the ANC’s expenses, inclucing the cost of Internet service for the office space and the cost of commissioner cell phones. They will discuss these issues at an ANC executive board meeting.

MPD Report (Captain John Terry, MPD 4th District)

MPD 4th District Captain John Terry gave a few public safety updates. He said in the past 30 days, there had been 3 robberies, 1 carjacking, and 13 thefts from autos within the ANC boundaries. Outside of ANC 5A, there was a shooting near Turkey Thicket Rec Center recently.

He noted that Kia and Hyundai have offered free anti-theft software updates for Kia and Hyundai owners. Also, the District is offering free steering wheel locks for certain Kia and Hyundai models.

Commissioner Ammerman asked about a discharge of a gun at/near Fort Totten Metro station that occurred recently. Captain Terry said that a special police officer (privately hired security) at one of the establishments in the area chased a “suspect” who ran into the metro station and the private officer fired his gun at the individual.

Captain Terry said the 4th District received a violent crime reduction award for a 12 percent decline in violent crimes. He also said that 4th District Commander Carlos Heraud received the Commander of the Year award.

Commissioner Lucio asked Captain Terry why MPD is no longer attending ANC meetings. He said that MPD is trying to push residents to go to MPD’s sector meetings because there is not enough MPD staff to attend the many ANC and community association meetings every month. The sector meetings are a chance to talk about public safety issues with police district leadership. The boundaries of ANC 5A lie in Sector 2 of MPD’s 4th District. Sector 2 meets the second Tuesday of every month.

Ward 5 Council Report (Carlos McKnight, Constituent Services Coordinator, Ward 5 CM Zachary Parker)

CM Parker is forming a Ward 5 bus task force. If you ride Metrobus and wish to assist the Council office in providing input on Metro’s Better Bus Network, consider applying to be on the bus task force. Apply at ward5.us/bus.

Residents can sign up for office hours with CM Parker at ward5.us/officehours. Sign up for CM Parker’s newsletter at ward5.us/newsletter.

DPR is extending hours at eight rec centers, including Edgewood Rec and Turkey Thicket Rec in Ward 5.

The mayor’s proposed budget includes funding for community park space on the corner of South Dakota Avenue NE & Riggs Road NE. This is a proposal that the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association has requested for several years. Government agencies will work together on transferring the land to DPR for park space. In addition, the mayor’s proposed budget includes increased funding for a community center at the Crummell School.

Commissioner Lucio asked about CM Parker’s announcement that he planned to introduce a school safety bill and how what he is proposing would differ from what schools already have with school resource officers. (Note: CM Parker introduced the school safety coordination bill a couple of days after the ANC meeting). Mr. McKnight said he will follow up with Commissioner Lucio.

Mayor’s Office Ward 5 Report (Anthony Black, Ward 5 MOCR)

The mayor released her proposed budget on March 22. Street sweeping season has started. DPR has instituted a lottery for DPR summer camp registration.

Commissioners requested Mr. Black’s assistance in getting DDOT Director Everett Lott to the next ANC 5A meeting. Each time he has been scheduled to attend he has had to cancel or sent someone in his place.

701 Michigan Avenue NE Map Amendment – Zoning Commission case no. 23-07 (Samuel Swiller & Jared Kah, SK Investments)

View supporting statement.

A development team wants to change the zoning district of 701 Michigan Avenue NE from MU-3A to MU-2. They said they are pursuing the map amendment to reflect a change to the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) from moderate to medium density so that a planned unit development (PUD) would not be necessary for an anticipated development. They said they do not have any particular development plan in mind yet, but they will get feedback from residents about what sort of permitted uses within the MU-2 zone would be desirable. They will take advantage of the property’s proximity to the Brookland Metro station.

The property is located in ANC 5F02. (ANC 5A is directly across the street from the property and is therefore considered an affected ANC). The development team said that ANC 5F had not yet voted on the map amendment request. Commissioner Fletcher, ANC 5A Chair, said that the commissioners appreciated the presentation but that ANC 5A will likely not weigh in on the request because there is already a lot on the commission’s plate that directly impacts ANC 5A.

DC Department of Parks & Recreation (Christopher Dyer, DPR Community Engagement Manager)

View DPR summer camp presentation.

DPR has introduced a lottery to sign up for DPR summer camps. The idea is similar to the My School DC lottery that may be familiar to families. The summer camp lottery opened on March 13. It will close on April 5. DPR recommends not waiting until the last minute to sign up. DPR will notify residents of lottery selection on April 18 and payment will be due April 25. Sibling preference will be honored. There will be a waitlist available.

DPR offers a reduced rate for qualifying residents. Applications for the reduced rate are due April 1 in order to be approved by the time the lottery is run.

Someone recommended that DPR look at having a low-income/at-risk preference as is done with certain schools for the school lottery. Someone also took exception to the notion of calling the summer camp signup a lottery (like a game of chance). Mr. Dyer said he would think about that.

Questions can be sent to christopher.dyer@dc.gov.

Miscellaneous

The ANC is still working on their zoom account upgrade.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 26, 2023.