ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on September 24, 2025. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Timothy Thomas (5A02) – Vice Chair; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Chair; Jack Hermes (5A04) – Parliamentarian; Derrick Holloway (5A06); Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07) – Secretary; Elaine Alston (5A08); Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer. ANC 5A05 is vacant.
(This meeting was a hybrid meeting, the first time the ANC met in person since the pandemic. The ANC did a great job conducting a hybrid meeting for the first time. Shout out to Neighbor Aaron who volunteered to help the ANC with the tech).
ANC Business
The ANC approved its FY2026 budget though they did not present a draft budget for resident review beforehand.
The ANC approved changing the November meeting date to November 19 to avoid conflict with the Thanksgiving holiday.
701 Jefferson Street NE ADU (5A01)
The ANC voted to support relief for a resident to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on top of an existing garage at her home at 701 Jefferson Street NE. The resident needs relief from side yard, alley, and public street requirements by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) (BZA case no. 21365). The resident stated that she intends to use the ADU for people needed temporary housing, like traveling nurses, and not for AirBnB. The ADU will have siding exterior. The existing garage is made of brick.
Commissioner Sellars held a single member district meeting and spoke with neighbors on the block, who did not object, before recommending that the ANC support the resident’s application for relief. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for November 5, 2025.
Boys Town Campus Redevelopment (5A02) (Teddy Swift, Urban Atlantic)
The DC Office of Planning (OP) issued its final Large Tract Review report for Urban Atlantic’s redevelopment of the Boys Town campus at 4801 Sargent Road NE. I obtained a copy after the meeting.
See OP Boys Town Large Tract Review Final Report (September 2025).
The developer Urban Atlantic held a couple of meetings in September, one with North Michigan Park Civic Association and one with ANC Commissioner Timothy Thomas (5A02) where OP was present.
See Boys Town Presentation to North Michigan Park Civic Association (September 2025).
There will be 166 semi-detached homes, 17 of which will be set aside for below market price sale (called inclusionary zoning or IZ homes). The homes will be developed in phases. The 8,000 square foot building in the center of the campus (referred to as the 1928 Building) will remain. Urban Atlantic plans to sell the building eventually for some undetermined use. They are working with DC’s Historic Preservation Office to evaluate historic designation of the building.
Now that OP has issued its report, the developer will move forward with schematic design and submitting the plan for subdivision. They have committed to studying a second exit for the property, but they said that it would have to be on Sargent and not at the rear of the property as some neighbors have suggested, because the topography of the alley to Delafield would make constructing a connection at the rear of the property cost prohibitive.
A couple of commissioners, including Chair Lucio, asked the team to set aside more than 17 IZ homes because there is a high need for more affordable housing.
For some reason, the ANC did not submit a formal report to OP for the LTR process. The ANC previously took a vote in June to approve “the concept” of the plan before Urban Atlantic submitted its LTR application and before residents had a chance to engage with the plans. The resolution noted that the plan would include 17 IZ homes. Commissioner Thomas said the ANC will submit something related to community benefits at some point.
801 Buchanan Street NE Kennedy School Development Temporary Road Closure (5A03)
The development team behind the Kennedy School redevelopment will need to close a small section of Buchanan Street NE between 8th and 10th streets Monday through Friday during the day to do utility work in the street. The closure is expected to start on September 29, 2025, and last five weeks. Residents will not be able to park in that section during construction hours but the road will be open during evening hours and on weekends. The ANC voted to support the temporary road closure.
1 Hawaii Avenue Update (5A06)
The 1 Hawaii Avenue development team is still looking at completion and first move-ins by February 2026. They will be working holidays and Saturdays but will limit their loud work to the hours of 9-5. Commissioner Holloway said residents support the holiday work because the displaced residents, including a number of seniors, are eager for the project to finish to return to a new building.
McDonald’s Rebuilding Update (5A08)
Before giving an update on the McDonald’s rebuilding, Commissioner Alston gave public appreciation to neighbors Bill Smith and Sabooh Hikim for cleaning up the space around the Faith United Church and the strip mall and getting the trees trimmed along South Dakota Avenue in front of the church.
Chair Lucio read the construction update. McDonald’s has restarted pest control for rodents around the property. They cut the trees hanging over the church property. They anticipate beginning work in the street soon. They are aiming to reopen by Thanksgiving this year.
A resident asked if McDonald’s needs ANC support before closing the street on Delafield because McDonald’s recently put up “No Parking” signs backdated to August. Commissioner Alston said she would find out.
In response to a question, Chair Lucio said that McDonald’s will retain three curb cuts on South Dakota. (Note: I do not know if this is accurate).
Chair Lucio will begin sending out the construction updates that Commissioner Alston has not been sending out.
Clinical Health & Wellness Medical Cannabis Shop Update (5A08)
Commissioner Hermes has been helping Commissioner Alston with the medical cannabis shop protest so he provided the update. Clinical Health & Wellness is looking to open at 4942 South Dakota Avenue NE. The ABCA Board denied the ANC’s motion to reconsider the Board’s dismissal of the ANC’s protest petition. The ANC said something about sending a letter to CM Parker and maybe seeking further legal review. Chair Lucio said the ANC has spent about $3,000 on legal fees so far. Fees to date are being covered by a technical assistance grant that the ANC received from the Office of ANCs.
Commissioner Alston said they will have another protest in front of the store. A resident stated that another physical protest seems pointless when it is the landlord who keeps leasing to undesirable tenants.
Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report
No one from the mayor’s office office attended to provide a report.
Ward 5 Council Report (Andrianna Lovelace, Constituent Services Coordinator for Councilmember Zachary Parker)
The Office of CM Parker put on a great Ward 5 Day celebration on September 20. Ms. Lovelace thanked Chair Lucio for coordinating the youth entrepreneurship fair at the celebration for the second year in a row.
The Council recently took final votes to approve the RFK stadium deal and the RENTAL Act. Details are in CM Parker’s newsletter.
The DC Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) cancelled a listening session at the last minute. CM Parker’s office will notify residents when a new session is scheduled.
Social Housing Bill
Metro DC DSA returned to give another presentation on a social housing bill that has been reintroduced in the DC Council (B26-0202). The bill would establish an Office of Social Housing Developments to administer the construction of mixed-income housing that would be owned by the District. The group gave essentially the same presentation in November 2024.
Miscellaneous
The ANC continues to disburse grant funds without having an up-to-date application/guidelines on the ANC’s website. The application/guidelines on the website outline a max award of $2,500. This year, the ANC has given out at least two grants in excess of that amount, one for $10,000 and one for $7,000. Also, the ANC stated that restrictions on using grant funds for food and entertainment have been revised.
Commissioner Updates
Commissioner Sellars (5A01) stated that the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association development task force has scheduled a meeting with National Park Service. (After the meeting, I learned that the original date of October 16 will likely be changed due to a scheduling conflict).
Next Stop...Riggs Park 