ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on October 28, 2026. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Timothy Thomas (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio (5A03); Jack Hermes (5A04) – Vice Chair; Dyanna Weston (5A05); Elaine Alston (5A08) – Secretary; Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer.
Vice Chair Jack Hermes (5A04) led the meeting in the absence of Chair Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07).
It was a packed agenda, so entirely possible I did not get everything.
Commission Business
The grant report for the Queens Chapel Civic Association was listed on the agenda, but Commissioner Timothy Thomas (5A02) gave a brief update on the association’s community day instead.
Boys Town Campus Redevelopment (5A02) (Teddy Swift, Urban Atlantic; David Avitabile, Project Counsel, Goulston & Storrs)
Urban Atlantic is redeveloping the Boys Town campus located at 4801 Sargent Road NE with 166 semi-detached homes. They went through the large tract review process last year. In applying for permits, they said that in the last couple of months, they encountered an issue with the zoning regulations on public access easements for subdivisions. The project was considered a by-right project before the snafu arose. Unclear why the issue did not surface during the large tract review process. They are now seeking a text amendment before the DC Zoning Commission on an emergency basis so that they can get their permits and not lose more time. See Urban Atlantic’s Statement of Purpose for Text Amendment Request.
The case number is ZC no. 26-09.
The ANC’s agenda said that the ANC would be taking a vote on the subject, but Vice Chair Hermes (5A04) let everyone know upfront that no vote would be taken at the meeting. Instead, ANC Commissioner Timothy Thomas (5A02) plans to hold a single member district (SMD) meeting tentatively scheduled for November 9 at Lamond-Riggs Library. Currently, the Zoning Commission hearing is scheduled for November 12. The ANC plans to take a vote at some point before the ZC hearing.
A few nearby residents on the call questioned the need for the matter to be considered on an emergency basis and encouraged the ANC to request that the SMD meeting and hearing be pushed back. The residents said that they support redeveloping the campus with semi-detached homes but said that that they had been asking Urban Atlantic for certain information and only recently received the info. So they said they needed more time to review.
(Note: The case record includes submissions from neighboring residents expressing concerns about Stormwater Management, Bioretention, and Rodent Concerns; Protected Trees, Arborist Report, and Loss of the Green Buffer; Alley Access, Fence Placement, and Existing Parking; Traffic and Construction Safety; and Long-Term Maintenance and Accountability).
Catholic University Campus Plan (5A04) (Sherry Rutherford, Catholic University)
Catholic University representatives gave a quick update on where they are in the process of updating the campus plan (not very far). They invited the ANC and residents to a community conversation on October 29. They will return to the ANC in 2027 when they are further in the process. Questions/thoughts may be directed to Sherry Rutherford at rutherfords@cua.edu.
[Note: The campus plan website link included in the presentation does not appear to be working at the moment, but I did find this page regarding the campus plan process, which includes a link to an input portal.]
Ward 5 Council Office Report (Kelley Cislo, Constituent Service Coordinator to Councilmember Zachary Parker)
Councilmember Parker held his regular Ward 5 public safety call on October 28. (Note: Slides from the call available here; recording available here).
On November 6, there will be a street designation ceremony for Union Wesley Church. Ward 5 rolloff day for bulk trash will take place at Arboretum Rec Center on November 7. DC Office of Planning (OP) is holding a DC 2050 Comprehensive Plan neighborhood tour at Turkey Thicket on November 7.
Applications for assistance with utility bills through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are now being accepted.
Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report (Lacy Davis, Ward 5 MOCR)
There was a veterans affairs resource symposium on October 29. Also a DC Bar small business help clinic was held on October 29. The Downtown holiday market returns November 13 through December 23.
Mr. Davis met with residents on Jefferson Street NE to discuss potential loss of 12 parking spaces due to plans for daylighting. As part of that walkthrough, Mr. Davis stated that he walked through alleys and saw plenty of very old supercans with holes. He encouraged residents to contact 311 to get rid of these cans so that they do not harbor rats. He also stated that he registered his pickup truck with the city so that he can assist with picking up old supercans for North Michigan Park’s rat brigade on November 21. Residents in that area may email him with their address if they have old cans that need to be collected. Place the cans upside down.
ANC commissioners and residents profusely thanked Mr. Davis for his diligent service as a Ward 5 MOCR.
Art Place at Fort Totten Update (5A09) (Sean Cahill, Cafritz Foundation representative; Christopher Cohen, Project Counsel, Holland & Knight)
See Art Place Presentation to ANC 5A (October 2026). See this post for details.
Update on the DC’s Comprehensive Plan (Elina Bravve, Housing Planner, DC Office of Planning)
The DC Office of Planning (OP) has pushed backed the timeline for releasing a draft of DC’s next Comprehensive Plan (called DC 2050) for public comment to early 2027. OP is holding neighborhood tours and virtual office sessions to discuss directly with residents how OP is thinking about the next Comp Plan. The next neighborhood tour will be in Ward 5 at Turkey Thicket Rec Center on November 7, 11am-1pm.
Neighborhood Tours
- November 7, 11am-1pm: Turkey Thicket Rec Center (1100 Michigan Ave. NE) – RSVP
- November 14, 11am-1pm: Marshall Heights Community Development Org. (3939 Benning Rd. NE) – RSVP
- December 5, 11am-1pm: Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave. NW) – RSVP
Virtual Office Hours
AFGE Local Contract
This presenter did not show up at the meeting.
Solar Program (Abree Peterson, GRID Alternatives)
GRID Alternatives is a nonprofit organization that provides no-cost rooftop solar for income-qualified homeowners in DC.
Lead Free DC (Sean Moore, DC Water)
DC Water returned to share information previously shared about DC Water’s Lead Free DC program. They also shared updates on where nearby construction is planned and currently taking place. For more information, visit DC Water’s Lead Pipe Replacement Program webpage.
The next ANC 5A meeting will be on December 2, 2026, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
