On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, ANC 5A resumed its monthly public meetings. The ANC blamed the lack of meeting notice and agenda on the resignation of ANC 5A06 Commissioner Jasmine White, who was the ANC’s secretary. Ms. White moved out of her SMD and therefore had to resign. All of the other commissioners were present. On to the recap:

MPD Report

PSA 405 Lt. Ashley Rosenthal provided the 30 day and year-to-date crime report. Compared to this time last year, violent crime is down for the past 30 days, but thefts are up. Total crime year to date is down compared to the same time period last year. Lt. Rosenthal said there is a trend in thefts from hospitals and schools. She is getting reports of thefts of phones left charging unattended. She asked neighbors who are home during the day to pay attention to what is happening in the neighborhood because many of the thefts and burglaries are occurring during the daytime. See the full report: PSA 405 Sept 2016 Crime Report (pdf)

Gallatin Street NE Trash Trap

DC Department of Energy and the Environment and Living Classrooms are working together on a project for a solar-powered trash trap on National Park Service land near 14th Street and Gallatin Street NE to divert trash from the Anacostia River watershed. The project is being funded by a settlement with Pepco. From the press release on the settlement:

In addition to the $250,000 civil penalty, under the settlement as reflected in the consent judgment, Pepco will spend $600,000 to install and maintain a “cage-type trash interceptor” at a site at 14th and Gallatin Streets, N.E., on a tributary of the Anacostia River.  This will be the seventh trash trap installed in the Anacostia River watershed. Trash traps help prevent trash and debris from reaching the main stem of the river. Since 2009, trash traps have collected more than seven tons of trash and debris.

The project will have a workforce development component. Living Classrooms will provide education and employment training through its Fresh Start program. Program participants will likely assist in categorizing the trash collected and using that data to help support additional laws aimed at reducing trash in city neighborhoods.

DC Statehood

An official with the Mayor’s Office presented on a statehood referendum that will be on the ballot for the November 8th general election. The mayor plans to follow what is known as the “Tennessee Plan” to achieve statehood. Six states in addition to Tennessee followed this path to statehood. The plan entails (1) drafting the DC Constitution; (2) holding a Constitutional Convention; (3) defining a Federal District and designating the boundaries of the 51st state; (4) holding an advisory referendum; and (5) petitioning for statehood. The city has done steps one through three. If voters approve the referendum in November, then DC officials will petition for statehood. The DC Council is holding hearings on the draft constitution and the mayor plans to launch a speakers bureau to educate residents on the plan for statehood.

DC Statehood Handout (pdf)

McDonald’s on South Dakota Avenue

Raoul Alvarez, the owner of the McDonald’s located on South Dakota Avenue and Delafied Street NE, presented his plans to rebuild on site. Mr. Alvarez has held several meetings with nearby residents with the assistance of his consultant Harry Thomas, but last night was the first time he presented to the full commission. Mr. Alvarez stated the current zoning designation for his property permits only a limited renovation. As a result, McDonald’s (franchisor) signed a three-year lease to move operations to the KFC located at Riggs Road NE because that location would permit a drive-thru, which the current McDonald’s does not have. Mr. Alvarez stated he prefers to keep his McDonald’s where it is because it has a long history in the neighborhood, so he is gathering resident support for an application for a planned unit development (PUD) that will enable him to change the zoning designation in order to rebuild on site and open a drive-thru. Mr. Alvarez stated McDonald’s is experimenting with a “New Future” restaurant concept and that DC is the fourth test market for the concept. Under this concept, individuals order their food and the food is brought to them (sounds like a fast casual concept). For community benefits, Mr. Alvarez anticipates offering around $3000 towards scholarships for youth in North Michigan Park and establishing an entrepreneur mentor program. He also hopes that by rebuilding on site, the other businesses in that corridor will upgrade their facilities.

South Dakota Ave NE McDonald’s Handout

St. Josephite Seminary Development (12th & Allison Street project)

On August 2, 2016, EYA submitted its PUD application to build 82 homes near 12th Street and Allison Street NE. Ten of the homes will be affordable homes (in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range), over half of which will be restricted to the 50% area median income limit. EYA had to apply for a PUD because the current zoning designation does not permit building rowhomes. This is a bit of a contentious project, so we are not going to go into much detail here because the affected community has lots of meetings about the project and usually has stenographers and videographers at the ANC meeting to capture remarks. A setdown hearing is scheduled for October 17, 2016. EYA walked through the evolution of the project, e.g., reducing the number of homes from 150 to 82, keeping open spaces on the side of the project, building on only part of the property to preserve a larger open space, etc. The homes will be under 40 feet tall and will be 20 feet wide.  They discussed considerations for increasing on-street parking along 12th Street in front of the project or installing bike lanes because the lanes there are wide enough to do so. Predictably the mention of bike lanes was met with grumbles. They also mentioned plans to install a bikeshare station, which (somewhat predictably) was also met with grumbles. For updates on the project, subscribe on the project website.

Ward 5 Councilmember Report

Ronan Gulstone, Chief of Staff to Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, mentioned three emergency bills by Councilmember McDuffie. One bill proposes to increase the maximum age of eligibility for the police cadet program from 21 to 25 to address MPD’s retirement bubble. A related bill proposes to permit MPD to hire retired officers at higher pay grades. Currently, officers can be rehired but only at the officer pay level, even if the retired officer is a lieutenant or sergeant earning much more than the officer pay rate prior to retirement.  The last bill would allow individuals to do change-of-address day of voting. Mr. Gulstone also mentioned that on September 29, 2016, at 4:30pm, there will be a committee hearing by Councilmember Anita Bonds on the ANC Amendment Act. Mr. Gulstone also said Councilmember McDuffie would try to arrange a meeting with Congresswoman Eleanore Holmes Norton and CSX on the train vibration issue because it deserves federal attention.

Mayor’s Office Report

New Ward 5 MOCR Lionell Gaines mentioned that the new Woodridge Library officially opened on September 28, 2016. He noted that renovation of Lamond-Riggs Library is coming soon. He did not have a date yet, but said it is coming up. Mr. Gains will be “in the ward” on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so if there are things that need to be addressed in the neighborhood, feel free to contact him at lionell.gaines@dc.gov or (202) 251-4059 to schedule a Tuesday or Thursday meeting.