ANC3B

December 2019 & January 2020 Meeting Reports

December 12, 2019

Police Report.  Sgt Shedd reported that property crime was down in the preceding 30 days but that there was one violent crime, robbery with gun, on Massachusetts near Idaho. The suspect was apprehended.

Discussion with At-Large Councilmember Robert White.  CM White, Chairman of the committee with purview over ANCs, has been visiting all ANCs and holding roundtable discussions with Commissioners to learn about issues and concerns.  The discussion included information on legislation he is sponsoring such as the Senior Co-living Program Act encourages single seniors to share housing by granting $300/month to a homeowner to open space for a tenant or two. He also discussed concerns about the agreement for Maret School to use Jelleff field, and the possible impacts of WMATA’s proposed changes in Metrobus services on our neighborhoods. He said he was discussing the bus service question with DC’s member on the WMATA board.

Status Report from DDOT on Service Requests in ANC 3B.  Donise Jackson reported that DDOT has agreed to lift “No Parking” in morning rush on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue (returning parking that existed prior to the 2012 lane reduction experiment) and the work order was issued for the new signs but will take a while longer to install. She also gave an update on the Rock Creek Far West Livability Study action items in ANC 3B, including the Cathedral Avenue corridor. On installation of small cell technology, she noted that phone companies are required to notify ANCs about plans for any new poles and antennas so DDOT can consider ANC comments as part of the permitting process.

Presentation on the DC Office of Inspector General. Jaime Yarussi, Deputy Inspector General for Business Management and Public Information Officer, gave an overview of the DC OIG mission to detect fraud and abuse in government programs.

Vote on Letter Regarding Draft Amendments to the DC Comprehensive Plan.  The ANC voted to send a letter to the DC Office of Planning requesting an extension of the public comment period until at least April 1.

January 9, 2020

Election of Officer and Approval of 2020 Meeting Dates.  ANC 3B voted for officers for calendar year 2020:  B. Turmail, Chair, J. Blumenthal, Vice Chair, M. Young, Treasurer, A. Mladinov, Secretary; and M. Lane will continue doing website, social media and general communications.   Commissioners also approved meeting dates for 2020 (see anc3b.org).

Police Report.  Lt. R. Neal reported that there were no violent crimes in 3B in the past month but there were 16 property crimes, up 2 from the same month last year.

Discussion on WMATA’s proposed changes in bus service affecting ANC 3B.  WMATA did not send a representative to the meeting because the WMATA Board was not gping to approve the proposals to put forward for public review until its meeting on  1/16.  In December WMATA’s draft FY2021 budget included elimination of 30S, 30N, 37, and D1 Metrobus service and consolidation of the D2 with G2 (Le Droit Park-P Street Georgetown). Raka Choudhury, in charge of WMATA Coordination at DDOT, attended to present more information from WMATA’s briefings to DDOT about the proposed changes, but most of the meeting was devoted to expressions of concern from the community.  Many residents spoke of the huge negative impact that losing bus service would have on the neighborhood.  An overarching concern was that reductions in Metrobus service would leave many transit-dependent riders without any good options and make it difficult to continue living or working in Glover Park. The ANC members committed to continuing to push for more information on the details of the proposals from WMATA, which is scheduled to participate in the ANC’s February 13 meeting. The Commissioners voted unanimously to ask WMATA to hold a community meeting to explain what it is proposing and hear from residents and stakeholders about their concerns.

Iona Senior Services Request for $1,055 grant for 500 reusable grocery bags.  Jennie Smith-Pierce of Iona presented a grant request for cloth grocery bags to distribute to seniors and other clients, filled with information on nutrition and home-delivered meal programs. By unanimous consent, the grant was approved.

Good Guys request to extend its hours to 3 am weekdays and 4 am weekends.  RoseMarie LaPeter, manager for Good Guys, spoke about their request to ABRA to extend their open hours by 1 hour on weekdays and weekends. During that extra hour, no alcohol may be sold, served or consumed at the club. She said the impetus behind the request is to stagger when people are leaving the club because right now, everyone leaves at once – at the same time that all the bars are closing — causing traffic jams and sometimes fender benders on Wisconsin Avenue.  Commissioner Blumenthal reported that the request for extending Good Guys opening times for one hour without alcohol sales is legal under DC law and there have been no incidents of disturbances to the community’s “peace, order and quiet” at Good Guys since 2012 so the Commission does not have any grounds on which to protest. She also committed that the ANC will continue to monitor the situation and if there are problems, the ANC could protest renewal of the license when it is next expiring.

The next meeting of ANC3B will be Thursday, February 13.  WMATA has been invited to attend to discuss their proposed changes to Metrobus services affecting Glover Park and Cathedral Heights.