The agenda for the ANC’s October meeting has been posted and can be viewed at the following link:
As always, the meeting will take place on the second Wednesday of the month — on the 10th of this month — at 7pm in the Brookings Institution building at 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2B) is publishing a working draft version of a resolution for the Historic Preservation Review Board on development at 1772 Church Street NW (St. Thomas Church). The ANC is publishing this draft in anticipation of its September 29th special meeting on the topic and invites public comment on the resolution’s message, tone and specific language.
Commissioners may post additional resolutions for public comment and may introduce other motions at the meeting on Monday.
We invite you to provide your thoughts in the comments section below, to email all eight Commissioners at commissioners@dupontcircleanc.net, and to speak to us directly at the September 29th meeting. The meeting is taking place at 7:00 pm in the SAIS building at 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW, Room 500. Further information on that meeting and a link to download revised development plans is available here.
The Historic Preservation Review Board has asked that we remind neighbors that they may comment directly to the Board either at the October 2nd Board meeting or by emailing them at historic.preservation@dc.gov. The Board requests your comments by end of day September 29th.
The working draft resolution is available below and for download here.
Whereas, the project team for 1772 Church Street NW have submitted design plans to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for review of concept and massing of a renovated church structure and a new residential structure;
Whereas, the development of the two components is to occur concurrently and was applied for together, ANC 2B has reviewed the religious and residential components separately, as required by Federal law;
Whereas, the project team submitted drawings in July that ANC 2B reviewed and commented on;
Whereas, in July, ANC 2B agreed with the Dupont Circle Conservancy in noting concern that “the residential massing presents an incongruous transition on the Church Street with the rest of the block.” ANC 2B suggested that the designers reduce bulk adjacent to the townhouses on Church Street with a more gradual increase in height from the east to the west;
Whereas, ANC 2B recognizes that the project team has made changes to the design that address concerns raised in the July ANC resolution, including reducing bulk at the far east side of the project;
Whereas, there remain significant concerns from neighbors regarding total massing, setbacks on all sides of the lot, as well as elimination of park and green space;
Whereas, there is general consensus that the totality of the project is large in its scale and massing, however this is not consensus on whether that will have positive or negative impacts on the neighborhood. Additionally, there are architectural approaches that can be introduced to reduce the perceived massing and height, particularly from the ground;
Whereas, ANC 2B supports a community involvement process, led by the office of Councilmember Jack Evans, that will bring together neighbors, the applicant, the developer and the ANC to proactively address potential negative impacts on quality-of-life issues such as light and air quality, traffic congestion and safety, parking, loading and unloading, and others;
Whereas, ANC 2B recognizes that these quality-of-life concerns are generally addressed through a zoning process that the ANC will hear in the near future, but that these concerns are also directly correlated to the massing of the structure that is the subject of HPRB review, especially the residential component that will house perhaps one hundred new residents, and also to the concept design of the structure that is subject to HPRB review, especially whether the design incorporates parking/loading/unloading elements sufficient to accommodate the proposed uses of the building, and that therefore these concerns are appropriate to address to HPRB and should be taken into account by HPRB; and
Whereas, the ANC in prior church construction or renovation projects has had concerns that the HPRB does not take into account applicable constitutional and federal law – including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act (RLUIPA) – and that the HPRB has not recognized that these federal laws supersede the HPRB’s own regulations and impose further limitations the HPRB’s authority.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED that ANC 2B does not object to the concept and massing of the religious component of the project and strongly urges the HPRB to take seriously its duty to follow applicable federal law – including RFRA and RLUIPA – by not imposing undue burdens on the use of this property for religious purposes; and
Be it further RESOLVED that ANC 2B would support the residential component massing and concept under the following conditions:
This new blog, “Votes of the ANC” will be posted on the next day after our meeting to explain the votes that took place the night before. The language in resolutions will still be up to final review and some change may be made. Last night at our regular ANC meeting the following votes occurred:
Approval of Minutes (August 2014)
August Regular Meeting minutes subject to technical changes – Commissioner Maltz moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 5-0.
Public Space Use & Related Applications
Two Proposed Capital Bikeshare Stations:
(1) 18th & R Streets NW. Tabled till special meeting on September 29th.
(2) 15th and L Streets NW. Commissioner Nichols moved to support, seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 7-0.
Application (#10147490) for valet staging zone at 1820 N Street NW for STK DC. Commissioner Nichols moved to support, seconded by Commissioner Stephens contingent on taking all 3 spots at SW corner of street and amending the application to going to midnight. Passed 4-2-1. Roll Call vote. In favor – Commissioner Putta, Stephens, Smith, and Maltz. Not in favor – Silverstein and Nichols. Abstain -Feldstein.
Alcohol Applications
*Note: Commissioner Silverstein chooses to recuse himself from ABRA related matters because he sits on the city ABC board.
Application for renewal of Freedom Market 1901 New Hampshire Ave NW – Commission takes no action.
Application (#096150) for new CX (multi-purpose) license for Art Soiree House at 1832 14th St NW. Commissioner Smith moved to protest on the basis of parking, peace, order, quiet and contingent on changes in the settlement agreement. Seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 5-0.
Application (#094290) for substantial change of operation ans sale hours on Sidewalk Cafe license for Hilltop Hospitality, LLC (Mission) 1606 20th St NW.Commissioner Stephens moved the following resolution, seconded by Commissioner Felstein. Passed 5-0. The resolution reads as follows:
ANC 2B supports the application substantial change of the CR application, because of the applicant’s responsiveness to the community, voluntary lack of music or entertainment on patio, and no noise impact on nearest residential neighbors.
Report of ABRA Policy Committee
Nomination of Jonathan Padget, 2B02 resident for Committee membership. Commissioner Nichols would like to nominate Jonathan Padget to the committee. Commissioner Nichols moved to nominate Jonathan Padget, Seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 4-0-2. Commissioners Maltz and Silverstein abstain.
Zoning Variance Applications
Application by 1740 Church Street NW (#18824). Hearing: 9/23/2014. Commissioner Maltz moved the below resolution, seconded by Commissioner Feldstein. Passed 7-0. The resolution reads as follows:
Whereas the applicants seeks zoning variance for lot occupancy on an already non-conforming structure for the purpose of constructing a rear deck,
Whereas the applicant presented letters of support from direct neighbors and a petition with 28 signatures of support from the alley;
Whereas the proposed deck will cause no loss of parking;
Whereas the proposed deck is consistent with the rest of the alley; and
Whereas the proposed deck will not negatively impact privacy or light and air quality for the direct next door neighbors.
Therefore be in RESOLVED that ANC2B supports these variances as presented.
1506 Q St NW – Motion for 30 day delay to HPRB Commissioner Nichols moved to delay, seconded by Commissioner Silverstein. Passed 7-0.
Report of Public Safety Committee
Nomination of New Members. Commissioner Putta moved to appoint several members to the new Public Safety Committee, seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 5-0-1. Commissioner Silverstein abstains.
Administrative Matters
Finance/Treasurer Items Including Adoption of the FY2015 Annual Budget. Commission Stephens moved to approve FY2015 Annual Budget. Seconded by Commissioner Silverstein. Passed 6-0
*2131 N Street #14-627.- Ask HPRB/Zoning for a delay. Commissioner Smith moved to delay, seconded by Commissioner Stephens. Passed 6-0.
Adjournment (9:54pm)
Moved by Commissioner Stephens.
The ABRA Committee of ANC2B will discuss revisions to existing guidelines for alcohol service in outdoor space at its 8:00 p.m. (note time change), September 17, 2014, meeting. Draft minutes of the ABRA Committee’s August 20, 2014 meeting follow.
ANC 2B ABRA (Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration) Committee
Draft Minutes– Wednesday, August 20,2014, Dupont Circle Resource Center
Next Meeting: 8:00 p.m. (note time), Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Member Attendance: Chair: Commissioner Abigail Nichols (2B05) (replaced Kevin O’Connor at June 2014 ANC meeting), Ruth Horn, Dupont Circle Citizens Association (2B01); Ramon Estrada, at large (2B09); Caroline Mindel (2B08)
Others: Elwyn Ferris, Jonathan Padget, Sarah Peck
Committee Mission. Abigail distributed the relevant pages of the ANC2B manual that describe the mission of the ABRA Committee. She noted that the committee has no authority but rather makes recommendations to the Commission. Therefore it is important that resident members keep-in-touch-with/lobby their commissioners about committee recommendations.
Meeting administration. All meetings are public meetings. Ruth Horn and Jonathan Padget agreed to help with communications for the committee.
Membership: The Committee agreed we should aim for resident members directly affected by the various alcohol business areas. Jonathan Padget from the west P Street area agreed to be nominated for committee membership. The committee needs a member living close to the 17th Street establishements.
Abigail will reach out to our business members to discuss how we can make best use of their expertise.
ABRA News:
Problem Areas and Information Sharing:
Committee Activities: Members agreed to work on the following tasks:
Agenda for Next Meeting: Outdoor alcohol service and use of ABRA data on enforcement.
September 2014 Special Meeting Agenda
Further Information on Special ANC2B Meeting to Review St. Thomas Church Development Project (1772 Church St NW) (2B07)
Monday, September 29, 2014
1717 Massachusetts Ave NW, Room 500
7 – 9 p.m.
September Special Meeting Agenda on St. Thomas Church Development
Review and comment on a working draft resolution for discussion at this meeting
On September 29, 2014 at 7pm the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission will hold a special meeting to discuss and vote on a Historic Preservation Review Board application for development at 1772 Church Street NW. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and participate in this meeting. Public comments may have to be limited based on the number of attendees and time constraints.
The ANC will not discuss this matter at its regularly scheduled Wednesday September 10th meeting. A revised agenda for the September 10th meeting has been distributed.
This project was presented to the ANC at its July meeting and since then the developers have made revisions to the plan based on ANC comments. Those changes will be reviewed on September 29th.
The ANC provides recommendations to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the Church Street project will be presented to the HPRB on October 2nd. Members of the public are encouraged to testify before the Board or to send written comments. More information on how to testify or submit comments is available here.
To review the revised project plans, click here.
To provide comments to ANC Commissioners prior to the meeting, please email commissioners@dupontcircleanc.net.
Check the Dupont ANC website for further information and updates.
