The Dupont Transportation and Public Infrastructure Committee, which I chair, is meeting this Wednesday at 7pm at the Resource Center.

The tentative agenda includes:

• Discussion of parking considerations after DDOT meeting
  
• Update on signage for 15th St, including the cycle track
  
• Discussion of pedestrian safety problem statements and brainstorming solutions
• Opportunity for public comment and discussion
  

You can read the minutes from our previous meetings at our website.

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2B
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
Monday, September 29, 2014, 7:00 p.m.
SAIS, 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW, Room 500
 
Call to Order & Introduction of Commissioners & Staff (7:00 pm)

Public Space Considerations (7:05 pm)

• Request from DDOT for placement of a Capital Bikeshare station at 18th and R Street NW (2B03)

Historic Preservation & Zoning Applications (7:15 pm)

• Rehearing on historic preservation application for development at 1772 Church Street NW. HPRB hearing on October 2 (#14-530) (2B07)

   
    Order of Events

• Presentation of Revised Plans by Cas Riegler and St. Thomas Church (15 mins)
• Clarifying Questions from Commissioners (15 mins)
• Comments from Members of the Public (45 mins)
• Introduction and Debate of Resolution (30 mins)

Revised plans may be reviewed here. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written comments to the ANC via email at [email protected].

One important consideration is that the application at hand is only for "massing and concept" as it relates to historic preservation. This means that concerns about light and air quality, traffic and parking, loading and others will be considered during a discussion on zoning variances, which could occur as early as November.

Please leave comments here if you have thoughts on how the ANC should proceed with this historic preservation application.

Join us Saturday September 27th at 10 at New Hampshire and T Street to help keep our neighborhood beautiful! Special thanks to neighbor Barry Karas for the great idea! And enormous thanks to Tom Lipinkski in Jack Evan's office and John Fanning from the Mayor's Office for the coordination.

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 [email protected].

Check the Dupont ANC website for further information and updates. 

Through a coordinated effort among neighbors, businesses and DDOT, five new bike racks were installed on the north side of the 1400 block of T Street in the last week.

The racks were requested by both residents and businesses due to high demand. With so many great new eateries opening at the corner in the last two years, there has been incredible demand for bike parking, especially since this is the intersection of two bike lanes. Cyclists had been locking their bikes to the decorative fences on T Street and to trees, tree boxes and street signs.

Originally, DDOT was unable to install the racks due a contract dispute and our business community stepped up. BakeHouse, Taqueria Nacional, Policy, Lupo Verde and Room & Board all offered to pay for the installation out of pocket. In the end, DDOT was able to install the racks using their funds – as it should be. I was happy to coordinate the process.

Thanks to all who brought this to my attention and who stepped up to better their community.

UPDATED: Art Soiree has amended their application and is now applying for later closing hours. We continue to work with their owners and neighbors to reach a reasonable agreement on how best to mitigate concerns about noise - especially since this is so close to residents. The ANC will rehear this case at our October 8 meeting.

Art Soiree is a well-respected art producer, gallery and curator in the
DC area that is looking for a new home. Earlier this year the owners, Sandro and Tati, reached out to me about the vacant space on the 2nd and 3rd floors of 1832 14th St. They introduced themselves and their concept to the ANC at our June meeting. 

I'm so excited to support a new art gallery coming into our neighborhood, which is appropriated zoned as the ARTS overlay district. 

Previously, 1832 14th St had been planned for a three story restaurant by the owner of Local 16. Several years ago they applied for a liquor license and a settlement agreement was reached between the ANC (representing the neighbors) and the applicant restaurant; however the establishment never opened and Floors on 14th has occupied the ground floor ever since. The agreement discusses how the restaurant would have mitigated concerns over noise, trash, rats, parking, etc. 

Now Art Soiree is applying for a new "CX" license, which is a "multi-purpose" license that can be used for various events, but not regular dining or drinking. The idea is that the space will be used partially as a permanent office for the small business and partially as gallery and event space. Events would be relatively small because of the limited space and would end early on weeknights. There is no intention for this to be a loud or disruptive event space, merely a place for gallery showings with the occasional live band. Importantly, there is no outdoor space applied for or conceived for this establishment.

I asked Sandro and Tati to agree to the same stipulations as were agree upon previously and they have concurred. They're even requesting earlier closing hours than what was agreed to by the neighbors several years ago. Below you can download the previous agreement, which will be substantially similar to the new agreement. 

My hope is that we can successfully negotiate the agreement before our ANC Meeting on Wednesday the 10th and then support this application for a new CX license. I believe the existing agreement adequately addresses concerns about noise, trash (which will be contained off of public space), and deliveries. 

If you have suggestions for further revisions, please let me know ASAP so I can include them this weekend. 

The Dupont ANC will have its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Wednesday September 10th at 7:00 pm at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave NW).

Of note to our neighborhood are several 2B09 projects up for discussion:

1. HPRB application for 1415 T St to construct a rear addition.
2. HPRB application for 1841 15th St to construct a rear addition.

Also on the agenda will be a discussion on a new liquor license application for Art Soiree, which is moving its permanent art gallery space to the second and third floors of 1830 14th St NW. Look for a post on this site about the new application very shortly.

One other note on the agenda is that though it appears there now, the St. Thomas Church development project will not be voted on in September by the ANC. The full agenda, which will be republished on Sunday, is available here.