MINUTES
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3F
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK, FOREST HILLS & TENLEYTOWN
PUBLIC MEETING

Captial Memorial Church
3150 Chesapeake Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20008
Monday, March 15, 2004

1.    CALL TO ORDER [7:36 pm]
     Chair Perry called the meeting to order and, finding Commissioners Kessler, Bardin, Bernardi, and Wiss present, declared a quorum.

2.    AGENDA [7:37 pm]
    The proposed agenda, attached with brief reports, was approved on motion of Chair Perry, seconded by Commissioner Bardin, 5-0-0.

3.    MINUTES [7:38 pm]
    Minutes of the February 9, 2004, public meeting were approved 5-0-0, on motion of Commissioner Wiss, seconded by Commissioner Bardin.

4.    ANNOUNCEMENTS [7:38 pm]

A.    Announcements by Commissioners:  
Commissioner Bardin announced that he and Commissioners Maudlin, Perry, Bernardi, and Dennis will be holding a joint Single Member District Meeting on March 31, 2004, to inform the community about the new Tree and Slope Protection regulation proposed by the Office of Planning and to hear the community’s comments and questions.  A representative of OP will make a presentation. The meeting will be at the Capital Memorial Church, 3150 Chesapeake Street, N.W., at 7:30.
Commissioner Kessler announced two hazardous waste pickups:  one for general hazardous materials like batteries and chemicals on April 3, 2004, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Carter Barron and the other for computers only, also at the Carter Barron from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, but on April 24, 2004.
    Commissioner Kessler announced that ANC 3F is assisting Councilmember Kathy Patterson in compiling a list of streets that need repairs after the ravages of the winter.  Anyone who would like to add a street to the list should e-mail the ANC at anc3f@juno.com by March 18, 2004.
    Commissioner Kessler also informed the commission and community that the Sidwell Friends School application to the BZA for a special exception has been posted on the ANC web site, www.anc3f.org.
    Commissioner Perry noted that at the ANC oversight hearing in February, ANC 3F was complimented on routinely filing its quarterly report on time.  She thanked ANC Treasurer Carl Kessler and his predecessor, Doug Mitchell, for their diligence.
B.    Announcements by members of the community:
Dick Potter of 3003 Van Ness Street, N.W., announced that the Friendship Station Postal Customer Advisory Committee has a new post office box and e-mail address.  These have been posted on the ANC web site, www.anc3f.org.  He added that starting this week residents should expect faster mail delivery because the US Postal Service will be resuming deliveries from the central post office.
George Clark of 4525 – 28th Street, N.W., announced that the Forest Hills Citizens Association will be holding its next meeting on Thursday, March 18, at the University of the District of Columbia.  Andrew Altman, Director of the DC Office of Planning, will present the mayor’s vision for the city and answer questions.
George Clark also announced that Mayor Williams will be holding a citywide meeting for ANC commissioners and community leaders to discuss lead in drinking water.  The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 16 from 5:30-7:00 pm at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 – 9th Street, N.W.
    
5.    OPEN FORUM [7:46 pm]
Sharlene Krantz of 4336 Albemarle Street, N.W., informed the community that the DC Smokefree Workplaces Initiative will be on the ballot in November if 18,000 signatures can be gathered.  The Restaurant Association of Greater DC has filed a challenge the Board of Elections and Ethics for approving the initiative, to be heard in DC Superior Court next week.

6.    MPD SECOND DISTRICT REPORT [7:48 pm]
Commander Moore of the Second District was unable to attend the ANC meeting as planned.  In his place, Lt. Aiello gave the police report for ANC 3F for the past 30 days.  Of the 53 crimes in ANC 3F, there were:

      4  burglaries
      9  thefts
    17  thefts from auto
      6  stolen vehicles
      4  assaults
    10  instances of vandalism/destruction of property
      1  fraud
2    unlawful entries

In three of the burglaries, laptop computers were stolen from residences and an office building.  On Fessenden Street [in ANC 3E], a 42” TV set was taken after the perpetrator pried open a front window.  Surprisingly, no one observed the theft.
Thefts from auto were scattered throughout the ANC, but have been more frequent recently near the commercial district between Wisconsin Avenue and 40th Street from Albemarle to Chesapeake, possibly because of increased business with the opening of the Best Buy store.  One arrest was made.  MPD has placed a decoy car in this area.
Most of the stolen vehicles were taken from Tilden and Upton Streets and most occurred during the day shift.  The cars stolen included different models of Chrysler/Dodge cars and a Jeep Cherokee.  One car was recovered.  Another Jeep Cherokee, reported stolen from the 4th District and being driven by a juvenile who said he was on his way to an alternative learning school on Connecticut Avenue, was recovered at Connecticut and Rodman Street.  Lt. Aiello reported that the number of stolen cars is down since officers stepped up truancy enforcement near Deal Junior High and Wilson High School.  
The upper Northwest is seeing a lot of vandalism.  In ANC 3F, orange initials “JM” were spraypainted on three cars in public space on Albemarle Street and Alton Place just west of Connecticut Avenue.  A car’s convertible top was slashed on Brandywine Street.  The window of a restaurant in the 4400 block of Connecticut Avenue was smashed by a thrown beer bottle, but nothing was taken.  Police officers keep business card files of business owners to be able to reach them in an emergency.
Comm. Kessler asked about noise enforcement.  Lt. Aiello informed that MPD can take enforcement action for excessive noise any time of day.  When noise is loud enough to be heard beyond the property, police will find the owner/occupant and ask that it be toned down.  After 10:00 pm, the Code defines as excessive certain types of noise that would be allowed at other times of day.
Of the four assaults, two occurred at a school at 4401 Connecticut Avenue, one took place in a private home between roommates, and one at a bar.  There are two alternative learning academies in ANC 3F:  Rock Creek Academy at 4401 Connecticut Avenue, and another school at 3920 Alton Place.  Students are placed in these schools by the Juvenile Justice System.  These are privately owned schools that receive tuition from DCPS to educate the students, a type of voucher system.  Thirty percent of the DCPS budget is spent on special education, including these students.  There was a consensus that ANC 3F should look into what is happening at 4401 Connecticut Avenue.

7.    LETTER SUPPORTING PSA BOUNDARIES [8:16 pm]
The Commission approved sending a letter to Linda Cropp, Chairman of the DC Council supporting the proposed new boundaries for Police Services Areas in ANC 3F (Bardin/Perry) 6-0-0, Commissioner Bardin voting Commissioner Maudlin’s proxy.

8.    REVISED PLANS IN BZA CASE # 16836, THE WASHINGTON HOME [8:18 pm]
The Home was represented by Amy Tucci, Vice President of Public Relations, and George Keys, Esq., of Jordan and Keys.  Commissioner Wiss presented the new site plan, which The Home filed with the BZA on March 8, 2004, a product of a collaborative effort by The Home, residents, and ANC Commissioners.  She stated that she believed this site plan met the BZA’s criteria as listed in ANC 3F Resolution 03-20, which recommended rejection of an earlier plan.  In addition, The Home provided the ANC a supplementary memorandum on its parking and transit plans, and Jane MacLeish, a landscape designer residing at 3743 Upton Street, N.W. presented a landscaping plan.  This plan could not be finalized until after March 8, nor had it been approved by The Home’s board.  Amy Tucci stated the board would be meeting by the end of the week.
Martha Frazier of 3721 Upton Street expressed her concern that The Home might restripe the parking lot for more cars or park cars in no parking zones, as it has done in the past.  Commissioners pointed out that the site plan shows specific lined spaces and that the community can address any infringements it finds in proposed periodic meetings with The Home.
Henry Guyot of 4108 – 38th Street asked for more landscaping facing the 38th Street side of the building.  Jane MacLeish and The Home said they would be willing to work on this.
Barbara Beelar of 3505 Tilden Street mentioned that she had worked with The Home on the traffic issues contained in the supplemental memorandum.  She is enthusiastic about The Home’s agreement to provide parking spaces for carpools near the door and to encourage employees to be careful of school traffic on 37th Street.
 The Commision voted 5-0-0 (Wiss/Kessler) to adopt a resolution based on the documents presented and the discussion at the meeting, with its final position depending on the outcome of The Home’s consideration of the landscaping plan, a required part of the BZA application.

9.    PAY TELEPHONE  IN PUBLIC SPACE AT 4300 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, NW [8:48 pm]
This is an existing payphone for which the owner, Davel Communications, seeks a permit.  Commisioner Perry noted that the payphone in question is currently installed in front of 4304 Connecticut and that neither Davel nor the adjacent business owners would like to have it moved.  The Commission approved a resolution not objecting to the payphone so long as it remains at its current location, is adjusted for outgoing calls only, is kept clean and free of debris, and its owner refrains from renting space on its casement for advertising (Perry/Bernardi) 5-0-0.

10.    PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RULEMAKING ON PUBLIC PAYPHONES [8:52 pm]
Commissioner Perry introduced a resolution supporting a proposed amendment to 15 DCMR Section 609.7 of the Public Service Commission rules for pay telephones and requesting that language be added to this section to prevent use of the casements of public payphones for advertisements, announcements, and notices, as was done at a public payphone at 4339 Connecticut Avenue.  The Commission approved Resolution 04-11 (Perry/Bernardi) 5-0-0 after a friendly amendment from Commissioner Kessler was accepted to add language to the final clause specifying that advertisements should be prohibited on “the telephone, casement, pedestal, or any other portion of the telephone”.

11.    UPGRADING, RECONSTRUCTING, AND RESURFACING OF STREETS IN ANC 3F [8:56 pm]

     The Commission has received a letter from Muhammed Khalid, Program Manager with the District Department of Transportation, listing streets in Ward 3 for upgrading, reconstruction, and resurfacing.  Within ANC 3F these include:

    Shoemaker Street/Linnean Avenue from Tilden Street to Tilden Street
    38th Street from Chesapeake Street to Nebraska Avenue
    33rd Street from Broad Branch Terrace to Linnean Terrace
    Albemarle Street from Linnean Avenue to 28th Street
    Brandywine Street from Nebraska Avenue to 38th Street
    38th Street from Albemarle Street to Chesapeake Street

None of these streets was on the list of streets recommended for repair by the Commission at its October 21, 2002, public meeting.  Barbara Simons of 5025 Linnean Avenue, who served on the ad hoc committee that developed the October 2002 list, asked that the Commission make sure those streets be given priority, especially the 3200 block of Davenport Street.  Commissioner Kessler noted that the 3600 block of Alton Place is scheduled for repair in FY 2005, but that DDOT may get to it sooner because more funds have been found.
George Clark asked about the procedure for getting sidewalks where there are no existing sidewalks.  Commissioner Perry informed him that affected homeowners must sign a petition requesing a new sidewalk.  Commissioner Perry also pointed out that many residents feel the new streetlights being installed are too bright for residential neighborhoods.
On motion of Commissioner Bardin, seconded by Commissioner Wiss, the Commission voted 5-0-0 to have Commissioner Wiss write a letter to the mayor and director of DDOT asking what has happened to the streets the Commission selected.

12.    UPDATE ON THE ANC’S PROTEST OF RENEWING A LIQUOR LICENSE FOR CVS AT 5015 CONNECTICUT AVENUE [9:06 pm]
Commissioner Kessler reported that he and Commissioner Maudlin attended the status hearing, as did a lawyer representing CVS.  The ABC Board scheduled hearing for May 15 to consider the merits of the case including any voluntary agreement reached between CVS and ANC 3F.

13.    TREASURER’S REPORT [9:09 pm]
Commissioner Kessler presented the Treasurer’s Report for February 2004, noting that the date of the reconciled bank balance should read “2/29”.  Three checks were outstanding as of that date.  The current balance has been adjusted to reflect a transfer of funds from the checking to the savings account.  Money is now budgeted for purchase of a new ISP.  Commissioner Kessler announced that he submitted the Quarterly Report for the First Quarter of FY 2004 on time.

14.    ADJOURNMENT [9:14 pm]
Chair Perry announced that the next regular ANC meeting will be held on April 19 at the Capital Memorial Church, 3150 Chesapeake Street, N.W.  Before then, however, the Commission may need to hold a joint special meeting with ANC 3C on the Sidwell Friends School’s BZA application, with the date and place to be determined.
On motion of Commissioner Bernardi, seconded by Commissioner Kessler, the meeting adjourned by acclamation.

Respectfully submitted,

Cathy Wiss, Secretary


Attachments:

Agenda with brief reports
Ltr 04-01    Proposed PSA Boundaries
Res 04-09    The Washington Home BZA Application
Res 04-10    Payphone at 4330 Connecticut Avenue
Res 04-11    Amendment to Public Service Commission Regulations
Ltr 04-02    Street Repairs in ANC 3F
Treasurer’s Report for February 2004