MINUTES
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3F
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK, FOREST HILLS & TENLEYTOWN
MAY 17, 2004, PUBLIC MEETING
Capital Memorial Church
3150 Chesapeake Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
1. CALL TO ORDER [7:33 pm]
Chair Perry called the meeting to order and,
finding Commissioners Kessler, Maudlin, Bardin, Bernardi, Wiss, and
Dennis present, declared a quorum.
2. AGENDA [7:33 pm]
The proposed agenda with brief reports, attached,
was approved 7-0-0 on motion of Chair Perry, seconded by Commissioner
Bardin.
3. MINUTES [7:34 pm]
Minutes of the April 13, 2004, special public
meeting were approved 7-0-0, on motion of Commissioner Wiss, seconded
by Commissioner Perry.
Minutes of the April 19, 2004, monthly public
meeting were approved 7-0-0, on motion of Commissioner Wiss, seconded
by Commissioner Bardin.
4. MPD SECOND DISTRICT REPORT [7:36 pm]
Lieutenant Patrick Marshall, recently assigned to the new PSA 203,
introduced himself and Officers Curry and Laconte, who will be working
with him on the 3:00 - 11:00 pm shift. Lt. Marshall can be
reached at 282-0050 at the station or 202-996-3725 on his pager (more
likely to reach him). He has a new e-mail but does not yet know
the address.
Lt. Marshall discussed some of the 32 crimes in ANC 3F (PSAs 201, 202,
203, and 204) during the last month: a robbery in which a woman
walking in
the 3800 block of Upton Street at 10:00 pm was forced to the ground and
her
purse taken (case still open); a domestic assault in which an arrest
had
been made; a burglary at an occupied apartment at 4607 Connecticut in
which
personal items and a DVD player were stolen. “Robbery FMD” means
robbery
with force and violence.
Commissioner Bardin, reading the police report, asked whether a stolen
auto at 4607 was related to the burglary. Lt. Marshall said he
would find out.
Commissioners Kessler and Bardin, pointing out a recent traffic
fatality, asked for Lt. Marshall’s help in finding out why the red
light camera at Connecticut
and Nebraska Avenues is not working and getting it fixed. Lt.
Marshall
noted that MPD has mobile red cameras that could be assigned to this
troublesome
intersection.
Commissioner Perry asked Lt. Marshall to find out the circumstances
behind a mob of about 200 students throwing toilet paper and jumping
over cars on Van Ness Street. She said they appeared younger than
Howard Law Students would be. She also asked that the “no
standing, no parking” signs on Van Ness Street and Veazey Terrace east
of Connecticut Avenue be enforced.
Kristen Barden of 4601 Connecticut Avenue asked for
the crime statistics for the same period a year ago to use as a point
of reference. Lt. Marshall agreed to provide them and noted the
ANC also has them. He will bring the crime statistics for this
year to date next month.
5. PUBLIC SPACE APPLICATION FOR TWO DRIVEWAY
CUTS AT 3025 GATES ROAD, NW [7:48 pm]
After receiving two comments in support and hearing no opposition, the
ANC voted 7-0-0 (Maudlin/Bardin) not to object to the application.
6. PUBLIC SPACE APPLICATION FOR A CIRCULAR
DRIVEWAY CUT AT 3060 GRANT ROAD, NW [7:51 pm]
After hearing no opposition in response to letters sent to neighbors,
the ANC voted 7-0-0 (Maudlin/Bardin)not to object to the application.
7. SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL BZA APPLICATION NO.
17149 [7:53 pm]
Lane Heard, Chair of Sidwell’s Board, outlined the three areas the
board sought to address: management of school traffic and
parking, building attractive buildings, and sustainable design.
Michael Saxenian, Assistant Head of School and Chief Financial Officer,
described the process Sidwell has followed over the last two years: the
several
mailings and 36 meetings the school has had with community groups and
the
changes made to the plans in response to those meetings, including
changing
a driveway from 37th Street to Wisconsin Avenue to route school traffic
through
the light at Rodman Street, building a two-story underground parking
garage
with green roof, enhancing programs for Metrocheck and shuttle buses to
reduce automobile traffic coming to campus, reducing the middle school
building from
4 to 3 stories and pulling the addition away from 37th Street, drafting
a
construction management plan, and reducing the mass of the Quaker
Meeting house and moving it away from Zartman House in response to the
HPRB.
Chris O’Brien of the 3800 block of Alton Place said that although he
was concerned about traffic issues, he was impressed by the project and
the degree of openness shown by the school.
Asma Rahman, an employee of the school, noted the school needed to make
changes to meet the needs of the students.
Marnie Walfoort of 3551 Tilden Street, a Sidwell parent since 1989,
believes that Sidwell intends to be responsible.
Barbara Beelar of 3505 Tilden Street, presented a petition signed by
184 people in 138 of the 230 households that would be affected by
Sidwell’s application. The petition urges both ANC 3C and ANC 3F
to resolve several issues before voting on the application and for the
school to come into compliance with all current BZA orders and
regulations.
Cathy Livingston of 3704 Quebec Street outlined recommendations for
approving the application in phases.
George Idelson, president of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association,
presented a resolution approved by the Cleveland Park Citizens
Association opposing any application to the BZA from an institution
that is operating in violation of its existing zoning order and urging
Sidwell to come into compliance with its existing BZA order before
proceeding with its application.
Principal B. N. Tally of Hearst School read a May 17 letter from the
PTA presidents to the chairs of the ANCs saying Sidwell had addressed
some of Hearst’s concerns, but Hearst would like more specifics,
especially on construction traffic during school drop off and pick up
time.
Martha Black of 3510 Quebec Street pointed out how well Sidwell and the
community had worked together on the hydrology task force.
Phil Feola, attorney for Sidwell, handed out new plans for the parking
garage. In response to questions from commissioners, Amy Floresta
of Kieran Timberlake Associates (architect) stated that these plans
show 148 parking spaces on the lower level and 159 spaces on the upper
level, for a total of 307 spaces. These plans have now been filed
with the BZA. Twenty-one additional parking spaces are planned on
campus: 5 spaces for buses behind the Fannie Mae building and 16
spaces for visitors in Zartman Circle, for a total of 328.
Mr. Saxenian said that although more parking will probably be
provided on campus than actually needed, Sidwell would also like to
allow students to park in unrestricted spaces on public streets so as
not to set up a difficult enforcement situation. If overflow were
to occur, he expects it would be small. Reducing student
enrollment to 780 from 800 would reduce parking
needs by only about 3 cars. Even if enrollment were increased to
850,
he expects student parking needs to decrease because Sidwell plans to
offer
Metrocheck, have Zipcar on campus, and install bike lockers.
Sidwell
does not plan to charge its students for parking.
Mr. Feola explained that 314 parking spaces would be needed if the
number of students who drove to school last year remained the same
(124) and all 190 faculty/staff drove. Seven more spaces would be
needed if the enrollment cap were increased to 850.
Mr. Saxenian stated he did not know how long Sidwell has been
overenrolled. He presumes Sidwell exceeded its cap before 2001,
when he arrived. The
current school administration learned of the noncompliance when they
started
to consider applying for this special exception.
Commissioner Bardin asked that Sidwell disclose to the BZA how long the
school has been out of compliance with the enrollment cap.
Sidwell wishes to continue drop off and pick up of 5th and 6th graders
on 37th Street to give them closer supervision and to isolate them from
traffic. Sidwell expects a family with a child in 5th or 6th grade and
one in another grade to drop off both children on 37th Street instead
of making two stops. Staggering start times to accommodate all students
through the Wisconsin Avenue
entrance would be tricky. Start and release times are already
staggered
with Hearst. Commissioner Perry suggested looking for different
places
on campus to drop off younger students. Commissioner Bardin
suggested
using staff and seniors to escort young children across campus and to
eliminate
the entrance to the middle school on 37th Street.
Steve Kieran, Sidwell’s architect, pointed out that although the new
entrance to the middle school on 37th Street would be closer to the
intersection of Tilden Street and the neighborhood, it would have a
longer drop off area than
the existing entrance. As for whether a curb cut and driveway
could
be built to bring drop off traffic onto campus from 37th Street, Mr.
Kieran
noted that neighbors had asked for no curb cut on 37th Street.
Sidwell will have to return to the Historic Preservation Review Board
for approval of the siting of the Quaker Meeting House.
Cathy Livingston stated the community believes “ample parking” means
that Sidwell should accommodate all parking on site, even though it is
legal to park in unrestricted spaces on the street. She would
like Sidwell to enforce on campus parking.
Nearby residents would also like to negotiate a more specific
construction management plan than Sidwell has offered for safety,
noise, and anticipated access to campus. Not all construction
activity may be possible from Wisconsin Avenue.
The ANC voted 6-1-0 (Wiss/Kessler), with Commissioner Dennis
dissenting, to approve Resolution 04-16, after accepting friendly
amendments to reword a provision concerning the proposed tennis courts
and designating Commissioners Kessler, Perry, and Wiss to represent it
before the BZA and after adopting an amendment 5-2-0 (Kessler/Perry),
with Commissioners Bardin and Wiss dissenting, to combine and revise
the first and second resolution clauses so that the introductory phrase
reads: “Therefore be it resolved that ANC 3F recommends approval
of this application, provided that:”. The commission agreed to
edit the resolution by e-mail to conform to the preceding discussion.
8. MOTION FOR PARTY STATUS IN THE SIDWELL FRIENDS
BZA APPLICATION [9:25 PM]
Noting that ANC 3F is not an automatic party to the Sidwell Friends BZA
application because the school is located in ANC 3C, Commissioner Wiss
moved,
seconded by Commissioner Bardin, that the ANC file a motion for party
status,
Document 04-02. The motion was approved 7-0-0..
9. ANNOUNCEMENTS [9:26 pm]
A. Announcements by Commissioners:
Commissioner Perry announced that ANC 3F now has one of the pandas from
the Pandamania art program. It has been placed at Veazey Terrace
and
Connecticut Avenue.
Commissioner Bardin announced that the Zoning Commission hearing on the
text of the Forest Hills Tree and Slope Overlay prepared by the DC
Office
of Planning will be held on July 22 at 6:30 pm at 441 – 4th Street,
N.W.,
Room 200. Commissioner Bardin also welcomed Kristen Barden,
former
commissioner in ANC 4C, who has moved into SMD 3F04.
Commissioner Wiss announced that she and Commissioner Lucy Eldridge of
SMD 3E04 will be holding a joint single member district meeting on
Thursday, May
27, to learn about plans for ball fields at Fort Reno National
Park. The meeting will be at 7:30 pm at St. Mary’s Armenian
Church, 42nd and Fessenden Streets, N.W., and will be preceded at 6:30
by a “walk through” of the park to see where the ball fields will be
placed.
B. Announcements by members of the community:
George Clark, President of the Forest Hills Citizens Association,
extended an invitation to the 75th anniversary party of the Citizens
Association, to
be held on June 10 at the Embassy of Slovakia.
10. OPEN FORUM [9:30 pm]
Kristen Barden noted that because Damon Harvey is no longer at DDOT,
the ANC brief report on the Military Road traffic study, in which he is
listed as a contact, needs to be changed.
Marvin Tievsky of 3810 Warren Street informed the ANC that he saw about
20 people with architectural plans walking around the site of the
Tenleytown Fire House. He assumes they are prospective bidders on
the fire house rebuild project.
11. RED LIGHT CAMERA AT CONNECTICUT AND NEBRASKA
AVENUES [9:33 pm]
Commissioner Kessler moved a resolution, seconded by
Commissioner Bernardi, requesting that the Metropolitan Police
Department
reactivate the red light camera at Connecticut and Nebraska Avenues,
where
a fatal accident occurred recently. The camera has not been
working
since July 2003. Commissioner Perry moved a substitute
resolution,
seconded by Commissioner Bardin, asking that a speed camera and raised
pedestrian
crosswalk also be installed at this intersection. After approving
the
substitution by a vote of 6-0-1, with Commissioner Kessler abstaining,
the
ANC adopted it as Resolution 04-17 by a vote of 7-0-0.
12. PUBLIC SPACE APPLICATION FOR A PEDESTRIAN
BRIDGE OVER AN ALLEY IN SQUARE 2243 TO JOIN THE EDMUND BURKE SCHOOL
ADDITION TO THE
EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDING [9:44 pm]
Commissioner Dennis, seconded by Commissioner Kessler, moved a
resolution opposing a public space application for a pedestrian bridge
over the alley to join the Edmund Burke School addition to the existing
building. Pearl
Richardson of 2940 Upton Street reported that NULS supports the
resolution. George Clark stated that the Forest Hills Citizens
Association also supports the resolution. An amendment to
indicate that there are “apparently” no precedents of similar
structures in DC residential neighborhoods; to add a “whereas” clause
stating the bridge would be visible from nearby residences; to amplify
the language about DC Code §10-1121; and to add Commissioner
Maudlin to the commissioners representing the ANC was approved 4-1-1
(Perry/Maudlin), Commissioner Bernardi dissenting, Commissioner Dennis
abstaining, and Commissioner Bardin recused.
Resolution 04-18 was then adopted by a vote of 4-1-1, with
Commissioner Bernardi dissenting, Commissioner Dennis abstaining, and
Commissioner Bardin recused.
13. PUBLIC SPACE APPLICATION FOR A SIDEWALK
CAFÉ AT BUCK’S FISHING AND CAMPING RESTAURANT, 5031 CONNECTICUT
AVENUE [9:55 pm]
Initially the commission voted 6-1-0 (Maudlin/Bardin), with
Commissioner Bernardi dissenting, to object to the application because
of issues with the
distance between the proposed deck and a bus shelter, the inadequacy of
the
rope surrounding the deck to prevent diners from falling off the edge,
the
number of seats being requested, the weight-bearing capacity of the
deck, and whether the café would have plantings and
umbrellas. Upon reconsideration, the applicant and the
commission, by consensus, agreed to table the matter until the June 21
public meeting. Chair Perry and the
applicant signed a Public Space form indicating that the matter had
been tabled.
14. LETTER TO ABRA CONCERNING THE ABC BOARD
HEARING ON THE LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE SIDEWALK CAFÉ AT TRATTORIA
LILIANA [10:15 pm]
On a vote of 7-0-0 (Maudlin/Bardin) the ANC designated Commissioner
Maudlin to represent it at the ABC Board hearing on whether to extend
the Trattoria Liliana’s liquor license to its sidewalk
café. The ANC already has a voluntary agreement with
Trattoria Liliana.
15. UPDATE ON ANC 3F RESOLUTION 04-13, OPPOSING
HISTORIC DESIGNATION OF WORKING FIRE HOUSES [10:17 pm]
Commissioner Bardin informed the ANC that Chairman Linda Cropp of the
DC Council has scheduled a hearing of the Committee of the Whole for
June 8 on
legislation introduced by Ward 3 Councilmember Kathy Patterson to
establish a new historic review process for working fire houses.
The ANC voted 6-1-0 (Bardin/Perry), with Commissioner Dennis
dissenting, to designate Commissioner Bardin to represent it at the
hearing.
16. TREASURER’S REPORT FOR APRIL 2004 [10:19 pm]
Commissioner Kessler handed out and explained the report for April
2004. He noted that the ANC had received its allotment of
$4,657.32 for this quarter.
17. ANC QUARTERLY REPORT FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF
FY 2004 [10:21 pm]
Commissioner Kessler distributed and explained the quarterly
report. The commission adopted the report by a vote of 7-0-0
(Kessler/Bardin).
18. ADJOURNMENT [10:24 pm]
Before adjourning, Chair Perry asked commissioners to consider whether
the July monthly meeting should be moved to the second Monday in July
to have time to vote on and file a report on the Forest Hills Tree and
Slope Overlay for the July 22 Zoning Commission hearing. No
action was taken at this meeting to change the date.
On motion of Commissioner Kessler, seconded by Commissioner Bernardi,
the commission adjourned by consensus at 10:30 pm.
These minutes were approved 5-0-0 by ANC 3F at a duly noticed
public meeting on June 21, 2004, with a quorum present.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Cathy Wiss
Cathy Wiss
Secretary, ANC 3F
Attachments:
Agenda with Brief Reports
Res 04-16 Sidwell Friends School BZA Application
(withdrawn 6-2-04)
Doc 04-02 Motion for Party
Status, Sidwell Friends School BZA Application
Doc 04-03 Public space
application 3025 Gates Road
Doc 04-04 Public Space
application 3060 Grant Road
Res 04-17 Red Light Camera at
Connecticut and Nebraska Avenues
Res 04-18 Pedestrian Bridge
at Edmund Burke School
Treasurer’s Report for April 2004
ANC Quarterly Report for the Second Quarter of FY
2004