Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B met Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Hill Center.
The quorum: Jennifer Samolyk (6B01), Jerry Sroufe (6B02), James Loots (6B03, Parliamentarian), Kirsten Oldenburg (6B04, secretary), Steve Hagedorn (6B05), Nick Burger (6B06, treasurer), Kelly Waud (6B07), Chander Jayaraman (6B08, vice-chair), Daniel Ridge (6B09, Chair) and Denise Krepp (6B10).
MPD Presentation
First District Captains John Knutsen (Sector 2) and Jon Dorrough (Sector 1) appeared before the commission. They noted that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will go through redistricting in January 2019, changing boundary lines to the First, Second and Fifth Districts. This would have little effect on ANC 6B, they said, as the bulk of changes were downtown and in Northeast.
The two Captains said that in ANC 6B, there has been a 25 percent decrease in robberies over the past 30 days, and a decrease of about seven percent in violent crime. Overall crime, including property crime, is down by about five percent.
Commissioner Denise Krepp asked about efforts by MPD to assist homeless people in days of extreme cold. On the morning of Sunday, Nov. 11, Krepp found a poorly-dressed woman a half block from Union Station and called MPD. An hour later, she learned the woman had died. The officers said that a shelter shuttle is available to transport vulnerable people to shelter, or to provide a place to warm themselves, and that MPD has devoted resources and training to the issue. If you see someone outside in need, you can call the Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093, or call 911 in an emergency.
Community Speakout
Emilie (1101 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Partners Arris Noble and Sam Sosha appeared to announce plans to open a restaurant called Emilie at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. SE together with Chef Kevin Tien of Himitsu, who arrived at the end of the meeting. The restaurant will play with the dim sum format, circulating small plates on themed carts while also offering larger and family-style plates on a changing a la carte menu. The liquor license application will be heard by ANC 6B at the December meeting. The restaurant has not yet sought permits, but the partners expect that the permitting process and construction will each take three months. They are expecting to open in April 2019.
Frager’s Relocation
Frager’s Hardware Store Manager Aisha Bryant announced that on March 1, 2019 the 98-year-old hardware store will move to their new 8,500 square foot space located on the store’s original site at the intersection of 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The hardware store will also include 1,000 square feet of outdoor retail. Owner Gina Schaefer has said that this outdoor retail will operate in addition to the Frager’s Garden Center that opened in April of this year behind the building at 1123-1129 Pennsylvania Ave SE.
Welcome to New Commissioners
Chair Daniel Ridge (6B09) welcomed the Commissioner-Elects to ANC 6B, two of whom were in attendance. Kasie Clark will take over Ridge’s Single Member District (SMD) and Brian Ready will become Commissioner in 6B03. Corey Holman will assume the seat of Nick Burger (6B06). Steve Holtzman was elected Commissioner for 6B05, formerly the seat of Steve Hagedorn.
Alcohol and Beverage Committee
Taco City (1102 Eighth St. SE)
Owner Juan Jimenez appeared in regard to his application for a tavern license for restaurant Taco City, which he said offered tacos, tortillas and tequila. The restaurant is in the SMD of Kirsten Oldenburg (6B04), who said that Mr. Jimenez made his selection under the mistaken impression that a tavern license allowed for broader hours of operation and entertainment endorsements.
The ANC has worked to limit such licenses along Barrack’s Row, preferring restaurant licenses as these require that 45 percent of revenue to be from food, discouraging nightclubs. Jimenez said that he was willing to apply for a restaurant license if that was what the neighborhood preferred. The ANC agreed to support a stipulated license, which would allow the restaurant to sell liquor during the 45-day processing period, if he would do so. The application passed unanimously.
Planning and Zoning
710 E St. SE
The ANC heard a Historic Preservation Application regarding the concept design for a proposed seven-unit, three-story rear addition to an existing building at 710 E St. SE, the site of Hill Auto Repair. At the P&Z meeting, there was some confusion in regard to the easement on the side of the building, so the applicant has narrowed the building footprint and compensated by proposing a small penthouse addition to the top of the building. Neighbors had expressed support for residential development but had concerns about emergency exits and the trees at the rear of the property, as well as about the penthouse and its effect on interior space. With neither the applicant nor more than one neighbor present to express a position, the ANC moved to support the application 7-1, with two abstaining.
Transportation Committee
City Bikes Station on 300 block 11th Street SE
A heated debate took place on the merits of placing a Capitol Bike Share station on the east side of the 300 block of 11th Street SE at C Street SE beside Neighbors Cleaners and Laundromat. The station would be 53 feet long, 6 feet deep and house 19 bicycles. Aaron Goldbeck, Capitol Bikeshare Planner with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), said that the location was the only possibility in ANC 6B, and would fill in an area lacking in stations.
Opposition was voiced by the building owners, the McCulloch family, as well as by Mr. Kwak, who owns the cleaners. Kwak presented 120 signatures in opposition to the station and said that in 1988, the ANC had granted him permission to use the unmarked space in front of his business on 11th Street as a loading zone. Research done by Commissioner Oldenberg appears to indicate it is a no-parking zone.
Neighbors in attendance were divided on the idea. One said that the presence of the station would increase safety in the area by making drivers at the intersection more cautious; another said that crowds around the station would be endangered by traffic and could also endanger pedestrians.
Commissioners tried to find a way to alleviate the effects of the station on the business, suggesting a 15-minute loading zone, metered parking, or a 2-hour parking zone along C Street. However, both Mr. Kwak and the McCullochs opposed these ideas.
The Bikeshare station was supported 7-3.
EMCAC Summary
ANC 6B Representative to the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) Chander Jayaraman (6B08) said the committee had a discussion about the Department of General Service (DGS), which manages the market, and the lack of a capitol budget for Eastern Market, despite legislation calling for it. A particular concern was the funding of necessary repairs to an HVAC condenser. The committee had also discussed parking and the possibility of creating discounted spots available in the parking garage at 700 Penn, validating by merchant stamps.
ANC Input on Other Concerns
WMATA has asked the ANC to support the installation of a canopy similar to that at Eastern Market Metro station at Capitol South and Potomac Avenue Metro stations, as per the comments on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts Application. The ANC supported the canopies 9-0 (Loots was out of the room).
Ridge asked the ANC to support a letter to DDOT asking to install speed bumps on the 1800 block of D Street NE, near the entrance to the construction site at Reservation 13 and in compliance with the transportation management agreement. Ridge said he had chosen not to proceed through the Transportation Committee in hopes that DDOT would fulfill the obligation while the weather was suitable to lay asphalt. The letter was supported 9-0-0.
The next meeting of ANC 6B will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 11 at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE). Visit anc6b.org for more info, or follow @ANC6B on Twitter.
