Chair Amber Gove (6A04) convened the January 13, 2022 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A via Zoom with Commissioners Keya Chatterjee (6A01), Phil Toomajian (6A02), Mike Soderman (6A03), Laura Gentile (6A05), Robb Dooling (6A06), Sondra Phillips-Gilbert (6A07) and Brian Alcorn (6A08) all in attendance.
Councilmember Allen on Redistricting
Councilmember Charles Allen has been attending ANC meetings updating residents on the next phase of the redistricting process. Now that the new ward boundaries have been drawn, each ward will form a task force to form their ANC’s and Single Member Districts (SMD) over the course of the coming calendar year.
Following precedent from the previous redistricting, this task force will be comprised of former ANC commissioners and those with no plans to run for a seat. Councilmember Allen hopes to have this task force assembled quickly so they might present a recommendation for new boundaries sometime this coming March as a piece of legislation to the Redistricting Committee.
The Councilmember said he is open to the possibility of a cross-boundary ANC as exists in other parts of the city, but such an arrangement naturally requires the interest and consent of all parties. As always, Councilmember Allen can be reached via email at callen@dccouncil.us.
DC Water Lead Free Initiative
Lead Free DC is DC Water’s plan to eliminate all lead service lines by 2030. This coming year, homes on the 1800 block of Gail Street NE, 300 block of 17th Street NE and 1600 block of Kramer Street NE are all eligible for free lead service line replacements. Interested homeowners need to return signed agreements as soon as possible. Through this initiative, DC Water is also offering to verify the material composition of service lines to verify and fill in any gaps in data present in existing historical records. Interested residents should visit dcwater.com/leadmap for more information on this program. For inquiries, call 202-787-4044 or email lead@dcwater.com.
Other Business
The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter to DC Councilmembers and the Committee of the Whole reiterating ANC 6A’s December 2, 2021 recommendations for a redistricting map to keep all of ANC 6A within Ward 6, in light of the Committee of the Whole’s recommended map.
New Year Organizational Actions
Being the first ANC meeting of 2022, the Commissioners unanimously confirmed the Commission Rules and elected Commission officers as well as the members and leaders of each permanent committee. Amber Gove was elected Chair, Keya Chatterjee as Vice-Chair, Laura Gentile as Secretary and Brian Alcorn will serve again as Treasurer. Committee Chairs along with a full calendar of committee meetings can be found by visiting the ANC6A website, anc6a.org.
Unanimous Actions
The following motions and recommendations were passed by the Commissioners with unanimous consent;
- The Commissioners approved a resolution to increase the funding of Cure the Streets, the DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and violence interrupters at large.
- The Commissioners voted to send a letter of opposition to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for special exception zoning relief from the lot occupancy requirements and special exception zoning relief from the rear addition requirements of to construct a third story and rear addition, and convert an existing, two-story dwelling into a flat at 647 16th Street NE (BZA Case #20612).
- The Commissioners voted to send a letter of support to BZA for special exception zoning relief from the lot occupancy requirements to construct a one-story, rear addition to an existing, attached, two-story with basement, principal dwelling unit at 909 Kent Place, NE (BZA Case #20652) in the RF-1 zone on condition that the applicant make best efforts to get letters of support from the neighbor to the west and a neighbor to the rear of the property. BZA Case scheduled for 03/23/2022 and 03/16/2022.
- The Commissioners voted to send a letter of support to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for the construction of an existing one-story garage to be rebuilt and expanded into a two-story carriage house, and the third-floor addition and roof deck at main house at 308 11th Street NE (HPRB Case #20-390).
- The Commissioners voted to send a letter to Mayor Bowser requesting that the building at 1219 K Street NE (The Havana) be cited for a number of housing code violations; requesting follow up to ensure timely abatement; requesting information about this property from multiple relevant agencies across DC government; and requesting meaningful violence prevention efforts for the area within and surrounding 8th Street NE and 13th Street NE, between K Street NE and Florida Avenue NE.
Other Actions
- The Commissioners voted to approve a resolution in support of the Restore Act. The voted was 7 in favor with Commissioner Toomajian abstaining.
- The Commissioners voted to send a letter to Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Department of Health requesting additional locations for free at home rapid tests in or around ANC6A in Northeast DC and consider expanding vaccination requirements for restaurants, gyms, and bars to include a third/booster shot. The vote was 7 in favor with Commissioner Phillips-Gilbert abstaining.
The next full meeting of ANC 6A is Thursday, February 10, 7:00 p.m. Visit www.anc6a.org for a calendar of meeting times, meeting agendas and other information.
