Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B

Minutes of Regular ANC Meeting

April 8, 2008

 

 

Commissioners Present: Ken Jarboe, Vice-Chair; Will Hill, Kirsten Oldenburg, Francis Campbell, Neil Glick, David Garrison, Mary Wright, Carol Green, and Executive Director, Bert Randolph.

 

Commissioners Absent: Julie Olson and Michael Patterson

 

The Vice Chair Ken Jarboe chaired the meeting and the Commissioners introduced themselves.

 

There was a quorum for conducting business.

 

Adoption of Agenda

 

The Vice Chair recommended that the DDOT Performance Parking Pilot Plan Update be moved to be the last item under the Planning and Zoning Committee.

 

There were no other changes to the agenda.  The motion was made to adopt the agenda and amended.  The vote was unanimous and the agenda was adopted as amended.

 

Community Speakout

 

Mr. Daniel Blair stated he would like to see a ban on the sale of single beers in the area.  He said he is concerned about the problems associated with people drinking them in public and becoming drunk and using public streets and alleys as bathrooms.  Mr. Blair stated that he had spoken with the manager at Albert’s, located at Kentucky and D Street, SE, about the singles problem and the manager committed to doing something about it.  So far, nothing has been done, however.

 

Vice Chair Jarboe stated he would refer the issue to Commissioner Wright, who is the Chair of the ABC Committee for further action.  Commissioner Jarboe stated that the issue with Albert’s and the sale of singles goes back along way and he believes it is time to revisit that issue.

 

Another constituent (name not auditable on tape) stated that she also wanted to complain about people purchasing singles at the liquor store at 15th and Independence Avenue, SE and who subsequently become drunk and use the alleyways as public bathrooms.

 

Commissioner Glick stated that he is the Commissioner for that area and he has a small working group dealing with that issue.  In fact, they had their second meeting Monday night.

 

Ms. Kristin Eliason informed the Commission and community that about a month ago she was attached by some children in the neighborhood where they threw rocks at her and she was wondering if other people in the neighborhood were having the same type of problem.  Fortunately, the rocks hit her car window.   Had it hit her in the head it would have knocked her out cold.  She is aware that the police department is working on patrolling the area to keep a handle on the situation around Potomac Gardens.

 

Commissioner Oldenburg stated that the police in PSA 106 have been very responsive on this matter and she wanted to complement them on their efforts.  The police are continuing to work on this rash of random attacks (assaults) by kids on people walking by in the area.  Additionally, there is an issue with the Hine School students throwing things at people around the Eastern Market Metro.  There has also been an issue with the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School students at the end of the day walking from school to the Metro.  The police now have active police patrols at the corner of 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE monitoring student behavior and following students up the street to the metro.   Commissioner Oldenburg stated that she would like to see more types of programs for children in the neighborhood to help keep them out of trouble.

 

Commissioner Glick stated he would like to see all persons who have been involved in or observed a crime to make a report to the police department.  He stated that it is the report of any and all crimes, even if it days later that generate action by the police department.

 

Community and Commission Announcements

 

Special Call Meeting

 

Commissioner Jarboe announced that ANC 6B would be hold a special call meeting on April 23rd at 7:30 p.m. here at the Old Naval Hospital.  The purpose of the meeting will be discussing the zoning for Hill East (Reservation 13) because this is a rather complicated zoning case.

 

Councilman Wells’ Community Meeting

 

Commissioner Jarboe announced that at the end of the month Councilman Tommy Wells is putting together a community meeting to discuss the future of the Hines’ site.  The ANC had previously passed a resolution asking for this community planning process.  The meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 30th at Hines, but the actual date has not been locked in at this time.  There will be future announcements regarding the actual date and time.

 

Later in the meeting April 30th was confirmed at the correct date and the time was 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 or 9:00 p.m.

 

CRS Café

 

Commissioner Oldenburg announced that Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS) on April 16th their café item will be a presentation on Re-pointing Historic Brick Exterior at Ebenezer’s Coffee House on the north east side of the Hill at 2nd and F Street, NE, from 6:30 until 7:15 p.m.  Additionally, some flyers were placed on the table outside the meeting door regarding the event.

 

Presentations

 

29th Annual Capitol Hill Classic Race – Joshua Raymond, Co-Chair

 

Mr. Raymond stated that he was present to represent the 29th Annual Capitol Hill Classic Fundraising Race and to ask for the Commission’s support for this very important event.  The race is being held on May 18, 2008 and will start at 8:30 a.m. and end around 11:00 a.m. They anticipate between 2 and 3 thousand runners to take part in the race.  The race organizers are seeking a letter of support because the police department will need to close certain streets to accommodate the race.  Mr. Raymond reviewed the race route, which will begin at Peabody School (South side of Stanton Park), travel Southeast on Mass. Ave., N.E., turn East on North side of Lincoln Park, turn South on 13th., SE, turn West on South side of Lincoln Park, turn North on 11th Street, NE; turn North on 11th Street, SE; turn West on East Capitol Street, turn South on 3rd Street, SE, turn West on Independence Avenue, SW just before 7th Street; SW, return up the hill past the Capitol on Independence Avenue, SE, turn North on 1st Street, SE, turn Northeast on Maryland Avenue, NE, and on to the finish line in front of Peabody School.

 

Street closures will begin around 6:00 a.m.  As runners go down each street section, the street closure will happen (rolling closure) with police supervision.  The change in the race route is due to the fact that the US Capitol Police do not allow events to circle the Capitol any more.

 

Commissioner Campbell expressed his concern that they will be closing East Capitol at the time that most of the churches will be exiting their services.

 

The Vice Chair informed Mr. Raymond that there several questions regarding the race route and its potential impact on the area.  Commissioner Jarboe said that the Commission will submit its questions to him at a later date and he would be able to get back to the Commission with his responses.  The Executive Committee will then take the matter up and issue its recommendation.  Mr. Raymond stated he would be pleased to respond to the Commission’s comments.

 

The Vice Chair asked all Commissioners who may have questions about the race to please submit them to the staff assistance who in turn will get the questions back to Mr. Raymond.

 

Empower DC – Saving Public Property – Parisa Norouzi, Co-Director/Organizer

 

Mr. Adrian Matson replaced Parisa Norouzi as the presenter.  Mr. Matson stated The District of Columbia Grassroots Empowerment Project’s (Empower DC) mission is to enhance and improve the self-advocacy of low income and working people in the District of Columbia in order to bring about sustained self improvement in their quality of life.  The group’s objective is to retain public property (schools, libraries, parks, and etc) for public use, not private profit.

 

Their main concern is the past process of allowing private for-profit organizations to secure public property instead of having those properties be maintained for public usages. There is no city law requiring re-purposing public property with community input.  Current law says that in order for a property to be disposed of, the Mayor must send a resolution to the Council making a finding that the public property is “no longer required for public purposes”. 

 

Mr. Master stated his group believes the city needs a Master Facility Plan and is seeking support for legalization that has been introduced to address the loss of public property.  Additionally, the legislation would require a comprehensive audit of all public property owned by the city.

 

Mr. Master presented the Commission and community material on the proposed DC Bill 17-0527 (Layers of Protection for Public Property).  Mr. Master is seeking the Commission’s support by passing and sending a resolution to Councilwoman Schwarz requesting that she schedule a public hearing on the Bill.

 

The Vice Chair recommended that due to the complication of legislation it be referred to the Planning and Zoning Committee for future discussion and recommendation.  Commissioner Jarboe added he is concerned because there are at least 4 projects going on is ANC 6B right now like the Hine site, Reservation 13 (Hill East), the Old Naval Hospital (which is under lease), and Eastern Market (also a lease).  He would hate to see the Commission do anything that would throw sand into the gears of those projects, or take action that could potentially undo what has already been accomplished.  The Vice Chair then stated he was referring the matter to the Commissioner Campbell, Chair of the Planning and Zoning Committee for further discussion and review.

 

Planning and Zoning Committee

 

The Acting Chair turned the meeting over to Commissioner Campbell, Planning and Zoning Committee Chair to make the report.

 

BZA # 17766,731 8th Street, SE – Variances from rear yard requirements, side yard requirements and court area and width requirements to allow an addition to an existing commercial building including a new 4th floor residential apartment.

 

The owners, Barbara Charles and Robert Staples, propose to (a) construct an addition to the building to connect the garage to the 1st floor of the building; (b) expand the rear of the 2nd and 3rd floors of building over the garage (“Rear Addition”) and (c) add a residential apartment as a new 4th floor (Rooftop Addition).  This will require building an additional stairwell in the rear addition. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors will continue to be used as commercial space. Conceptual plans have been approved by Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB).  Note that the ANC voted to support the historic preservation application at our meeting of July 19, 2007 by a vote of 5-0-0.

 

Note also that the building is unique in that it contains a large interior courtyard and a small side yard.

 

The requested variances are directly attributed to the historic preservation concerns, building code ingress/egress and other requirements and the need to dedicate core space use.  In the case of the side yard and court variances, this relief is necessary to maintain the historical integrity of the building – specifically the side yard and the court.

 

In addition, HPRB required that the rooftop addition be pushed back from the front façade.  These required setbacks severely reduce the potential amount of buildable area for the fourth floor and force the rooftop addition towards the rear of the property. Additionally, in order to meet the Building Code requirements, substantial space must be dedicated to stairwells. Although an elevator is not required under the code, it is desirable to provide access to the fourth floor.  Given these building requirements, a variance from the rear yard set back requirement is needed to allow for any practical addition to be made to either the rear or the roof. 

 

In addition, the layout of the rear of the building creates a unique hardship.  The back of the property slopes toward the alley.  Under the rear yard requirements, the back of a commercial building must be set back from the property line above the height of 20 feet.  Normally, this would allow for a first and second story to be at the property line with only the third story needing to be set back.  However, because of the sloped nature of the property, only a first floor addition would be allowed – as the 20 foot mark as measured from the back of the property would be in the middle of the proposed second story.  Thus, any practical addition to the property would require a rear yard variance.

 

Included with the applicant’s submissions are a number of letters of support from various nearby business owners and a letter from Cristina Amoruso, Executive Director of Barracks Row Main Street. These same letters are provided to CHRS.

 

In the applicant’s submissions, pages 1 thru 6, the applicant provided a “Statement of Existing and Intended Use and Statement of Satisfaction of Applicants Burden of Proof for Area Variance Relief”. Throughout pages 1 thru 6 the applicant cites appropriate & applicable sections of DC Code and Zoning Regulations, specifically DCMR (District of Columbia Municipal Regulations) Title 11 Section 3103 (Variances) 3103.2 States: With respect to variances, the Board has the power under §8 of the Zoning Act, D.C. Official Code §6-641.07 (g)(3)(2001) (formerly codified at D.C. Code § 5-424 (g)(3) (1994 Repl.)),  to approve a variance:

 

“[w]here, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property at the time of the original adoption of the regulations, or by reason of exceptional topographical conditions or other extraordinary or exceptional situation or condition of a specific piece of property the strict application of any regulation adopted under D.C. Official Code  §§ 6-641.01 to 6-651.02 would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of the property, to authorize, upon an appeal relating to the property, a variance from the strict application so as to relieve the difficulties or hardship: provided, that the relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the intent, purpose, and integrity of the zone plan as embodied in the Zoning Regulations and Map.”

 

The Committee, after reviewing the extensive submissions, believes that the applicant has met the requirements for all three variances (rear yard, side yard and court yard and width).  and the Committee has no reservation with recommending this project to the full ANC for approval.

 

The Vice Chair asked if there was any new information from the applicant that might change anything.  The applicant responded that there was not.  The Vice Chair then asked if there was any new information from the community regarding the case.  There were none.

 

The Vice Chair stated that this matter comes before the Commission from the P&Z as a motion not needing second.  The Vice Chair then asked all in favor of the motion to raise their hands.  The vote was unanimous (8-0).

 

Congressional Cemetery – Closing of G Street- Patrick Crowley, Chair

 

Congressional Cemetery proposes a “paper closing” of G Street. This street appearing on the city grid is not connected to the city in any functional capacity.  The “street” is in actuality a service road in the cemetery which runs along the rear fence of the cemetery grounds adjacent to and below the service road that runs behind the DC Correctional Facility.  In further investigation of city maps and surveys what has come to light is that the fence that defines the rear of the property is actually located on the property of the cemetery.  The actual property line extends approximately 10 ft. into the hillside below the service road behind the Correctional Facility.

 

What Congressional Cemetery would like to do is to move the fence to the property line which would allow them, at some future date, to reclaim this land and allow for additional space to be claimed for future burial sites and erection of above ground columbariums to be located towards the end of the “G Street” service road.  As this would not be an actual road closure but would remove this already unused street from the city grid, this would not affect adversely any traffic patterns or roads used by DC residents or citizens.

 

Following is a rough sketch of the proposal:

G Street
 

Fence line

 

 
 

Property

line
 

Service

Road
 

DC

Correctional

Facility
 

Congressional Cemetery
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


To push back to the property line would again allow the Cemetery to reclaim much needed space and still allow for a “safe separation” from the Correctional Facility.   As this adversely affects no residents, City Street or the Correctional Facility, the Committee would recommend the full ANC draft a letter of support for the street closure.

 

The Vice Chair asked if there was any new information from anyone in the community regarding the case.  There was none.  The Vice Chair then asked if any Commissioners had any questions regarding the case.

 

Commissioner Garrison asked Commissioner Campbell what is meant by “taking the street off the city’s grid”.  Does the city actually deed the property over to the cemetery?  Commissioner Jarboe stated that it was his opinion that it would become the property of the cemetery.  Therefore, the property would be deeded over to the cemetery.  Commissioner Campbell added that it was his understanding that it would have to be specific action by the City Council to accomplish this.

 

The Vice Chair stated that this matter comes before the Commission from the P&Z as a motion not needing second.  The Vice Chair then asked all in favor of the motion to raise their hands.  The vote was unanimous (8-0).

 

DDOT Performance Parking Pilot Plan Update – Rick Rybeck

 

The Vice Chair stated he will allow DDOT a few minutes to provide the Commissioners and community with a brief update on the Performance Parking Pilot Plan, then he will take questions from the Commissioners, and finally, he will open it up to questions and comments from the floor.   Additionally, the Vice Chair recognized two members of Councilmember Wells’ office, Charles Allen and Naomi Mitchell.  Mr. Allen stated that Councilmember Wells will be conducting a community meeting on May 7th, the location to be determined later, to discuss and evaluate the first 30-days of the program and additional information regarding any potential changes to the program.

 

Mr. Rick Rybeck, the Deputy Associate Director for Transportation Policy and Planning at DDOT, stated that it was DDOT’s concern when they were planning for the ballpark that, given the limited parking spaces associated with the stadium, there was a danger that both the residential and commercial area could be overrun by ballpark patrons seeking free on-street parking.  This would make it difficult for residents to get in and out of their streets.   It would also make it difficult for area businesses because people who might want to come and parking in the area for an hour or two to have a meal or do some shopping would find that there were baseball fans already parked there for extended periods.  Therefore, the question DDOT was attempting to address was how to protect both the residents and businesses in the area from the effects of the ballpark.  To this end, Councilmember Wells worked very closely with DDOT in designing legislation that was passed by the Council on March 4, 2008, on an emergency basis, signed by the Mayor on March 19th and implemented by DDOT through emergency rulemaking that was signed by their Director on March 28, 2008.

 

This action allowed DDOT to impose a new on-street demonstration parking plan on the area around the new stadium extending over into most all of SW and on up to Pennsylvania Avenue SE and over to 6th Street SE on Capitol Hill.  The intention of this new plan was to prevent fans coming to the staidum from thinking that there was free on-street parking in the area.  DDOT modified the existing Residential Parking Permit system in a number of ways within the area.   For the section of the demonstration area north of the freeway that falls within ANC 6B, DDOT did several things.  They limited parking on one-side of each residential street to holders of Zone 6 stickers only.  The alternate side of each block retained the now familiar 2-hour grace period for non-Zone 6 sticker holders.  The hours for the permit system were expanded to later in the evening, ending at midnight, and on into Saturdays and Sundays as well.   Along residential streets close to the commercial areas along Pennsylvania Avenue SE, multi-space meters were installed.  Cars displaying Zone 6 stickers are permitted to park along these metered streets without having to pay.  Multi-space meters have also been installed along the commercial sections of Pennsylvania Avenue SE from 2nd to 8th Streets and along Barracks Row.  All those parking at these meters, regardless of whether they have a Zone 6 sticker, must pay.

 

Mr. Rybeck noted that they had only about ten days of experience with the new system so far and thus it was too early to reach conclusions about how the new system was working.  But there was already a sense that the city and the Nationals had been able to pursue a high percentage of the fans coming to the games to come by mass transit and not drive.  The department still has some streets in the demonstration area where the proper signs are not yet in place or where the wrong signs were installed.  He said he hoped most of these problems would be resolved in a few days. 

 

The Vice Chair opened the discussion up to the Commissioners for their input.  He stated that parking is an on-going problem and not just because of the ballpark.   Some people want to get rid of requirements and force more people to use Metro while others want more parking.  His understanding is that there are at least three major areas in 6B where we have parking problems.  One is the ballpark area in Southeast.  The other is the area around the Capitol where employees park their cars illegally during the work day .  Finally, along Eastern Market and Barracks Row, there are times when all on-street spaces are filled for long periods of time, frustrating customers coming into the area to shop and eat.  And then there are the standard evening parking problems. In his neighborhood up on East Capitol Street, Commissioner Jarboe finds that he walks to ANC and other meetings, not so much because he likes to walk, but because he knows that if he drove, when he returned he probably will not find a parking spot near his home.  He finds that this problem is not because of commuters or his neighbors but because of people who are coming in to visit people who live in the area.  In Commissioner Hill’s area close to the Potomac Avenue Metro stop, people with Zone 6 stickers drive to his neighborhood, park in front of his house and take the Metro.   Commissioner Jarboe asked Mr. Rybeck how this pilot program will affect all the other parking problems constituents have to deal with.

 

Mr. Rybeck responded that people ask him why don’t you just do what you did at RFK by saying “no ballpark parking during events at the stadium” and leave everything else like it was.  Mr. Rybeck continued by saying there are a number of reasons why, mainly because there are a lot of things going on in the area that make it very different from the area around RFK.  The RFK neighborhood is mostly a residential area except for the stadium.  Unless you are a resident in the RFK area there is not a reason for you being there other than to attend an event at the stadium.  However, in the area of the new stadium, there is also the SW waterfront, office buildings along M Street SE, Barracks Row (8th Street) and the Eastern Market.   This is a totally different situation with people are coming from all over seeking to be a part of the area on a regular basis and not just to attend an event at the stadium.  The idea behind the parking pilot is not to just regulate parking on game days, but to do it on a 7-day a week basis.  Among other things, this approach will mean that people seeking on-street parking in most sections of the pilot area will not have to know whether it is a game day since the new rules apply on all days. 

 

The one exception where the parking rules vary depending up whether it is a game day or not is along streets near the stadium that are outfitted with the multi-space parking meters.  DDOT has programmed these meters to charge higher hourly rates during game times.  Using these programmable meters is part of the experiment to see if such an approach can better manage special event parking demand.

 

Commissioner Jarboe asked what was the evaluation criteria DDOT will use to determine if the demonstration has been successful, and how will the department be able to determine if the program needs to be expanded to areas, such as Eastern Market or even drawn back from what was planned.

 

Mr. Rybeck replied DDOT feels that a market pricing approach to installing and setting the fees on parking meters can be used successfully to help bring supply and demand for on-street parking spaces into rough balance.  One objective of this approach is to reduce traffic congestion by eliminating a significant amount of the driving around looking for open spaces that goes on around many spots on Capitol Hill.  Raising money for the city through parking meter receipts is not, in and of itself, an objective of market pricing.  Rather, the idea is to be able to adjust the pricing of on-street parking so that some drivers decide it would be more efficient and economic to take alternative modes of transportation when coming to the Hill.  The parking pilot now underway on Capitol Hill will provide the city with experience in how best to set the rates.  Mr. Rybeck noted that the Department is aware of a number of gaps and errors in the new signage that has been installed in the pilot area and staff are working hard to correct those problems every day.

 

Commissioner Garrison stated that since the new pilot program  impacts his SMD more than other Commissioner’s, the Commission asked him to lead the discussion on this matter.  Commissioner Garrison stated that the core idea that was advanced by Councilmember Wells and DDOT was to use the occasion of the need to have a new parking plan in place for managing traffic coming to the new baseball stadium and broaden the planning process to simultaneously address a range of other parking pressures facing Capitol Hill.  These other issues include parking on residential streets by customers of commercial establishments along the Pennsylvania Avenue, 7th and 8th Streets commercial blocks and parking in residential areas near the US Capitol by employees of the Congress and lobbyists, tourists and other visitors to the Capitol complex.  Councilmember Wells and DDOT proposed using a combination of revisions to and an expansion of the Residential Parking Permit system along with the introduction of programmable, multi-space meters in areas closest to the commercial corridors.  The program which the Council approved and the Mayor signed into law earlier this year is a demonstration effort which will sunset at the end of 2008.  The city plans to evaluate how the demonstration works so that the decision on whether to extend the program will be based upon actual experience with this new approach.  Councilmember Wells and DDOT also committed to being ready to make modifications in the program right away if aspects of the new system appear not to be accomplishing what was intended.  Thus, the sort of feedback in public sessions such as the one this evening are important to the city officials who are overseeing the program as well as to our ANC since we are monitoring the results of the demonstration as well.

 

Commissioner Garrison went on to note that one of the gaps in the signage that Mr. Rybeck mentioned involves the treatment of the 200 block of D Street between Folger and Providence Parks. This is a street that had not been under the residential parking permit system prior to this time because there are no residents fronting it.  Because the RPP system didn’t apply to this block of D Street, it had become a safe place for people to park cars with out-of-state plates, in many cases for long periods of time.  As part of the pilot, DDOT installed multi-space meters along this block but did not put up signs that permitted residents with Zone 6 permits to park along the block without regard to the meters.  Later on this year, the Architect of the Capitol will begin several years of work repairing the steam tunnel under 2nd Street from North Carolina Avenue on up to C Street.  This project will close these several blocks of 2nd Street and thus temporarily remove a large number of parking spaces now used by residents.  Commissioner Garrison asked Councilman Wells and DDOT to consider adding signs to the 200 block of D Street below Folger Park that permit Zone 6 permitted cars to park, thus providing an alternative resource for the neighborhood while the AOC project is underway.  The city officials agreed and those new signs should be up shortly.  Importantly, the agreement is that these signs will remain up after the AOC project is completed, thus resulting in the addition of a significant number of new on-street parking spaces to that residential area on a permanent basis. 

 

Commissioner Jarboe asked Mr. Rybeck whether the signs would be clear that residents with Zone 6 permits would not have to pay to park on this block.  Mr. Rybeck responded by saying that he think the signs will say “Pay to Park – Zone 6 exempted”.  Commissioner Garrison added that it is the expectation that the new signs will be up this weekend and the ANC will be monitoring to make sure it happens.

 

Commissioner Garrison stated that one issue that still remains unresolved under the pilot is how convenient is it for people and their guests to access their homes.  As a result in part of extensive discussions that he and others from this Commission had with Councilman Wells and DDOT, every residence in the pilot area received a single visitor parking pass.  However, Commissioner Garrison said that he is still not satisfied that the single visitor pass is sufficient.  Commissioner Garrison referred to this as the “dinner party issue”, or the ability of residents to have multiple guests park their cars near their house for any number of reasons.   He and the city officials involved have talked extensively about various options and he is determined that the review process that will be going on for the next few months and through the year will lead to a resolution on this matter.  There has got to be a way in which residents can be able to have multiple guests come and visit in the evening or on weekends and to have a way to park.  His favorite solution to this is to have a web based approach where residents could go online, provide the necessary information and be able to print out temporary parking permits similar to the way one now can print out boarding passes for air travel.  Commissioner Garrison added that he believes it can be done in such a way to keep a variety of fraud issues at bay, such having copies of the temporary permits floating.

 

Commissioner Garrison stated he also remains concerned about the level of enforcement that occurs and he wants the residents to understand that the enforcement is handled by DPW and not by DDOT.  DPW finances its parking enforcement staff from the funds received  from the payment of parking tickets.  This office is seriously understaffed and at the moment proposes to handle the increased demand for enforcement generated by the pilot by shifting staff around from other areas of the city.  Commissioner Garrison said he doubted this coping practice would be successful, particularly over the long haul.

 

Commissioner Garrison went on to say that there is still concerns about how the new pilot rules are impacting on the ability of parishioners to get to churches in the area. The churches have been given a number of passes to give to parishioners to use on Sunday morning, but that still may not turn out to be sufficient so there are more conversations going on about that.

 

Commissioner Garrison referred to map Mr. Rybeck had handed out,that highlighted the two phases of the program.  He noted that there appears a the second phase suggested for the area enclosed by the dotted line streets (the area above Pennsylvania Avenue and east of 6th Street).  He asked if the plan was still to expand the plan into those dotted line purple streets by the end of the year? 

 

Mr. Rybeck responded that the Parking Pilot Zone legislation created a zone that is larger than the actual area being used in the initial pilot.  This larger area goes from 12th Street SW on the western edge, all the way to 11th Street, SE on the east, and from East Capitol Street on the north all the way down to the river.  Initially the pilot only goes as far east as 8th Street (Barracks Row) and only as far north as Pennsylvania Avenue.  Mr. Rybeck acknowledged early concerns that wherever the northern boundary was drawn for the pilot could result in shifting parking demand to blocks immediately north of the border.  If this happens, the city has the authority to extend the boundaries for the pilot right away.  To date, DDOT has not received complaints about new parking pressures north of Pennsylvania Avenue.  However, they have heard in the block east of 8th Street (800 block of G through M) that there has been some severe over parking in that area.  Therefore, he believes in the near future they will be extending the Enhanced RPP to these blocks which would include restricting parking on one side of the street to only Zone 6 stickers while the other side of the street has its RPP hours extended.

 

Vice Chair Jarboe thanked Commissioner Garrison for his outstanding work on spearheading this matter for the Commission and stated that as the Commission works through the guest pass problem, to keep in mind that there is a subsidiary problem that needs to be solved at the same time, which is the abuse of the contractor guest pass during the day.  He added that there have also been lots of examples where bed and breakfast establishments have gone down and gotten passes for all the cars that are staying at their establishment.

 

Commissioner Garrison responded that the people at DDOT have spoken with the Commander at the 1 D Station about the temporary pass system they administer and they have confirmed that if a resident has a need for multiple number of passes, and if they bring the necessary paperwork (the license tag #), to the station they will be issued a number of temporary passes.  Commissioner Garrison went on to say that he does not offer this as final solution to the problem, but it is an option that may work for some people under certain situations. 

 

Commissioner Oldenburg said her SMD is east of 8th Street, below Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and the 800 block of D Street. She wanted to make sure he was aware that all the residents on 9th Street below Pennsylvania Avenue did receive parking passes even though 9th Street is not covered by the first phase of the pilot.  This a little confusing for the residents.  The most recent map Commissioner Oldenburg had seen did not include 9th Street in the plans.  Commissioner Oldenburg asked for clarification in regards as to exactly where the legislation would allow DDOT to go.  Was it as far as 11th Street SE?  Mr. Rybeck stated that she was correct that 11th Street is the boundary of the pilot zone.  Mr. Rybeck continued by stating DDOT has set up an initial pilot zone that is a smaller area than the entire proposed zone and will be expanded based upon their evaluations.  Because the 9th Street blocks Commissioner Oldenburg references are adjacent to the commercial blocks, DDOT wanted to people who live on 9th Street and have to park in an area (or have their guests park there) that is in the pilot to be able to avail themselves of the parking passes.

 

Commissioner Oldenburg stated she understands how important input is in the evaluation process and wanted to know who she should direct people with complaints to contact regarding their issues.  Mr. Rybeck suggested that constituents should go to the DDOT website: www.ddot.dc.gov and in the top right hand corner is a big header “New parking regulations to protect residents and businesses in the Ballpark in Columbia Heights”, and click on that.  It will give you a press release and you should click on Ballpark and then you’ll get the parking zone information.  Then if you have questions or comments it gives you a website to make your comments or complaints.  Commissioner Oldenburg asked about the people who live in the 10th and 11th blocks and what should they do?  Mr. Rybeck responded that they have not heard anything from them at this time, but when DDOT does they will respond appropriately.

 

Commissioner Jarboe followed up by stating that based upon what Mr. Rybeck was saying the residents on 9th, 10th, and 11th Streets should monitor the parking in their area and if they find the encroachment to be a problem they should contact DDOT for assistance.  Mr. Rybeck responded that he was absolutely correct.

 

Commissioner Oldenburg followed up by stating that one of the unintended consequences of the installing the multi-space parking meters and removing the old meters is that there are no places to lock up bicycles.  Mr. Rybeck responded that they will take care of that.

 

Commissioner Campbell stated they he and his constituents near RFK and Reservation 13 (Hill East) have noticed they now have Maryland and Virginia cars being parked in their neighborhood in order to use the Metro.  This is causing a parking problem because the special events parking regulations for the stadium have been removed.  This parking problem goes from D Street SE over to East Capitol Street.  Considering the normal parking demands during the day in that area along with nighttime parking associated with RFK Stadium and Armory events, the residents in the area are now experiencing parking problems all day long.  Commissioner Campbell said would appreciate any assistance in addressing this situation.

 

Mr. Rybeck responded that one of the original concerns was what would happen when the Nationals advertised there would  be free parking at RFK for fans who wanted to take the free shuttle to the new stadium, a message delivered at the same time that DDOT was urging fans to not drive and to take the Metro instead.  The concern was that these conflicting message might  shift the traffic congestion from one stadium to another.  On the other hand, DDOT didn’t think the neighborhood parking around RFK would be impacted because people could use the ample free parking on the stadium lots.   However, based upon Commissioner Campbell’s comments, he now understands that the no-impact assumption is not correct and he will take the information back so that they can investigate it further.

 

Many constituents voiced their complaints about the problems that have been created as a result of trying to accommodate the ballpark parking.  Residents commented that they would like to see more consideration being given to people who live in the area and the inconvenience this new parking program is causing their families and friends by limiting parking 365 days a year and until midnight.  Requiring residents to physically go to the police department to get temporary parking passes is a major problem.  Being able to park near one’s home is the basic framework of community living and this new system makes that difficult.  Additionally, having the parking restrictions run later in the evening just compounds the problem.

 

One constituent from the 100 block of D Street stated she lives on a residential street and she concerned that there are 296 nights in the year in which there is not a baseball game.  She stated that her children and friends can not come and visit her without having to move their cars every two hours or go and get a temporary parking pass from the police department.

 

Another constituent raised the issue of the multi-space parking meters and impact they are having on businesses in the area.  In the past it was easy for patrons to park on the street and put a few coins in the meter and go inside a store to do some quick shopping.  However, now it is inconvenient for patrons who must walk up or down the street to get to the multi-space meters to purchase time to park.  Some people are just parking without using the meters or just not coming at all, a problem for local stores.  Bars and restaurants are not having the same type of problem.

 

The question was asked whether any other cities are using this type of parking meter and restrictions.  Mr. Rybeck stated that were several other major cities that are using this program.  Mr. Rybeck assured everyone that DDOT understands the many concerns that have been expressed and will take all their concern into consideration and attempt to make the best changes to make the parking program more acceptable to all involved.

 

Eastern Market Committee

 

The Vice Chair turned the meeting over to Commissioner Mary Wright, who represented the Commission on the Eastern Market Committee in the absence of Commissioner Jarboe, to make the report.

 

The South Hall roof is expected to be completed on May 20.  Installation of the slate on the roof will require additional safety measures including mandatory use of hard hats within specified areas.  Due to structural issues in the North Hall, window repair and replacement is expected to be completed June 2.

 

The Eastern Market Law requires that Eastern Market is rehabilitated according to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards, and it is the responsibility of the State Historic Preservation Officer to interpret those standards.  OPM is waiting for a decision on window mockups and window glazing.

 

The Council is reviewing Forney Enterprises as the main renovation contract.  Keith Forney, President, was in the audience vowing to work with the community on all construction phases.

 

As far as the Seventh Street Construction, vendors are concerned that they will be displaced by construction.  There are upcoming plans for a gas line replacement project and corresponding utility work scheduled for sometime in May.  OPM is actively seeking to minimize the disruption that construction will cause especially for weekend activities.

 

The RFP for the Market Manager is under review by the Office of Contracts and Procurement.  The contract for Eastern Market Ventures, the current market management, ends June 2008.  If no market manager is in place, it was strongly suggested that OPM not rush into replacing management but to oversee management operations in the interim. 

 

In other news, new artwork on the East Hall is scheduled to be installed during the first week in April with a celebration scheduled on Saturday, April 19.  Eastern Market tours begin April 27 and Market Day is scheduled for May 4.  Since the natatorium renovations are completed, EMCAC meetings will return to the natatorium meeting hall in April.  And, of noteworthy importance, Market Lunch will soon begin serving fresh cut French fries!

 

Commissioner Jarboe added that the murals were new.  Once of the recent press reports was that the plan was to move the current artwork on the current windows over, but that is not the case. These are new murals.

 

2nd Quarter Financial Report – Final FY’08 Budget

 

The meeting was turned over to the Commissioner Carol Green, the treasurer, for the financial reports.

 

Commissioner Green stated the balance on the Quarterly Report from last quarter was $62,010.60 and the receipts for the quarter were $23.10.  Commissioner Green spoke with the Auditor’s Office regarding the Commission’s allocation and was informed they had a big backlog and we would be soon getting two payments.  Expenditures were in the amount of salary $4,000.00, taxes $1,200.00, withholding taxes $859.00, District unemployment $76.00, phone bill $765.00.  There was some discussion regarding the actual size of the phone bill and the Vice Chair authorized Commissioner Green to look into ways to reduce the phone bill.  Also included is the fee for a new website provider.  Office supplies were $454.00 and others, which includes Eastern Market dues, ANC security funds, and community guide advertising for $424.00.  The disbursements were $7,954.50 and the ending balance is $54,079.20.

 

Commissioner Wright made the motion to approve the quarterly report.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Campbell.  The Vice Chair asked all in favor of the motion to raise their hands.  The vote was unanimous (7-0).

 

Commissioner Green stated that now that the Commission knows what its allotment will be the budget can now be finalized.  The budget last year was $31,245 and this year’s is $31,043.  Interest is projected to be $100.00 for the year.  The expenses are for the executive assistance’s salary and the related taxes, and a tax penalty for the first quarter of 2002.  Commissioner Campbell asked if the Commission had done a cost of living raise for the executive assistance.  The response was that it had not.  The Vice Chair stated that it was something that should be brought up during Executive Committee session.  Commissioner Green projects the telephone cost will be $2,153; postage will be $250; although the city does not charge us for utilities, the Commission has traditionally budgeted for these costs in case the city changes its mind or we have to move out of the ONH during the budget year ($3,000 is included in this budget); printing and duplication, which covers the printing of business cards; and office supplies (we have spent between $800 to $900 so far this year).  It was mentioned that postage will be going up during the year.

 

Commissioner Wright made to the motion to approve the budget.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Campbell.  The Vice Chair asked all in favor of the motion to raise their hands.  The vote was unanimous (7-0).

 

The Vice Chair mentioned that the Commission has an agreement with the City is that they can charge the Commission for utilities.  Fortunately, so far they have not, but we need to budget for that.

 

Approval of Minutes

 

Commissioner Garrison stated that the minutes for the March 11, 2008 meeting have been reviewed and are ready for approval.  Commissioner Garrison made the motion to adopt the minutes.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wright.  The vote was unanimous (7-0).

 

Adjournment

 

There was no further business and Commissioner Hill made the motion that the meeting be adjourned until its next meeting date of May 13, 2008, with the one exception being the Special Call meeting on April 23rd.  The motion was seconded, and the vote was 7 to 0.

 

Meeting Adjourned.

 

Prepared by Bert Randolph

 

Attested: