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When Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B began discussing a liquor license application for Dulce Café & Lounge (1123 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), a quick agreement seemed just around the corner. When the discussion concluded, however, Dulce’s owners and the commission appeared to be headed for a lengthy negotiation process.

The fine points of the drafted voluntary agreement spurred the debate, with Dulce owners’ concerns about the restrictions on alcoholic beverage drink promotions and operating hours taking center stage.

The married owners of Dulce, Nyika and Clifton Humphries, said that the drafted agreement would prohibit them from even offering happy hour specials. They also suggested that they wouldn’t be allowed to advertise specials outside.

“If we can’t pull people into our establishment, we can’t survive,” Nyika said.

Commissioners disagreed and said that the restrictions were “boiler-plate” language meant to curb public drunkenness and excessive alcoholic beverage sales, such as “all you can drink” specials.

After lengthy consideration, commissioners opted to amend the voluntary agreement to specify the restrictions. This new text prohibited “all you can drink or similar alcoholic beverage specials” that encourage excessive alcohol consumption.

Though they still expressed concerns about the restrictions, the Humphries seemed willing to have flexibility on this point. The operating hours discussion changed that, however.

The draft voluntary agreement called for closing Dulce at midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Nyika Humphries told commissioners that they intended to operate the establishment “until 2 or 2:30 a.m.”

ANC 6B Chair David Garrison said that suggestion was not an option based on the residential location of the establishment as well as the problems at previous bars at the site.

“As you know, you inherited a difficult situation,” Garrison said.

The commission approved a liquor license for Dulce, pending the signature of the amended voluntary agreement, by a 4-1 vote. Clifton Humphries said that they “can’t agree to this,” but said Dulce representatives would continue to work with the commission to seek a compromise before the liquor license application is considered by the city.

Better Results the Second Time
Amended plans to increase security at the commandant’s house at the Marine Corps barracks were approved by the ANC just one month after commissioners said the proposal didn’t address neighbor concerns adequately.

Barracks officials altered the designs by removing cement planter boxes, lowering the height of a new fence, removing bollards from the sidewalk corners at Eighth and Ninth streets SE and moving guard booths closer to the house.

Some barracks neighbors present at the commission meeting said the changes didn’t go far enough, urging commissioners to vote against the security upgrades again.

Garrison said the new design reflected “a lot of progress,” and suggested that neighbors should be more open-minded about the upgrades, especially because the barracks were there before they moved in.

Commissioner Neil Glick sided more with the residents, asking why the commandant couldn’t get a new house somewhere else where neighbors wouldn’t be adversely impacted. One meeting attendee booed that suggestion briefly.

Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg said that opposing the plans again would suggest that the commission is “just throwing up our hands” at everything.

The commission voted 3-2 to approve the upgrades, with Glick and Commissioner Carol Green voting against the plan.

Another Charter School?
Representatives of the International Graduate University Public Charter School, a proposed high school for the International Graduate University site at 1325 D St. SE, shed some light on their plans. Terry Shelton, a retired probation officer and one of the leaders of the effort, said DC schools are in a crisis and that the new school could help.

Early plans are to partner with a higher education facility, possibly the University of the District of Columbia, to allow students to earn college credit during high school. School officials will meet with the community this fall and then apply to the public charter school board early next year. If their application is successful, the school would likely open in 2011. The school would ultimately have a capacity of 400 students, Shelton said.

Shelton said that they already have a building to use and a good idea of what the curriculum would be like. The International Graduate University site was formerly used for a higher education facility but is now not in use.

Shelton said he was open to community feedback and encouraged residents to stop by the school or call school officials at 202-544-1555.

Commissioners did not vote on the matter but encouraged Shelton to keep them informed.

What is Unique?
Planned additions to a lot on the 500 block of 14th Street SE prompted a commission discussion on lot size. The owners of that property, a 13-feet-wide and 130-feet-long lot, plan to add a second floor to the garage at the back of the site. That addition would be used to accommodate in-laws who visit often from France.

The proposal garnered the support from neighbors, but some ANC commissioners were less than thrilled by the idea of allowing a residence to be built above a garage. They also disagreed on the merits of a variance request due to the 13-feet-wide lot size.

Commissioner Carol Green sided with the residents, noting that it would be difficult to add to the house at the front of the property. Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg didn’t have as much sympathy, noting that her lot is only 12 feet wide.

A motion to support the proposal was defeated by a 3-2 vote, and ultimately the commission chose not to formally weigh in on the matter.

Radiating the Neighborhood
During the community speak-out portion of the meeting, a resident of the 700 block of Fifth Street SE told commissioners about new telecommunications antennas installed on a nearby roof. The resident said that the antennas were installed without notification to residents.

His main concerns were that the placement of the devices opens up the neighborhood to more telecommunications towers in the future and that these devices emit radiation that could be harmful for the residents. He asked the ANC to look into the issue further.

Garrison said commissioners will discuss the item at the November meeting.

Filling the Roster
A special election to fill a vacant commissioner seat will be held at the Nov. 10 ANC meeting. Commissioner Julie Olson resigned earlier this year when she moved to North Dakota.