David Holmes (6A03) announced that the ANC had gotten “intervener status” in a pending lawsuit by the AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation, a charter school company, against the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Several years ago, AppleTree purchased a property on the 100 block of 12th Street NE, a small one-way street. The property is only slightly larger than a regular house, according to neighborhood residents. AppleTree wanted to put a new charter school campus into the house, serving over 60 toddlers.

That’s 60-odd cars parking, stopping, dropping off and picking up kids. Neighbors say it would create a traffic nightmare on a narrow street like theirs. Due to space constraints, AppleTree was reportedly planning to put the playground on the rooftop.

DCRA held up AppleTree’s permit until some zoning and environmental issues were dealt with. However, a staff member then issued the permit “either by inadvertence or staff malfeasance,” according to the legal statement of the case. When DCRA Director Linda Argo revoked the construction permit, AppleTree appealed the revocation to the court.

The ANC’s decision to get intervener status partially arises from a doubt, expressed in their written case to obtain status, that DCRA will adequately investigate the matter.

Resolution with Pilgrim Baptist Church
Two community battles with Pilgrim Baptist Church have been resolved in one fell swoop, apparently with a little behind-the-scenes compromise.

Commissioner Raphael Marshall (6A01) received notice that the church had abandoned interest in building a transitional housing facility that had been proposed for 820 8th St. NE.  The ANC had opposed the construction of the facility on the grounds that “the criminal element, loitering, and littering associated with transitional housing are a significant impediment to the H Street NE corridor’s economic revitalization.”

At the same time, Commissioner Marshall dropped his objection, and the ANC unanimously overruled its previous unanimous objection, to Pilgrim Baptist Church’s construction of an elevator on their building. The elevator would infringe on public space in front of the building. The ANC’s Public Space Committee will review the plans, but Marshall several times reiterated his support for this “great addition to the community.”

The church hasn’t yet submitted all relevant applications to city, though they have submitted a public space application that will be on the agenda for the April 24 meeting of DDOT’s Public Space Management office. The ANC will send the Department a note requesting a one-month delay to give the ANC’s Public Space Committee time to discuss the matter.

DPR to Build New Rosedale Center
Jesse Rounds, community planner from the Department of Parks and Recreation, announced that the Department has “heard the community” and has obtained $1 million to plan and design a new Rosedale Recreation Center, a process which he says will take two to three years.Once a contractor is brought on board, a schedule will be made public. About a third of the million dollars will be spent on master planning, with the rest going to design.

Sandra Phillips-Gilbert of the Rosedale Grassroots Organization spoke, asking pointedly whether DPR was “open to a community-driven process.” Rounds hedged, saying that the department was “willing to discuss ways to increase community participation.” Phillips-Gilbert claimed that at a community meeting, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 5 Councilmember Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr. had assured them that they would be able to participate in the process. “We want to be partners” of the planning process, she asserted, “we don’t want to be bystanders.” She asked for the ANC’s support. No formal ANC action was taken on the matter.

How Can the ANCs Be More Effective? (Ask David Holmes.)
A few days after the meeting, David Holmes testified before City Council Chair Vincent Gray about ways the city can help the ANCs be more effective. Holmes presented a list of 15 recommendations, including suggested hires of shared ANC staff resources (such as an attorney and a consultant to help navigate D.C. city agencies and laws), clarifications on the use of funds, and better communication between government offices and the ANCs. According to Holmes, Gray indicated that he will be “looking to put together a package of ANC measures – some reward systems, some extensions of ANC requirements to additional agencies, etc.”

Brown AME Church Gets HPRB Approval
The ANC had taken decisive action at the last meeting to oppose Brown AME Church’s application to build an extension onto public space, but the Historic Preservation Review Board ruled that the public space in question “is analogous to the public space that is your front yard – and we all have porches in our front yards.” Nick Alberti said that he’ll be “looking at other options to prevent acquisition of public space for private use.”

No Dumping
William Flint of the Fire Department’s second battalion briefly addressed the commissioners, following up on his presentation from last month’s meeting to say that the department is identifying large-flow hydrants in the area to address the problem of inadequate emergency water reserves in the area.

He also mentioned that environmental crimes, such as an illegal oil dumping problem that an audience member brought up, was now under the jurisdiction of the fire department, not the police. If residents see illegal dumping they should call 911 and request a response for an “unknown substance.” Flint said in a follow-up email that their “Haz-Mat specialists will refer the situation to DCRA for regulatory correction, to MPD for a citation, and to a private contractor for clean-up.”

New Playground for J.O. Wilson?
Raphael Marshall reported that he had spoken with Ann Phillips (6C04) about creating a playground at J.O. Wilson Elementary School. The school is outside of ANC 6A but “a lot of our kids attend school there.” Currently, the Wilson schoolyard is littered with broken glass, syringes, condoms, and feces. Elizabeth Nelson noted that the school can’t apply for ANC money but the PTA could, given a rule that the ANC can’t give money to government entities). Councilmember Tommy Wells also supports the creation of a new playground.

National Marathon Blocks Traffic
Commissioners Mary Beatty (6A05) and David Holmes (6A03) complained that the National Marathon, held on March 29, drove their districts “crazy” again, closing all streets between 5th and 11th, with 8th open only intermittently. Holmes said he had angry constituents coming by his house, asking how they were going to be able to get out of the neighborhood. He said that he had talked to Chief Diane Groomes and the MPD Director of Homeland Security about it after last year’s problems, and they had said they’d “put out the word” but they “didn’t honor their promises.” The Marathon and its street closures are over by 10:00 a.m., after over three hours with no access.

The Neverending Story: Lincoln Park Construction
Commissioner Nick Alberti (6A04) said that the latest assurance he has received is that construction will be completed on Lincoln Park by April 30. Residents who say there’s “never anyone working on it” are dubious. The west end of the park has been fenced off since last fall as walkways are reconstructed.

Unpermitted Construction
The ANC unanimously decided to send a letter to DCRA about multiple violations at 1367 Florida Ave. NE, where unpermitted construction work is going on. This was reported to the Economic Development and Zoning Committee, which passed it along to the ANC. At the site, no permits were issued for the removal of three large trees or for trenching that was done. A neighbor also reported that the site was unsecured and had become “a haven for vagrants.” It was noted that the penalties for illegal construction are so low they provide no incentive to follow the rules.

Roll Call
Present: Raphael Marshall (6A01), Joseph Fengler (Chair - 6A02), David Holmes (6A-03), Nick Alberti (6A04), Mary Beatty (6A05), Bill Schultheiss (6A06), and Gladys Mack (6A07)

Absent: Stephanie Nixon (6A08)

Also present: community resident Chair Omar Mahmud of the Transportation and Public Space Committee, Drew Ronneberg of the Economic Development and Zoning Committee, and Elizabeth Nelson of the Community Outreach Committee.

ANC 6A meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m., at Miner Elementary School. Visit www.anc6a.org for more information. The list-serve for ANC6A is anc6a-announce@yahoogroups.com.