Minutes of Regular Meeting

Tuesday, March 9, 2010; 7:00 p.m.

ATTENDANCE

Commissioners Present: Dave Garrison (chairing), Carol Green, Neil Glick, Will Hill, Kenan Jarboe, Norman Metzger, Kirsten Oldenburg, Michael Patterson, and Mary Wright

Commissioners Absent: Francis Campbell

Also in attendance: ANC6B Executive Director, Bert Randolph.

1. Adoption of Agenda

Following the introduction of Commissioners, the Chair asked for changes to the agenda. Because the Commission had been unable to find a location for the ABC Committee meeting for its regularly scheduled date of March 4^th, the Chair announced that the Executive Committee had approved a change in tonight’s agenda: moving the ABC Committee section up so the two items on its agenda could be handled early in the evening. In addition, Ms Riehle’s presentation on the Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization and the CSX presentation were moved to the April agenda. The amended agenda was adopted by voice vote.

2. Community Speakout

A member of EMMCA complained that the DC Streetcar representative had already missed one ANC6B meeting and was not present for this evening’s presentation. Commissioner Garrison suggested that we wait and see if Mr. Kubly does show up later in the evening before we pass judgment.

Ms Becky Bean, a new resident of ANC6B, expressed various concerns about the impact of single sales in her neighborhood (15^th Street & Independence Ave SE). Commissioner Green suggested that she bring some of these issues to the monthly PSA 107 meeting and Commissioner Glick said he would be glad to meet with her one-on-one to discuss single sales issues.

Ms Shaeda Amadi, introduced herself to the Commission and those present at the meeting as a new member of the Ward 6 Mayor’s Office of Community Relations & Services. Ms Amadi replaces Mr. Josh Hopkins and will be working with Mr. Alex Rotan.

3. Community and Commission Announcements

Commissioner Jarboe announced that the Commission would be closely monitoring what takes place during the National Marathon, especially as regards the cross streets that are to be opened periodically for traffic. Ms Naomi Mitchell, Councilmember Wells staff, announced that there is complete information on the race on the Wells website.

Commissioner Oldenburg announced that the topic for the March 17^th CHRS Preservation Café will be Take Back Your Closets. The presenter will be Jill Lawrence of Jill-of-All-Trades Organizing Services, and the event will be held at Ebenezers Coffeehouse, 2^nd & F Streets NE, from 630pm to 715pm.

4. ABC Committee

The Commission received requests from two more ANC6B establishments to be exempt from the Ward 6 ban on single sales of beer and liquors.

Roland’s of Capitol Hill, Lic.#60816, Class B, 333 Pennsylvania Avenue SE

Mr. Paul Pascal was present to represent Roland’s and stated that in the last two years the establishment has had no Tier 1 violations. They were cited, however, for not posting their Voluntary Agreement in the store. Mr. Pascal explained that Roland’s wants the exemption so that it can offer Belgian beers for sale; the majority of its customers are neighbors.

After some discussion by the Commission, Commissioner Wright moved (with a second by Commissioner Green) that the Commission approve a one-year exemption with the proviso that a new Voluntary Agreement be signed by the store owners. The Commission voted 9-0 to support the motion.

Gandel’s Liquors, Lic.#71312, Class A, 211 Pennsylvania Avenue SE

Mr. Rajvinder Bhuller, owner, was present. Gandel’s had requested an exemption from the single sales ban in 2009 but it was denied by the Commission because of an alleged violation of sales to a minor. The owner stated that the ABC Board has found there was no proof of the violation and dismissed the case.

Commissioner Wright moved (with a second by Commissioner Hill) that the Commission approve a one-year exemption with the proviso that a new Voluntary Agreement be signed by the store owners. The Commission voted 7-0-2 to support the motion. Mr. Bhuller stated he was willing to sign a new VA.

5. Presentations

Levine School of Music at THEARC—Regan Leslie Ford, Campus Director

Ms Ford introduced herself as the new director of music for the Levine School’s campus located at THEARC in Southeast Washington. She described the music programs for all ages and classes offered to children starting from the age of 4 months. Information is available online at levineschool.org or by telephone (202) 686-8000.

DC Streetcar Program, Scott Kubly, DC Department of Transportation[1]

Mr. Scott Kubly, an associate director at DDOT, presented information on the DC government’s proposed Streetcar System Plan. He mentioned that the proposal had been unveiled at public meetings in Fall 2009. Adding streetcars to the transit mix in DC originated in a 2004 study that proposed a new bus and streetcar network. Ultimately, 37 miles of 8 streetcar lines are planned to be implemented in 3 phases. The design process for the H Street line is underway as part of its “Great Streets Project.” Operation of the line is expected to begin in 2012.

Many attending the meeting had questions about the proposed line to run along 8^th Street from M St SE to H Street NE. Concerns included overhead wires, traffic congestion, noise, whether or not streetcars would replace the current buses, etc. Both EMMCA and Eyes on Hines organizations were represented at the meeting.

6. Planning & Zoning Committee

National Police Week 5K Race

Commissioner Oldenburg reported that the Committee recommends that the Commission approve this event as the impact on ANC6B is minimal.

The Commission voted 9-0 in support of the recommendation.

Capitol Hill Cluster School 31^st Annual 10K Run—Joshua Raymond

Mr. Joshua Raymond was present to provide information on the annual race, which will occur on May 16, 2010. The race, which is the primary fundraiser for the CH Cluster School PTA, will begin at Stanton Park at 6:30 a.m. and all parts of the race will be finished by 11:30 a.m. After some discussion about the race route and times, Commissioner Jarboe stated that this race has not caused problems in past years. Commissioner Garrison asked Mr. Raymond to work closely with Officer Jaffe of MPD, who was coordinating police response for the National Marathon.

Commissioner Jarboe moved (with a second by Commissioner Wright) that the Commission approve the event with a strong urging that the same East Capitol traffic crossings and procedures, as set up for the National Marathon, be used. The Commission voted 9-0 in support of the motion.

University High Public Charter School Application

Commissioner Oldenburg reported that the Committee recommends that the Commission strongly oppose the University High Public Charter School Application and urge the DC Public Charter School Board not to approve its application. The Committee also recommends that the Commission authorize the Chair to designate one or more Commissioners to testify before the Board at an upcoming hearing on the chartering request.

Mr. Shelton, a representative of the charter application, was present and offered several rebuttals to testimony received by the Committee. Mr. Mark Segraves advised the Commission that IGU has a new license application before the DC Education Licensure Commission and that the CH Cluster School PTA was circulating a petition against the charter school application. Commissioner Jarboe remarked that he had voted years ago to support IGU’s original application and it was one of the few votes that he regrets.

Commissioner Jarboe moved (with a second by Commissioner Green) that the recommendation be amended to urge the Board to also not approve the application provisionally. The motion passed with a vote of 9-0. The Commission then voted 9-0 in favor of the amended recommendation.

Barney Circle Proposed Historic District—David Maloney, HPO

Commissioner Oldenburg reported that the Committee supports the inclusion of a federal reservation within the boundary of the proposed Barney Circle historic district and recommends the Commission agree to amend its application in this respect.

Ms Beth Purcell, president of CHRS, asked the Commission to approve the addition of the parcel of land between Kentucky Avenue, 15^th Street, and Potomac Avenue SE to the previously approved submission of the Barney Circle Historic District Proposal.

The Commission voted 9-0 in favor of the Committee recommendation.

7. Eastern Market Report

Commissioner Jarboe read the Eastern Market Report, a copy of which is attached.

8. Approval of Commission Minutes

Commissioner Oldenburg moved (with a second by Commissioner Wright) that the Commission approve the minutes of the February 9, 2010, regular monthly meeting, which was held on February 23 because of winter weather. The Commission voted 8-0 to adopt the minutes.[2]

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.

Prepared by Kirsten Oldenburg Attest: _____________ .

Attachments:

Agenda, as adopted

Planning & Zoning Committee Report

Eastern Market Report

Meeting Agenda

Location: 535 8^th Street, SE

The People’s Church

March 9, 2010 – 7:00 PM

Agenda

1. Adoption of Agenda

2. Community Speakout

3. Community and Commission Announcements

4. Presentation

· DC Streetcar Program – Scott Kubly, DC Department of Transportation

· Levine School of Music at THEARC – Regan Leslie Ford, Campus Director

5. Planning and Zoning Committee

(These items will also be considered by the P & Z Committee on March 2, 2010)

· National Police Week 5K Race

· Capitol Hill Cluster School 31^st Annual 10K Run – Joshua Raymond

· University High Public Charter School application

· Barney Circle – David Maloney, HPRB (Late addition due to scheduling conflict)

6. ABC Committee

(These items will also be considered by the ABC Committee on March 4, 2010)

Exemption Sale of Singles

· Roland’s of Capitol Hill, Lic. # 60816, Class B, 333 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

· Gandel’s Liquors, Lic # 71312, Class A, 211 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

7. Eastern Market Report

8. Approval of Commission Minutes

9. Adjournment

NOTE: Late-Breaking ABC, Payphone, Zoning, or Historic Preservation Cases may be added to this Agenda.

For additional information, call 202.543.3344 or e-mail: office@anc6b.org, website: www.ancb6.org.

Next Meeting: April 13, 2010

Report of the Planning & Zoning Committee

March 2, 2010

7:00 pm

Commissioners present: Francis Campbell, Chair; Kirsten Oldenburg, David Garrison, Carol Green, Norman Metzger, and Executive Director Bert Randolph

National Police Week 5K Race – May 8, 2010

Jayson Greenburg presented the plan for the May 8, 2010 National Police Week 5K race. It will start 8:45 AM at 3^rd & E NW. The race course comes up Independence Avenue, makes a lop around the East edge of the US Capitol (north on 1^st St SE, east a block on Constitution, and south two blocks on 2^nd Street) and then returns west along Independence Avenue. Road closures will commence around 8:45 AM. The intersection of Constitution and 3^rd Street, NE will reopen around 9:30 AM.

Across the entire course, rolling road closures will open streets as the last runners pass.

Race organizers are expecting around 2000 participants. The Committee has no concerns at this time and recommends that the ANC approve this event.

Capitol Hill Cluster School 31^st Annual 10K Run-

Applicant did not appear at the Committee meeting.

University High Public Charter School Application

Mr. Terry Shelton presented a summary of the application that he has made to the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) to operate a new charter high school in the International Graduate University facility, 1325 D Street SE. If chartered, plans are to enroll 60 9^th grade “at risk” students in the fall of 2011 and 60 students each for the next 3 years to reach a total school enrollment of 240 students in 9^th through 12^th grades.

Commissioners asked Mr. Shelton a series of questions

• What is your definition of “at risk” students? Mr. Shelton offered a wide-ranging definition including teens in trouble with the criminal system, failing academically, from broken homes, etc. When asked how to focus on such students when charter schools have open enrollment, Mr. Shelton explained that this would be accomplished through a marketing strategy.
• The application implies that a partnership with UDC and its Community College has been established. UDC officials have now stated in writing that there is no such partnership. What is the connection with UDC now that the indication of support in the application has been refuted? Mr. Shelton said he was hopeful that such a link could be established once the school was in operation.
• How do you respond to the charges made by news articles and Councilmember Tommy Wells of plagiarism in the application? Mr. Shelton accepted the blame for these errors in the application, saying that he had exercised poor oversight of the team that wrote the application.
• What is the connection between the proposed school and the International Graduate University? Mr. Shelton said that IGU had agreed to loan the new school start-up funds. Several members of the IGU Advisory Committee have been recruited to be board members or advisors to the proposed new charter school.
• Who will be in charge of the academic performance of the school? Mr. Shelton said that this was unknown because the principal initially chosen decided subsequently not to participate.

There were about 15 residents attending the Committee meeting and the following spoke in opposition to the application: Mark Segraves, Judy Harris, Morgan Greene, Damon Moore, Peter Theil, Jeffrey Ferrell, Meisha Goodhue, Nick Burger, Daniel Blair, and James Roberts. Their concerns included:

• a lack of demonstrated qualifications to educate high school students, including “at-risk” teens;
• substantial links to IGU—a school that has lost its accreditation—notwithstanding claims to the contrary that the applicant has no significant connection to IGU;
• plagiarism in the application (significant segments of the application have been lifted verbatim from other sources without attribution), a result that questions the integrity of the school backers;
• the lack of outreach to the community (“at-risk” youth) the school plans to serve;
• the lack of a plan to provide for the safety and security of the proposed school’s students and those at Watkins Elementary School across the street;
• the lack of trust given the applicant’s close association with IGU, an organization with a particularly poor history of work with its neighborhood;
• the application’s misinformation about the school’s ability to use the Watkins fields, not to mention the applicant’s proposal to have the charter high school students use the same playground as the elementary students from Watkins; and
• the misstatement in the application claiming a partnership with UDC where there is none.

Mr. Shelton promised that all of the problems identified with the school and its organization would be corrected if it receives a charter to operate. In one example, he stated that individuals currently associated with IGU that are described in the application as advising the new charter school would resign from IGU if the Board approves the application.

The Committee applauds the idea of having a school in our neighborhood focused on helping “at-risk” teens graduate from high school and enter college. However, the Committee is convinced that the individuals and institutions submitting this application are not qualified to achieve this objective. The Committee comes to this conclusion based on an analysis of the application, which indicates close financial and personnel ties to a failed academic institution—International Graduate University, and on the thorough and thoughtful critique provided by the neighbors.

The application appears to be replete with multiple instances of plagiarized text, errors, and misstatements. The wholesale copying of curriculum material from Gonzaga High School without attribution indicates to the Committee that the individuals involved in proposing University High do not have the academic background to develop a curriculum, a key element of any proposal to create a high school. In another instance, the application infers a relationship with UDC and/or CCDC that has been refuted by both institutions. And, the proponents cite the ability to use Watkins Elementary School’s playing fields when, in fact, those fields are already committed to others for both day- and night-time usage.

The International Graduate University (IGU) came to our community when the National Graduate University purchased the surplused Buchanan School building in 1998 from DCPS. The institution, which changed its name to IGU in 2005, has never apparently gained full accreditation in DC. Its prior history in Maryland and Virginia followed a similar path. NGU’s 2001 application for a license was denied in 2003 for deficiencies in the application in the areas of subjects, syllabi, course credits, and instruction. In 2004 another application was denied. In January 2006, IGU was granted a one-year provisional license to grant degrees, but the DC Educational Licensure Commission told IGU in April 2008 at a public hearing that it “did not find sufficient basis to approve” its application as a postsecondary degree granting institution. In July 2009, the DC ELC notified IGU that it intended to deny its application, citing a litany of 11 charges. IGU applied for and then withdrew its request for the hearing. Subsequently, in November 2009, ELC issued a Notice of License Denial.

The Committee recommends that the Commission strongly oppose the University High Charter School Application and urge the DC Public Charter School Board not to approve its application. The Committee further recommends that the Commission authorize the Chair to designate one or several Commissioners to testify before the Board at an upcoming hearing on the chartering request.

Barney Circle – David Maloney, HPRB

Donna Hanousek, representing the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, gave the Committee an update about the status of the application for designating the Barney Circle neighborhood as an historic district. Based upon a recent meeting with the director of the DC Historic Preservation Office, Ms. Hanousek reported that it appears now that HPO staff are prepared to recommend to the Historic Preservation Review Board that the proposed district be approved. The HPO staff will work with CHRS and the Barney Circle residents involved with the proposal to augment the maps and improve various graphic elements of the proposal in anticipation of Board consideration several months from now. Ms. Hanousek also reported that HPO will recommend to ANC 6B that it amend its application for the designation by shifting the boundary of the district to include a small triangle federal park (a federal “reservation”). The parcel is in the intersection of four SE streets: 15^th, G, Potomac Avenue and Kentucky Avenue.

The Committee supports the inclusion of this federal reservation within the boundary of the proposed historic district and recommends that the full ANC agree to amend its application in this respect.

ANC 6B Eastern Market update – March 9, 2010

Commissioner Kenan Jarboe

The following is my report on Eastern Market, based on the EMCAC meeting of February 24, 2010, and subsequent events:

Councilmember Tommy Wells has formed a task force to look at the long term governance issues facing the Market, including changes to the legislation. Attached is the Councilmember's announcement. The task force is to report back to him in November. Sharon Ambrose and Peter Waldron will serve as task force co-chairs. Other members include Gary Peterson, Barry Margeson, Wally Mlyniec, Susan Clampitt, Bonnie Wolf, Gina Hayman.

EMCAC will be meeting in the North Hall, pending the resolution of a dispute over rental of the space. Market management wishes to charge for the space; EMCAC is arguing that the meeting are part of the market operations/management and should not require paying a rental fee.

Neil Albert, in his role as City Administrator, is the new Mayor's representative on EMCAC.

The budget is still awaiting the actual electric bill. The final cost of the restoration of the Market is $22 million.

Long-term leases with the indoor merchants are in process and the manager is evaluating comparable rents for the outdoor vendors.

The jury process for selection of new outdoor vendors has been modified and will be tried out on a limited scale. After an analysis of existing products, the selection process will be used to pick 4 organic farmers and 4 vendors of antique products.

On Saturday and Sunday during the day, the North Hall will be used for unstructured activities, such as hula hoop activities, Double-dutch, hackey sack, etc.

The issue of the traffic flow in the west side drive and parking area has still not been resolved. The issue of the deli case height is still also outstanding.

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[1] Mr. Kubly was late in arriving at the meeting. Thus, the DDOT presentation was actually made later in the evening.

[2] Commissioner Patterson stepped out of the meeting and was not available to vote.