ANC2F Meeting tonight: Tortilla Coast, Studio Theater banners on agenda

It's a pretty quiet agenda for ANC2F's monthly meeting tonight at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle. Highlights include a discussion related to California Tortilla's Tortilla Coast's liquor license (you may recall that the Capitol Hill tex-Mex restaurant is opening a second location in the former McCormick Paints space at 15th and P streets).

Other items of note include a discussion related to supporting another year of banner hanging for the Studio Theater (likely to be a no-brainer), and a discussion from the Community Development Committee related to a traffic mitigationplan for Pepco's O Street substation.

The full agenda is below. As with all ANC2F meetings, the meeting will begin at 7 PM. Also, the ANC will not be meeting in August, so this is your last chance for two months to air your grievances.

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2F REGULAR MONTHLY PUBLIC
MEETING Wednesday, July 6, 2011 – 7:00 PM
WASHINGTON PLAZA HOTEL – 10 THOMAS CIRCLE, NW


AGENDA


COMMUNITY FORUM

Call to Order – 7:00
Commissioner Announcements – 7:00
Report from Executive Office of the Mayor – 7:00
Report from Office of Jack Evans, City Council Member, Ward 2-0 – 7:00
PSA 307 Report – Metropolitan Police Department, 3D – 7:10
DDOT Report – Ward 2 Transportation Planner – 7:25
Community Announcements – 7:30

-10 Minute Recess-

Business Meeting

Approval of Agenda – 7:40

Approval of Minutes of Meeting of June 1, 2011 – 7:40
DCHSEMA/Street Closures – 7:50

14th Annual Leukemia & Lymphoma Light the Night Walk
DC Road Runners and DVLEAP
ABRA – 8:00

Tortilla Coast Street, 1454 P Street NW- New License Petition Date: 7/11/11 Hearing Date: 7/25/11

DDOT – 8:15

Studio Theatre- Pole Banners
Crime and Public Safety Committee (Bryan Goodman) – 8:20
Arts Overlay Committee (Andrea Doughty) – 8:25

Community Development Committee (Mike Benardo, Chair) – 8:30

1211 10th Street, NW Condo Conversion
1427 Rhode Island Ave- Variance Relief
Pepco O Street Substation Traffic Control Plan
1309 Q Street- two unit condo conversion
Arts Overlay Committee – 8:40
New Business – 8:45

Department of Housing and Community Development’s proposed funding of 1417 N Street Northwest DC Tenants Association (A.K.A. Norwood Tenants Association)
Treasurer’s Report (Sam Goekjian, Treasurer) – 8:55

Approval of Expenditures
Adjournment – 9:00

NOTICE: The agenda attached to this notice of meeting is provided by ANC 2F in advance of its public meetings contains matters that are expected to come before the meeting. It is, however, subject to formal adoption by the ANC at the meeting, which may result in additions or deletions to the draft. Individuals who may have official business before the ANC or persons with interests in specific matters are advised to contact the Executive Director or a Commissioner in advance of the meeting. See www.ANC2F.org for contact information

ANC2f Meeting Tomorrow: Focus on 9th Street Establishments

ANC2f will hold their monthly meeting tomorrow at the usual place and time: 7:00 PM at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle.

All in all, the agenda (found below) looks to be your typical ANC agenda, filled with community reports, street closure votes and other assorted items of business. As is usually the case, the most contentious/interesting portion of the evening will likely occur during the discussion of ABRA-related (read: liquor-serving establishments) matters. This week, in addition to consideration for a new license for Bar Rouge, the ANC will be looking at a couple of 9th Street restaurants/lounges: Mood Lounge and Cafe Eagle.

Specifically, the ANC will be discussing an alleged breach by Mood Lounge of their voluntary agreement, which has the potential to create some rather significant problems for the establishment. After all, the reason why voluntary agreements are negotiated in the first place is to provide recourse to the ANC to address problems with an establishment that, for whatever reason, the establishment is loathe to address. I'm not certain what issues have led to this particular move on the part of the ANC, but a breach of a VA is unlikely to be overlooked.

Speaking of 9th Street, another new establishment will be on the ANC's agenda when the ANC votes on approval of a revised VA with Cafe Eagle. You may recall that Cafe Eagle, which serves up a mix of Italian, Eritrean and seemingly straightforward fare, will be replacing Vegetate, the former vegetarian cuisine-serving restaurant on 9th Street that closed last year.

The full agenda for tomorrow's meeting can be found below. More information about ANC2f can be found on their website.

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2F REGULAR MONTHLY PUBLIC
MEETING Wednesday, April 6, 2011 – 7:00 PM
WASHINGTON PLAZA HOTEL—10 THOMAS CIRCLE, NW

AGENDA

COMMUNITY FORUM

Call to Order
Commissioner Announcements
Report from Executive Office of the Mayor
Report from Office of Jack Evans, City Council Member, Ward 2-0
PSA 307 Report - Metropolitan Police Department, 3D
DDOT Report - Ward 2 Transportation Planner
Community Announcements

-10 Minute Recess-

BUSINESS MEETING

Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes of Meeting of March 2, 2011

DCHSEMA/Street Closures:
Lupus Walk
Capital Pride Parade
Stop the Silence Race

ABRA
Mood Lounge 318 9th Street, NW –Breach of Voluntary Agreement
Rouge 24 922-924 N Street, NW –New License
Eagle Café voluntary agreement—revisions demanded by ABC Board.

Education Committee
Options Charter School NW Campus, 1501 11 th Street, NW

DDOT

Crime and Public Safety Committee (Bryan Goodman)

Community Development Committee (Mike Benardo, Chair):
1211 10th Street, NW – Application for Lot Variances

Arts Overlay Committee

Treasurer’s Report (Matt Raymond, Treasurer):
Approval of Expenditures

Adjournment

ANC2f meeting this Wednesday--Ghana Cafe protest continues

This month's ANC2f meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 PM at the Luther Place Memorial Church (NOT the usual ANC2f meeting location). The full agenda can be found below.

It's a rather quiet meeting agenda (pending any last-minute agenda items), but one thing worth mentioning is the unresolved protest against 14th Street restaurant Ghana Cafe and their plans for an outdoor summer garden. By some accounts, negotiations with owner Tony Opare have not gone particularly smoothly. Wednesday night's meeting promises an update on the status of the summer garden protest.

Also on the agenda is an update from the Arts Overlay Committee (to discuss the new banners that have recently been hung throughout the neighborhood) as well as a scintillating discussion about trash pickup in the alleyway between CVS, Logan Hardware and the Whole Foods.

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2F REGULAR MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 – 7:00 PM

LUTHER PLACE MEMORIAL CHURCH – 1226 Vermont Avenue, NW
The Church is directly across the street from Washington Plaza Hotel,
and may be entered on the Vermont Avenue side.

AGENDA

COMMUNITY FORUM

Call to Order – 7:00
Commissioner Announcements – 7:00
Report from Executive Office of the Mayor – 7:00
Report from Office of Jack Evans, City Council Member, Ward 2-0 – 7:00
PSA 307 Report – Metropolitan Police Department, 3D – 7:10
DDOT Report – Ward 2 Transportation Planner – 7:25
Community Announcements – 7:30
- 10 Minute Recess -

Business Meeting

Approval of Agenda – 7:40
Approval of Minutes of Meeting of January 5, 2010 – 7:40
DCHSEMA/Street Closures – 7:50
Bike DC

ABRA – 8:00

Ghana Café status of protest against summer garden

Education Committee – 8:10


DDOT – 8:20


Crime and Public Safety Committee – 8:25


Community Development Committee (Mike Benardo, Chair) – 8:30

1513-1521 14th Street, NW Application for Variance
1432 Q Street, NW – Application for Variance
1211 10th Street, NW – Application for Variances

Arts Overlay Committee – 8:40


New Business – 8:45

P Street Greenway Project
Amendment of Bylaws and appointment of CDC member
Trash pick-up alley way between CVS, ACE Hardware, and Whole Foods

Treasurer’s Report (Matt Raymond, Treasurer) – 8:55

Approval of Expenditures
Approval of 1st Quarter 2011 Report

Adjournment - 9:00

"So you don't want to pay $25k a year for first grade?" ANC2F to Host Community Discussion on Area Public Schools

This Wednesday at their regular monthly meeting, ANC2F, along with the Logan Circle Community Association, will be co-hosting a special forum on DC public school education. From the flyer they distributed:

Please Join Us for a Joint Community Forum

Wednesday, December 1,
Washington Plaza Hotel
14 Thomas Circle, NW
(14th and Massachusetts, NW)
7:00 PM

• HAVE CHILDREN AT OR NEAR SCHOOL AGE?
• WANT TO HAVE FIRST RATE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE AREA?
• WANT TO JOIN THE EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE SCHOOLS OR HELP?
• WISH TO HAVE A REALISTIC OPTION TO AVOID PRIVATE SCHOOL OR MOVING OUT OF THE AREA TO A BETTER SCHOOL DISTRICT?

LET’S WORK TOGETHER FOR THE SCHOOLS WE NEED! (MAKING DC PRIMARY SCHOOLS BETTER FOR OUR CHILDREN)

Additional information can be found on the ANC's website.

"Voluntary Agreements" - Necessary or NIMBYism?

EDIT (7-22-2010): Seems the residents of Bloomingdale aren't very happy with their ANC's refusal to support the liquor license application of the Big Bear Cafe. Fits in quite well with the theme of the post below.

*****

That simultaneously loved and loathed peculiarity of DC regulatory law is back in the news again--I am speaking, of course, about the "voluntary agreement".

For those new to these proceedings, a quick primer: when an alcohol-serving establishment wishes to open in a neighborhood, residents of that neighborhood (or the neighborhood's ANC) have the right to "protest" the granting of the liquor license to the establishment. And with a few exceptions, they pretty much always do. In order to get the protest removed, the establishment typically negotiates with the protesters for the establishment of a "voluntary agreement" that places restrictions or conditions on aspects of the business such as operating hours, noise levels, trash pick-up, and more. In other words, the intent of the VA process is to give residents potentially affected by the establishment a voice in the proceedings, to prevent businesses from running roughshod over the neighbors.

I'll state up front that I typically support the VA process. More often than not, the agreements are sensible and provide for an environment where both the business and neighborhood residents are satisfied. But there is tremendous potential for abuse. In a letter that appeared in this week's Dupont Current, Bill Duggan, owner of Madam's Organ in Adams Morgan, penned a scathing diatribe attacking the VA process, pointing out the tremendous cost to both businesses and taxpayers when an ANC or group of protesters manipulates the VA process. (By way of example, Duggan points to the fact that Madam's Organ's liquor license renewal was protested for 15 months, through 7 different hearings, by the Kalorama Citizens Association before it was finally tossed. For an example a bit closer to home, Saint-Ex's struggles last year to obtain a change in classification for their license turned into an exercise in immense frustration.)

Interestingly, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which is tasked with granting approval to all voluntary agreements, appears to be staking out a position that no longer includes automatic approval of any VA placed before it. Last week's Current discusses the case of popular 14th street restaurant Thaitanic's attempt to expand its operations to a second story. ANC2F Commissioner Charles Reed negotiated the VA with Thaitanic which included, among other stipulations, that the establishment must close by 1 AM--an hour earlier than allowed by DC ordinance on weekdays, and two hours on weekends. In an uncharacteristic move, the Board rejected the VA on the grounds that the closing hours stipulation appeared to be arbitrary--a move which suggests a change in policy for the Board, which was confirmed in later statements by Board spokesperson Cynthia Simms.

The decision angered Reed, who accused the Board of changing the rules without notice. To which many restaurant and bar owners might respond: good. Although I stated above my general supportiveness of the VA process, some changes to the structure would bring balance to a tilted system. As Greater Greater Washington's David Alpert recently noted, liquor license protests that lack sufficient grounds, or that amount to little more than the badgering of a local business by agenda-driven residents or ANC commissioners, serves only to harm the process and stoke anti-VA sentiment amongst city residents.

Alpert took issue with a recent vote by the Dupont Circle ANC to protest the liquor license application for P.J. Clarke's, who wanted to host a sidewalk cafe at 16th and K, in the space formerly occupied by Olives. Despite support for the license from several commissioners, including Jack Jacobson, Will Stephens and Victor Wexler, the ANC voted to protest the license anyway, apparently simply because they can. It's hard to imagine the New York-based restaurant chain, which would be filling a space in the center of a major city that had been previously held by a restaurant with outdoor seating, in an area dominated by office buildings and hotels, could possibly be a threat to the neighborhood's "peace, order and quiet". We aren't in Pleasantville, after all.

But why let a little common sense get in the way of a good protest?

Alpert is entirely correct on this issue: this kind of behavior on the part of the ANC is simply unnecessary and unwarranted. (It is worth noting that the Logan Circle ANC, 2F, has a policy of not protesting any liquor license applications for businesses within the central business district.) When abused, it's tantamount to bullying, and serves no purpose other than to provide certain individuals with the ability to exert control over an establishment's operations because the process allows them to do so.

If the ABC Board is set to enact policy changes that address this type of behavior, it is an unequivocally positive step towards bringing balance to this process. For example, the notion of protesting licenses on the grounds of "peace, order and quiet" has been used so frequently, it barely retains any real meaning. Alcohol-serving establishments opening in primarily residential neighborhoods have a duty to be respectful of their neighbors, but those in predominantly commercial or business corridors shouldn't be held to the same standards. Likewise, the ability to drag out a protest for months, and even years, should be curtailed. In much the same way that U.S. citizens are guaranteed the right to a speedy trial, license applicants negotiating fairly and reasonably should be able to resolve protests within a timely manner. And, a certain amount of consistency should be applied to VA stipulations, such as operating hours and outdoor seating.

To be sure, the VA process is a useful one and shouldn't be dispensed with completely. (Those clamoring for unfettered rights for business owners would be advised to speak with neighbors of establishments that weren't quite so respectful to area residents.) But it is past time for the ABC Board to examine this process and take appropriate steps to correct what can be a rather one-sided affair. A clearly articulated policy that addresses these issues fairly and transparently will truly be advantageous to all parties--and in practice, not simply in rhetoric.

ANC Meetings Galore: Thaitanic on the Docket, New Restaurants in Shaw

For those of you into this kind of thing, the ANC2F meeting (that would be Logan Circle and environs) is meeting this Wednesday to discuss things like street closures and DDOT projects. But for those of you who frequent a certain Thai place on 14th Street, there is a bit of interesting news for you.

Thaitanic is looking to expand to a second floor and remain open until 2 AM seven days a week. This has caused some, er, concern amongst the neighbors, and the matter comes before the ANC Wednesday, as attempt to work out a voluntary agreement with the establishment.

Those interested in learning more can visit ANC2F's website.

Over at the ANC1B meeting on Thursday evening, they'll be discussing, among other things, two proposed new restaurant/lounges in the Shaw/Howard U. area. One is the proposed Gll Restaurant and Lounge, located at 2632 Georgia Avenue, which is looking to bring an American cuisine-style restaurant with live jazz to Georgia Avenua. The other is a coffee house/bar/lounge dubbed The Independent (as opposed to the partisan), which will be located at 7th and Florida. Both places are fairly good size, but the Independent stands out in particular, with a total occupancy of 235 and a summer garden with an occupancy of 90. They're looking to be open until 2 AM Sun- Thurs, and until 3 AM on Friday and Saturday. Good luck on that one, boys.

Also of note: a discussion regarding the proposed expansion of the African-American Civil War Museum.

For more details, visit the ANC1B website.