Parking Wars Continued

Many people likely recall the "parking wars" that have plagued the Logan Circle neighborhood over the past several years. A quick primer goes something like this: Logan is home to both a goodly number of residents and a goodly number of churches. Since many of these churches are located along otherwise residential blocks, parking on Sundays (and other days, depending upon the schedule of the church) can be a bit messy. OK, sometimes more than a bit. It's not uncommon to drive along R St., 13th St., Vermont Ave. and other streets on Sunday mornings and see a number of cars blocking alleys, driveways, intersections, handicapped ramps, and so on.

Things kind of simmered around for a while, then came close to blowing up during this past year as annoyed/angry residents began pushing the city to enforce parking laws, and church parishioners believed they were being singled out. The city responded by acting all crazy-like and issuing a statement that said, of all things, they were actually going to start enforcing existing parking laws--for everybody.

Recently, it seems that a problem has arisen with the Vermont Baptist Church and a vacant parcel of land at the southeastern corner of R and Vermont. The parcel is owned by the church, and is only "vacant" due to the fact that several years ago the church illegally tore down a structure that once sat on the premises. The parcel has sat empty ever since, home to a half-assed community garden of some sort and some haphazardly strewn rocks. That was, until recently, when the church began to use it as a parking pad for attendees of their Sunday services.

This bit of activity did not go unnoticed by ANC2F CDC member Joel Heisey, who raised the issue at last week's CDC meeting as an addition to the agenda. Heisey's issue is essentially as follows: Vermont Avenue Baptist illegally tore down the structure that existed on the parcel and should not be permitted to benefit from that illegal activity; in addition, Heisey argued that parking accommodations for the church have been made, including turning Vermont Ave. into a one-way street in front of the church. Heisey urged the CDC to send a letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty's office, Ward 2 council member Jack Evans, and DCRA to notify them of the illegal use of the parcel by the church and to enforce parking laws there as necessary.

Now, in my opinion this raises a couple of interesting issues. First and foremost, we're back to the question of how/when parking regulations should be enforced. I strongly supported the city's earlier position to enforce all existing parking laws equally, and I think that standard should be upheld here as well. But the undercurrent of this issue is the role that neighborhood groups such as the CDC should play with regards to relationships with neighborhood entities such as the Church, which caters predominantly to parishioners who do not reside in the Logan area. To be sure, no one should be viewed as above the law, and cries for preferential treatment on the part of the churches ring hollow to me--so long as your church is located in the District, you should abide by the District's rules. But what benefit is it to the neighborhood to demand that the lot in question be reverted back to a vacant parcel of land, which is seemingly the goal of the CDC action?

If parking is--and will continue to be--an issue for the churches in that area of the city, would not a reasonable response be to notify the city of the illegal use of the parcel by the church, while also notifying the church of the due process which could be embarked upon to permit the use of the lot as a parking pad going forward? Dismissing the Church as unwilling to participate in a process to legally use the space, while not even approaching the church regarding the matter--as was the case at the meeting--smacks of unnecessarily treating the Church as a combatant in this issue. In addition, I have to wonder what the city's response to the CDC request will be seeing as how no attempt to contact the Church has been made.

Now, most likely, little will come of this issue--parking enforcement remains notoriously lax throughout Logan--so it's hard to see this issue picking up much steam. But it seems that a better process could be put in place to deal with such issues in the future. If the church is non-responsive or combative, so be it. At a minimum, it would behoove the neighborhood to attempt to work with--not in opposition to--area entities such as the Church when attempting to resolve dicey issues such as parking rights and enforcement.

Neighborhood News Bits

We've got a CDC meeting coming up this Wednesday. The only item on this month's agenda is DC bond financing for Wesley Theological Seminary to develop a mixed use development to include below market rate housing. The proposed development would be in ANC 2C in Mount Vernon Square between K Street and Mass Ave., NW at 8th Street. 

From now until late August, you may see DC youths participating in Green Summer teams in the area. The Green Summer project, a part of the Mayor's Green DC Summer Jobs Program, aims to educate up to 400 kids about green collar jobs and the environment while they "clean and green" the city. 

CDC and ANC News

Last night's CDC meeting was a bit of a snoozer. Aside from two homeowners requesting the ANC's blessing for a carport on their property, there wasn't too much going on. In fact, Mr. 14th & You and I were the only other members of the audience.

The most interesting information came in a conversation with Mike Bernardo after the meeting. We discovered that the McCormick Paints lot on the corner of P and 15th Streets will become . . . condos. Yes, more condos for the 1400 block of P. The plans are not, however, a sure bet; a recent zoning change has hampered the original design.

We also learned the reason why the condo building construction at the opposite corner of P Street has been moving at a snail's pace. A discovery of a well under the property created some issues that halted construction for about a year.

In other less interesting news, Mike Bernardo is now heading the CDC. Though Dyer remains on the ANC, he has resigned his position heading up the CDC. Also Commissioner Reed has recommended petitioning the Council to allow ANC input into upcoming city-wide zoning changes. Though the changes are not anticipated to substantially affect commercial or residential zoning, Reed would like to have CDC committee involved in the review.

The agenda for the ANC 2F meeting next week was released today. It is as follows:

- ANC 2F05 Commissioner Election
- ANC 2F Crime and Public Safety Committee Report
- A monthly report from Executive Office of the Mayor
- DDOT's monthly Report
- A Voluntary Agreement Modification for Stoney's, 1433 P Street, NW
- A Voluntary Agreement Modification for Mar de Plata, 1410 14th
Street, NW (10-seat sidewalk café)
- A Voluntary Agreement Modification for Logan Tavern, 1423 P Street,
NW (add 46 seats inside and 14-16 outside to café)
- A Substantial Change in Liquor License for El Sauce Restaurant, 1227
11th (from DR to CR license)
- Hot Spot No Loitering Zone Amendment Act, 2007 Bill #17-111
- Trash Collection at 1107 11th Street, NW

We're happy to see that the Stoney's issue will finally be resolved.

Random note: Have you noticed the large ads for Universal Gear on the east side of the 1500 block of 14th Street? Anyone know if this is an additional location or a wholesale move of the store on 17th Street? I guess it's good that we're getting some non furniture retail between P and U.

ANC 2F CDC Meeting Agenda

As circulated by Mr. Mike Bernardo, below is the agenda for next Wednesday's CDC meeting. A bit of a letdown from last month's meeting, when three major projects were discussed. Oh well...guess not every CDC meeting can be an edge-of-your-seat thriller.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, September 26, 2007, 7:00 PM
The Washington Plaza Hotel# 10 Thomas Circle, NW

*Meeting Agenda*
- Approval of Agenda
- BZA Variance, 1515 Vermont Avenue, NW
- HPRB and BZA Variance, 1454 P Street, NW

CDC Meeting Wrap-Up

As it will most likely be another two months before the ANC 2F Community Development Committee (CDC) minutes are posted, and no one wants to slog through them anyway, here's a summary of the news from last night:

Old Convention Center
Developer: Hines
Website: http://www.oldconventioncenter.com

The plans for the Old Convention Center site are progressing. In short, the bulk of the development will be three groups of two buildings each. One grouping will be offices, one rental housing, and one condo housing. On the first floors of all buildings and the first and second floors of the office buildings, there will be retail. Another nice feature is the preservation of open park land. It is still unknown whether the DC main library will relocate to this site. If the City Council decides to forgo that relocation, the space currently reserved for the library may be leased to a department store or a grocery. A local resident made sure to register her support for Nordstrom during the Q&A.

This huge project will be in the planning/permitting/contracting stage for the next 14 months, and construction is slated to run from fall of 2008 until 2011. With all of that planning left to go, there's no word yet on what the first deliverable will be and when we can expect to see it. I should also mention that the RFP for this project was issued in 2002. Way to go, bureaucracy.

Giant/O Street Market
Developer: Roadside Development
Website: http://www.roadsidedevelopment.com/O_Street.htm

Roadside Development owns the 4-acre site where the crummy Giant and crumbling O Street Market structure presently exist. The ambitious redevelopment project's centerpiece is a new 56,000 square foot Giant that will incorporate the existing market facade into its design. There will also be 600 new housing units including 100 senior living units (watch out, Shiloh). A hotel, one-story retail shops, and 700 parking spaces (above and below ground) will finish the project off nicely. It seems that the developer is also concerned with aesthetics, aiming to hide loading docks underground and to make the whole development attractive when viewed from the street.

11th Street Reconstruction Project
DDOT
Eleventh Street between L and O is the next Streetscape project. Though it's not being called by that moniker, the components of the reconstruction are remarkably similar to what's happening on P Street and what will happen to 14th Street. In any event, starting next spring and for nine months thereafter, 11th Street will be torn up in order to improve parking, replace the water main, add more trees, and increase green space. A huge change to the street will be the removal of one traffic lane to provide for a five-foot wide bike lane in each direction.

DDOT's representative acted as if sharing this information with the CDC was merely a courtesy. In the aftermath of his presentation, residents rightfully griped about a few things. DDOT claimed that having three lanes of traffic, down from the current four, would be a "traffic calming" measure, eliminating cars weaving between lanes to avoid buses and turning vehicles. Residents seemed less concerned about the calming effect and more bothered that they would be stuck behind a bus in the only available vehicle lane. Rerouting buses to reduce congestion or eliminating parking to provide room for four traffic lanes were suggested by residents as alternatives to the present plan. DDOT also failed to present a detour for southbound traffic during construction, which had 9th Street residents very concerned.

In light of the intense conversation between residents and DDOT, Commissioner Dyer requested that DDOT return for the ANC meeting in two weeks to present a plan for dealing with the bus, parking, and detour issues. Unfortunately for DDOT, they had declared planning to be 90% complete and hoped to begin the contractor selection within seven to ten days. Shucks.

Humorous moments of last night's meeting:
A committee member whom I won't name emphatically and repeatedly insisted during the O Street Market/Giant redevelopment Q&A that Roadside Development work to improve the poor service at Giant. Umm . . . they are developers.

The Roadside Development representative stated that the project would include some "very high end condos that we hope to sell for lots of money."

A resident suggested that a light be added to the intersection of 11th and O or that we "ban all Maryland drivers" from the thoroughfare.

Veranda Issued "Stop Work Order"

As reported on Leslumhistorique, Veranda, the new Mediterranean/Italian restaurant set to open at the corner of 11th and P, was unfortunately tagged with a "Stop Work Order" last week due to some non-permitted work on its outdoor patio. I'm not certain what, specifically, the SWO pertains to, but seeing as how the restaurant will be located in the Shaw Historic District, it likely has something to do with that. Here's hoping the Duni brothers are able to quickly resolve whatever issue led to the SWO, and can get the opening of Veranda back on track, as we're both anxiously awaiting its opening.

You can visit Veranda's website here: http://www.verandaonp.com/ . Make certain that you suggest a beer!

Commercial Development News

Prepare for what seems to be an oxymoron: The upcoming ANC 2F Community Development Committee (CDC) meeting has some interesting items on the agenda. Specifically, redevelopment of the old Convention Center site and the O Street Market/Giant will be discussed.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22nd at the Thomas Circle Washington Plaza Hotel (the same site as the ANC meetings). The above agenda items are toward the bottom of the list; my guess is that you could arrive around 8 and still get the bulk of the information.

If you want background on these two redevelopment issues, check out the following:
http://www.oldconventioncenter.com/
http://www.roadsidedevelopment.com/O_Street.htm