| March 2008 General Membership Meeting Minutes |
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| Written by CSNA | |
| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
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Minutes have been posted for the March 2008 CSNA General Membership meeting. At the meeting, Tarek Bolden, DC Office of Planning Ward One Planner, gave a presentation about many current development projects in Ward One. Representatives from the Cultural Development Corporation also presented an update on the renovations and programming changes at the Source Theatre. Read on for details. March 2008 · CSNA General Membership Meeting MinutesThursday, 13 March 2008 · 7:00 – 8:30 PM True Reformer Building · 1200 U Street, NW Welcome and Introductions President’s Remarks – Lynn Coffin· Brooke Clagett motioned to withdraw without prejudice Sharon Dreyfuss’ motion to extend the amount that the President can spend at his/her own discretion from $100 to $250. No CSNA members present were against the withdrawal of the motion. Community Report, Announcements Special Presentations· Presentation by Tarek Bolden, Office of Planning Ward One Planner - Tarek gave a presentation on recent and future development activity in Ward One: o Target opened in early March at DC USA o DDOT is working on a number of ways to improve traffic and parking in the area, including the U Street streetscape plan, the 14th Street Streetscape plan, and streetscape improvements associated with the Howard Theatre o Howard Theatre rehabilitation is moving forward o Streetscape improvements on Georgia Avenue between Florida Ave. and Euclid will occur as part of the Great Streets plan o Tarek did not have an update on the timing of the start of the U Street streetscape construction. He will research the status of this and provide an update to CSNA o Tarek noted that for information on development projects, visit the website of the DC Economic Partnership at www.wdcep.com o Broadway Atlantic One Update: Tarek spoke with a representative at Broadway Management, who provided an update on the project. Broadway Atlantic One is an approved Planned Unit Development with multiple parcels around 8th and 9th Streets, to the north of Florida Ave. The project consists of approximately 781 units, more than 33,000 sf of retail, and approximately 726 parking spaces. Due to the housing market changes, the developer has been slow in securing financing for the project. Financing is now in place for initial phases of the project. No groundbreaking date has been provided. Ernest Springs requested a copy of the PUD Community Benefits, Tarek said he would provide the list of benefits to CSNA. o WMATA Parcels Update: Tarek spoke with a representative of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) about the parcels on the south side of Florida Ave between 8th and 9th Streets. WMATA short-listed three developers in November 2007, and has since chosen the finalist and is in the process of negotiating terms with the finalist. The name of the finalist has not yet been released by WMATA. Tarek noted that because of the arts overlay, all proposals had to include an arts component. The properties are located within a historic district and will go through Historic Preservation design approval. Brooke Clagett expressed the need for the WMATA lots to be kept clean, and for illegal dumping to stop. Ernest express the desire of the future owner of the property to be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the sites and to make presentations to CSNA about the development plans. Tarek said that he would look into what can be done to stop the illegal dumping. o Grimke School Site: Tarek explained that there have been concerns about truck deliveries in the alley behind the Grimke School, as there is not enough room for trucks to maneuver and trucks are hitting the rear of some residential properties on the alley behind T Street. FEMS, one of the tenants of the school, may leave the school, which would ease the problems in the alley. o 9th Street Trash Concerns: Tarek explained that there are several restaurants on 9th Street that do not have space in the alley behind the properties for dumpsters. Several of these restaurants have been using a vacant lot on 9th Street to store their dumpsters, under an agreement with the current owner of the lot. However, this lot is for sale, and if it gets sold and developed, there may no longer be an opportunity for restaurants to store their dumpsters on this lot. Because DC Health Codes prohibit trash from being brought from the kitchen through the dining area to outside, these restaurants could not take the trash out to the front of the spaces. There may then be a risk that these restaurants may not have a means of disposing of trash, and the viability of these restaurants staying in business may be threatened. Scott Pomeroy suggested that the new developer of the vacant lot could setup an easement for the restaurants to use the lot for trash disposal. o The 700 block of T Street is seeking rezoning as commercial use instead of residential use o The Howard Town Center is still in design phase, Tarek did not have further updates on this site. o Scott Pomeroy and Christine Szathmary expressed concerns of traffic and parking congestion around the vicinity of the Broadway and WMATA lots. · Source Theatre Update by Cultural Development Corporation (CDC) representativeso CDC purchased the Source Theatre in October 2006. Renovations to the theatre began in January 2008. The Source is expected to open again at the end of May. The renovations include upgrades to lighting, sound, and the HVAC system, and changes to ADA accessibility. There will be a 150 seat black box theatre, rehearsal space, classroom space, dressing rooms, administrative space, and resident organization space. The resident organizations include Constellation Theatre Company, DC Arts and Humanities Collaborative, The In Series, and Washington Improv Theatre. Theatre spaces can be opened up to the community at a reduced rate, and resident organizations will provide workshops and classes to the public at reduced rates. There will be a programming kickoff on June 21 at the Source Festival. There are hard hat tours being held every Monday night from 6 – 7:30, with drinks and appetizer happy hour nearby at Bar Pilar on Monday nights. There is a capital campaign in place with a goal to raise $3.5 Million. So far, $2.1 Million has been raised. In November, there will be a Community Outreach Program with a 24 hour event that is open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.sourcedc.org/ · Update from Councilmember Jim Graham’s Office – Barry Weise, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view ito Barry explained that Harris Teeter obtained their liquor license to sell beer and wine despite protests by Reed Cooke Neighborhood Association and other groups. Harris Teeter will open on April 23, 2008. o A pilot tax zone project in Adams Morgan will restrict taxis to a taxi area behind Suntrust and in front of Marie Reed from Thursday night through Sunday. Taxis will not be able to cruise around in search of passengers in Adams Morgan. o Oversight hearings for DCWASA are being held to address concerns with lead in water. There have been allegations that WASA’s testing technologies in their lead abatement program were incorrect and that WASA’s replacement of lead service lines has made the situation worse, andalso that there may actually be more lead than was found through DCWASA’s observations. It is likely that the DC Department of the Environment will commission an independent study of the data and the water to further investigate the issue. · Update from ANC 1B – Phil Spalding, ANC1B02, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it o Phil Spalding was not present. Committee Business and Regular Reports · Treasurer’s Report: Chuck Baxter, Treasurer – This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view ito Jon motioned that the earmark for funds for the Dog Days Development Showcase should be used for general CSNA Dog Days funding. The vote passed 8-0-0. · Membership & Communications: Phil Spalding, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it o Phil was not present. · Transportation & Parking: Cheryl Cort This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it o Cheryl was not present.
o On the 1900 block of 9th Street, an ATM was installed in public space, attached to a wall of a business. Phil Spalding requested that the Office of Historic Preservation and DDOT become involved to remove the ATM, and within one week, the ATM was removed. o The 9:30 Club is accepting donations at the box office for the residents of the Mount Pleasant building which was destroyed in a fire. o Ulah Bistro opened in the 1200 block of U Street. o A Mexican restaurant opened on 9th Street. · Public Safety: John Solomon - This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it o MPO Wilson arrested four juveniles trying to steal a car on 12th Street.Questions, Comments, ConcernsREMINDER: Please Pay Your Dues for 2008 (Pay Online @ WWW.CSNADC.ORG or Check/Cash by Mail) |
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