138 12th St, NE. Photo by Sharee Lawler.
If you’ve been following the ANC 6B goings on, then you know what I mean when I say that the Twitter summary of last night’s 6A meeting could be: Yes to liquor, No to stern schoolmasters. But before we get to that …
The residents of Wylie Street are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Commissioner Raphael Marshall announced that the transformer (for powering the streetcar) slated to be placed mid-block on Wyle has been relocated. Commissioner Drew Ronneberg followed that up with an announcement that the transformer is now in his Single Member District. Though its a less objectionable location for residents — the corner of 12th & H by Auto Zone — it’s still not ideal as it will either be an above-ground obstruction eventually (hopefully) incorporated into new development on that corner, or it will be buried with all of the accompanying street-level metal grating and accessibility measures required for such a thing, but that can be murder on high heels (even hipster high heels).
Commissioner David Holmes shared changes being considered in the route for the National Marathon, which starts and finishes at RFK. There’s a proposal to have marathoners and half-marathoners running down a longer stretch of C Street in the early morning and on H Street later in the morning. Though race organizers say residents won’t have to move their cars, Holmes expressed concern that with the number of participants, that could eventually become a directive, causing parking problems in the surrounding blocks.
Holmes also informed attendees that tree boxes are being widened city-wide to help improve tree health. The city is already active with the project, but won’t move any decorative elements surrounding boxes. So if you’d like to have yours widened, then take a few minutes to remove the iron fencing, wood or whatever it is you might have surrounding the box so city workers have access to do their work.
Chair Kelvin Robinson also announced that anyone interested in learning about the process of testifying before the City Council is invited to attend a training session being held on Tuesday, November 16th, 6pm at SOVA.
Several liquor licenses are up for renewal and were considered earlier this month by the Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee. Little Miss Whiskey’s, Show Bar, Liberty Tree, The Pug and The Star and Shamrock have applied for renewals, which the ANC voted not to protest. Robinson, who earlier this month lost his bid for Ward 6 councilmember and is currently circulating a petition to temporarily fill the at-large seat, punctuated the vote with an acknowledgment of the discussion about liquor licenses in 6B. Development on H Street has been taking a similar trajectory, though not as advanced as the issues being discussed in the vicinity of Barracks Row, and Robinson highlighted the fact that the discussion taking place there is something they should be watching since 6A may be facing a similar circumstance in the future.
The Argonaut’s post-fire recovery is, happily, moving right along. At last month’s 6A meeting, Argo’s Scott Magnuson, presented plans for expanding the outdoor patio – which sits on public space – fronting Maryland Avenue. 6A’s committee on Transportation and Public Space has recommended, and the full ANC approved, a letter of support to DDoT’s Public Space Committee for the Argo to add additional outdoor seating, a patio covering (similar to The Chesapeake Room’s), a service counter with stools, an outdoor garden area, and an enclosed trash dumpster. Can’t wait to christen this new development with a glass of Allagash White.
And then there was Apple Tree …
The last agenda item of the evening was raised by Commissioner Nick Alberti regarding the matter-of-right permit to build a public charter school at 138 12th St, NE. Remember this? Matter-of-right building permits were issued to Apple Tree in October 2007 (meaning the building’s use as a school conforms with prior use, and therefore doesn’t require an additional permit – a variance). A permit is good for two years after which, if construction hasn’t started, it expires and a new application must be filed.
There has been strenuous neighborhood objection to the location of the school which, admittedly, doesn’t seem to be a good option, especially considering all the larger, more accessible and less disruptive options within a one or two mile radius. The building, formerly a public meeting hall, isn’t especially large and sits in the middle of a residential block hemmed in by busy Constitution Ave on one side and ends at Lincoln Park at the other. Plus it already suffers from oversubscribed parking so I can’t imagine what pickup and drop off would look like.
Since the 2007 permit was issued, under what at the time were unclear circumstances, the zoning laws have been altered such that an application like Apple Tree’s would be non-conforming and required to go through the additional step of getting a variance before getting a permit — steps like safety and environmental assessments. However, in September of this year a new permit was issued without the variance, though the 2007 permit has clearly expired and there hasn’t been a lick of work done on the site.
Commissioner Alberti made a motion that the ANC appeal the permit on the grounds that DCRA should have applied the new zoning regulations and required a variance. Robinson, knowing he would be on the losing end of the argument, said that he would be voting against the motion because he feels the ANC has already had a crack at the school and lost. Alberti replied that zoning laws should be applied consistently and Holmes pointed out that the new permit is clearly in violation of the law. Ultimately, the ANC voted move forward with appealing the permit with Commissioners Schulteiss and Ronneberg joining Holmes and Alberti; Marshall abstained.
There was never a “matter of right” for the use of 138 12th Street, NE, as a school. The building permit was issued long after the zoning codes were changed in 2006, to clarify the siting requirements for all public schools in DC and the site on 12th Street is far from compliance.
To obtain the original building permit, AppleTree exploited a loophole in the city’s 1958 zoning codes designed to allow non-conforming properties to continue use and to rebuild in the event they were damaged.
That permit was valid for two years from its October 26, 2007, date of issue. They were entitled to a maximum of three 6-month extensions within two years, with written requests, showing cause for relief, as long as they had begun construction. They did not comply.
The original permit expired over a year ago but AppleTree was issued a new and improper “extension” on the expired permit in September. The ANC voted to protest this.
This is a zoning case that revolves around repeated errors by DCRA. Chairman Robinson joined the ANC years after this complex case had been undertaken by the ANC and seems unwilling to address the issue of ongoing problems at DCRA.
Margaret — thanks for the clarification. This is clearly a complex issue with many strange and unexplained twists and turns.