Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 4B
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW -
March
3, 2009
Steve Mordfin
Ward 4 Neighborhood Planning
Coordinator
DC Office of Planning
Dear Mr. Mordfin:
I
would like to extend thanks to Councilmember Bowser, Ms. Abernathy, Mr. Knapp,
Mr. Mallea, and to you for your attendance and presentations at the February 11th
Single Member District 4B04 community meeting to discuss the Curtis Chevrolet
project and organized by Commissioner James Sydnor. (According to the sign-in sheet, there were
approximately 65 constituents in attendance.)
I would further like to extend appreciation for the second extension in
order to allow for additional comments from the constituents of the affected
SMD 4B04 and other surrounding SMDs.
During
our February 23, 2009 public meeting, held at MPD's Fourth District community
room,
"We
want the project on hold until the requested information is provided to the
community so they can properly process the developer's plans and come up with
input that would benefit the community."
Our
adopted resolution also includes additional bullet-points, comments, and
questions which were developed at the February 11 SMD 4B04 meeting. These are detailed below.
This resolution calling for
a delay, the additional comments as detailed below, as well as our initial
comments forwarded in a letter sent to your office on January 24, 2009 are sent to the Office of Planning in
accordance with District of Columbia Code 1-309.10(d)(3)(A), 1-309.10(d)(3)(B),
and 1-309.10(d)(3)(C). As you know,
these clauses require that our Commission receive "great weight" from
government agencies, and that government agencies must articulate their
decisions in writing with "particularity and precision," explaining
"the reasons why the Commission does or does not offer persuasive advice
under the circumstances."
As we noted in earlier
letters, we realize that the Curtis Chevrolet project is a "matter of
right" development and within the city's zoning regulations. However, the Office of Planning did ask for
the comments. We also understand that
the project may receive benefits under several
Following are the concerns
and desires of the affected constituents surrounding the proposed redevelopment
of the Curtis Chevrolet Site which were expressed at the February 11 SMD 4B04
meeting. We would appreciate a response
to these comments and questions by April 9, 2009.
- Outdated zoning laws.
We would like to know whether the present zoning laws are relevant for
this project considering the existing laws are over 60 years old?
- With the increase in
usage on the existing water and sewer infrastructure how will the already
strained system be impacted in its current state of disrepair?
- Are there plans to
revitalize the water and sewer infrastructure outside of the project?
- Considering that a fair
amount of area fire hydrants are either out of service or in need of
maintenance; what is the impact to these critical life saving systems and
what is the plan to repair the faulty fire hydrants?
- There is an underground
stream in the vicinity of 7th and
- During normal rains,
the current sewer system is not able to move the water, and it creates
minor flooding and deposits debris in the nearby neighborhoods. What
measures will be taken during and after construction to either reduce this
current situation or ensure there will not be an increased impact to the
flooding and debris deposits?
- The current vehicular
traffic study implies that traffic will decrease with the absence of the
Curtis Chevrolet dealership.
However, it does not take into account the increase in residential
vehicular traffic. Please provide a study that incorporates the increase
of residential vehicular traffic of approximately 800 residents, the
current local traffic flows, and uses as a comparator retail traffic
similar to
- Due to the increase in
residential and retail vehicular traffic what will be the environmental
impacts, specifically air pollution from vehicular exhaust?
- What measures are being
taken to make this project green and environmentally friendly (e.g., green
roofs, managed run-off, and green materials)?
- How will asbestos and other pollutants be contained when construction begins?
- With a large senior
citizen and school age population and the location of
- How will the
construction impact parking for the residents living in the co-ops
directly behind the site?
- Can the number of
apartments be scaled back to 200 units?
- Can the height of the
project be more in keeping with the height of the current store fronts?
- We do not want to
inundate the area with apartment buildings.
- We want to maintain the
nature of the community, which is homeowner-based and family-oriented.
- What are the plans for
the buildings located diagonally across from the site, just south of the
Brightwood Bistro at the corner of
- How will the increase
in residential and retail traffic impact traffic flows into the gas
station located on the south side of
- When will the staging
plan be available for public review?
- When will Impact
studies be available for public review?
- During construction how
will the rodent population be addressed and will there be assistance to
residents affected by the relocation of the rodents due to the
construction?
- What is the waste
removal plan?
- After construction what
is the plan to increase health and human services to meet the increased
residential and retail population?
-- specifically Police and Fire coverage, additional lighting, and
pedestrian safety.
- Instead of using the
median income from the entire
- We would like to see a
higher percentage of affordable rental apartments available in the
project; somewhere around 12 to 15 percent.
- What will be the
strategy for attracting desired retailers?
- Can an agreement be put
in place for retailers to agree to demonstrate an effort to hire and
maintain 5% of their workforce from the affected SMD 4B04 and an
additional 5% from surrounding SMDs (i.e. 4B03, 4B05, as well as ANC 4A)?
In
addition to the aforementioned comments and questions, below is a short list of
desired retailers and/or types of retail stores for the site. The intent is to
have an atmosphere similar to
- Health food store and
restaurant
- Whole food store
- Ice cream parlor
- Sit down restaurants
- Trader Joe's or Harris
Teeter
- Hardware store
- Affordable coffee shop
with Wi-Fi availability
- At least one popular
fast food restaurant
- Child-friendly
family-oriented restaurant
In
conclusion, we are excited to continue this collaborative effort through open
lines of communications and periodic updates regarding the progress of the
project. Please provide a point of contact who will be in touch with
Commissioner James Sydnor to discuss the future of the project. Commissioner
Sydnor will be the point of contact for our ANC, and he can be reached at
202-421-3541 or via email at 4b04@anc.dc.gov.
By
direction of ANC 4B Chairman Douglass Sloan
Sincerely,
Faith
Wheeler, Vice-Chair
cc:
Honorable Muriel Bowser
Foulger-Pratt Companies
Dudley Dworken
Director of Office of Planning Harriet
Tregoning
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B