ADVISORY
NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3-C
GOVERNMENT OF THE
(202) 232-2232 FAX:
232-2232
Regular Monthly
Meeting Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Nancy MacWood called to order
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C (ANC 3C’s) regular monthly meeting for NEED TIME. The meeting was held in the community room at the
Second District Police Station,
II. VERIFICATION OF
NOTICE
Chair MacWood verified that the
proper notice was published in the Northwest Current and posted on the
III. ESTABLISHMENT
OF QUORUM
Chair MacWood acknowledged that a
quorum (at least five members of the commission) was present.
IV. APPROVAL OF
AGENDA
Chair MacWood announced that the consideration of an application for a public space
permit to install a semi-circular driveway at
V. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chair MacWood asked the commissioners to introduce
themselves.
Chair MacWood announced that WASA would be holding a
neighborhood forum on Tuesday, March 2 at Palisades Branch library from
Commissioner MacDonald announced
Commissioner Hogan announced that DDOT had issued a
permit to the Protestant
Episcopal Cathedral Foundation for temporary no parking restrictions on the
east side of
Commissioner Reeves announced a Transportation Committee meeting on
February 24 regarding spring road construction as well as a meeting with
Mohammed Khalid of DDOT on March 4 at
Chair MacWood introduced Michael
Marcotte, deputy general manager for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)
and Keith Gibbons from WASA’s community relations department to discuss the
problem of lead detected in some District homes. Marcotte presented an overview of the issue.
Commissioner Reeves asked why WASA’s lead lines map
appeared to have red dots at or near apartment complexes. Marcotte replied that it was doubtful that
apartment complexes would have lead lines and that WASA had not yet released
specific addresses, so the dots might be misleading.
Chair MacWood asked whether lead content in the
water would change depending on whether the lead pipe was at the feeder line or
on the property. Marcotte said it would
and stated that when WASA digs up street feeder lines, they try to get property
owners to replace their lines at the same time at the owner’s cost.
Commissioner MacDonald mentioned that her house had
recently had new meters installed and asked if WASA therefore knew what type of
line was running into her house.
Marcotte said WASA had not collected that information during meter
installation. Commissioner MacDonald
asked why levels among houses in one block might vary widely and asked if
chemicals in the water were causing lead to leach out. Marcotte replied that the chemistry in the
water could be an issue, as could the condition of the pipe. He said that he would guess that individual
error in sampling would be the cause of the variation. Commissioner Hahn asked what the projected
timeline was for lead pipe removal.
Marcotte said it was 13 years and that, although they were examining a
shorter timeline, they might face obstacles with DDOT on streets that had been
recently repaved.
Commissioner Hogan asked why a house where the lead
service line was replaced would still be showing high lead readings. Marcotte responded that other parts of the
internal plumbing system might contain lead.
Commissioner Vorndran asked Marcotte to explain which pipes were more
likely to be made of lead. Marcotte said
that the pipes would be sized between 1.5 and ¾ inches, so buildings with six
or more units were unlikely to have lead pipes because they tend to have lines
that are two inches or larger in diameter.
Chair MacWood asked about the results of water
testing at local schools. Marcotte said
that they tested the schools and found that 99 percent were below the level of
concern. Chair MacWood asked if the
cause of the lead contamination would ever be determined. Marcotte said that they were looking at
whether the current chemicals in the water were causing lead leaching and
examining other options, such as adding phosphates or other chemicals to stop pipe
corrosion.
Commissioner Nord asked if a customer could replace
a lead service line himself. Marcotte
said that WASA would help customers if they wanted to do the work, but were
also considering working with the customer to get the WASA feeder line completed
simultaneously. Marcotte said that WASA
was also concerned about being sensitive to people who could not afford to pay
to replace their line. He said that
filters are an option to remove lead from drinking water and that the
appropriate brands were listed on the WASA web site and would carry a National
Sanitation Foundation seal.
A community member asked if the line replacement fee
could be spread out long-term for the homeowner. Marcotte said no, but stated that DC might
offer grants to homeowners to defray the cost.
Commissioner Reeves asked about WSSC.
Marcotte said that WSSC could help homeowners defer costs for 10-20
years.
Chair MacWood thanked Marcotte for attending.
a.
Chair MacWood introduced consideration of
a grant application for $1,000 to cover the costs of a school play at
b.
Commissioner Hahn introduced consideration of a
voluntary agreement concerning a new liquor license for the Kennedy Warren
lounge. Commissioner Hahn moved for
approval of the agreement and support for issuance of the liquor license, stating
that the owners, their lawyers, and the residents association worked hard on
the agreement and that he believed it covered everything.
Chair MacWood asked if there was a limit set on
special event guests. The owners’ lawyer,
Andrew Klein, said that the certificate of occupancy for the room would set the
limit. Commissioner Hahn read the
resolution and moved its consideration. Commissioner
MacDonald seconded. Chair MacWood asked Commissioner
Hahn to consider a friendly amendment of an additional resolve stating that he is authorized to sign the
voluntary agreement on behalf of ANC 3C.
Commissioner Hahn accepted the amendment. Resolution
2004-007 was approve by a unanimous vote of 7-0. Commissioner
Hahn stated that it was a pleasure working with the Kennedy Warren management and
residents association and thanked Commissioner MacDonald for her assistance
with the voluntary agreement.
c.
Chair MacWood introduced consideration of an application before the Historic
Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for concept approval of an addition to
Chair MacWood asked Muse if he had considered taking
some of the roofs off. Muse replied that
he was looking into that. Commissioner Hogan
asked about preserving trees during driveway placement. A community member also asked about pool
placement and expressed concern over potential damage to the root system of a large,
landmark tree. Muse responded that the pool
would be 50 feet away from the tree and that an arborist would be on hand
during the project to monitor any construction that might potentially affect
the trees. He also stated that a
landscape architect would be fencing the property and preserving the style of
A neighbor requested modifications to the garage
office and planned swimming pool placement.
Another neighbor requested that the garage be one story so as not to encroach
on her garden view and her privacy. Muse
agreed to meet with the neighbors at their properties to discuss their concerns. Chair MacWood moved to approve the concept
with a recommendation to the Historic Preservation Review Board that they
explore reducing the mass and height of the garage; consider eliminating some
or all of the new roofs; explore rotating or moving the pool off the lot line;
and pay particular attention to the fence design.
Commissioner MacDonald asked if the ANC could
consider the matter at a later meeting. Chair
MacWood said that the matter would be in front of the ANC again because HPRB had
requested a landscaping plan prior to final approval. Commissioner Hogan said that she would like
to see tree preservation measures included in the landscaping plan and Commissioner
Reeves said she would like to see the fence plan. Chair MacWood requested that the applicant
return to ANC 3C prior to HPRB consideration of the landscape plan. Commissioner Hahn seconded. The
motion passed by a unanimous vote of 7-0.
d. Chair MacWood introduced consideration of comments on the D.C. Tour Bus
Management Initiative Report. She stated that the comment
period expired prior to the ANC meeting, but that Chair MacWood and
Commissioner Reeves had submitted joint comments as Single Member District
Commissioners prior to the end of the comment period. A facilitator from DDOT then indicated that DDOT
would welcome comments from the full ANC and that they would extend the comment
period accordingly. Chair MacWood circulated
the letter to the Commissioners and summarized its content. Chair MacWood moved for adoption of the comments. Commissioner Reeves seconded. The motion was approved by a unanimous
vote of 7-0.
e. Commissioner Hogan moved a resolution commenting on the
proposed Urban Forest Preservation Act regulations. Commissioner Hahn seconded. Commissioner Hogan explained that the
resolution consisted of technical comments on discrepancies between the law and the proposed regulations,
especially a possible loophole for the private removal of healthy trees. Commissioner Hogan read portions of the draft
resolution. Commissioner Nord offered a friendly
amendment of 48 hours advance notice to
f.
Chair MacWood updated the commission on the status of the Upper
Wisconsin Avenue Corridor Study. Chair
MacWood stated that she would like to incorporate informational presentations on
the corridor study into the ANC’s Planning and Zoning Committee meetings with
the regular meeting at
Commissioner MacDonald reported on her discussion
with Cindy Petkac at the Office of Planning (OP) during which she told Ms.
Petkac that the commission was assured repeatedly that ANC 3C would not be affected
by the study and Ms. Petkac replied that no one from OP had ever said
that. Commissioner MacDonald stated that
she suggested that Ms. Petkac speak to the Woodley Park Citizens Association
and that Ms. Petkac responded that she did not want to meet with resident associations.
VIII. OFFICERS
REPORTS
a.
Chair MacWood moved consideration of the December 2003 minutes. Commissioner Reeves seconded. The minutes were approved without objection.
b.
Chair MacWood moved approval of the January 2004 minutes. Commissioner Reeves seconded. The minutes were approved with minor
changes.
c. Commissioner Hogan announced that April 24 would be the
date for the next hazardous waste recycling event and that the information
would be available at the DC Government home page.
d. The Administrator reported that removal of the office equipment had been rescheduled
by the hauler and was set to take place March 1.
e. Commissioner Nord asked what
procedure commissioners should follow in requesting changes to DDOT Ward 3
street plan. Chair MacWood recommended that
all requests be channeled through the full ANC.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner
Vorndran moved for adjournment. Chair
MacWood adjourned the meeting at