Giant: Here we go again

According to a Cleveland Park Listserv post:


WNNC (the group opposing the Giant PUD) asked the Court for a delay pending the Zoning Commission's issuance of the final written order on the Motion for Reconsideration. Giant opposed this delay. The Court denied their request, and told them to file their brief by April 6. However, two weeks ago, WNNC asked for additional time to file their brief. Giant opposed them again, but the Court granted their request and allowed them until May 3rd to file their brief, which will apparently appeal the Zoning Commission's decision. So on it goes.

A Safer Connecticut Avenue

From the Cleveland Park Yahoo Group:

Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action (CAPA) is comprised of residents from Woodley Park and Cleveland Park to Forest Hills and Chevy Chase. We need everyone in the community to participate on two fronts. First, we would like residents, visitors, employees and employers to fill out a simple survey and interactive map on our website . Second, we are recruiting volunteers from up and down the corridor to help with the audit process. This will require training at a short session in late April and then a few hours of time during the study period in May. If you have interest in pedestrian safety, community activism and solidarity with the other communities along Connecticut Avenue, this is a great opportunity for you.

Great History of what never was

Douglas Willinger provides a terrific account of the freeway that ended up not coming through Bethesda and Ward 3 on the way to downtown DC.

Cheh Challenger

According to sources, Mary Cheh will have a Republican challenge in the November election. The candidate is David Hedgepeth, a litigation manager whose twin daughters attend Murch Elementary School.

Unknown at this point is the fate of any potential primary election challenge.

New Bike Lanes in Glover Park

According to Greater Greater Washington, the DC Department of Transportation is going to install (PDF) bike lanes in Glover Park in concurrent with recommendations from the Glover Park Transportation study.

Hopefully this is a first step to more widespread use of bike lanes in the Ward.

Examiner on Wisconsin Avenue Streetcars

The Washington Examiner provides some insight into the push for Streetcars along Wisconsin Avenue.

Wilson High School Landmarked

The Historic Preservation Review Board supported the landmarking of Wilson High School (PDF).

In a unanimous 8-0 vote, the board adopted the staff report for the 1935 Colonial Revival structure. Opponents of the historic application argued that landmark status would handcuff DCPS in developing and programing a renovated school. A similar argument was made when Janney Elementary was landmarked in November.

Clevleland Park Pedestrian Action

ANC 3C Commissioner Leila Afzal has announced funding for transportation improvements in Cleveland Park:

The DC City Council has identified Connecticut Avenue between Macomb and Porter streets as particularly hazardous for pedestrians. The Council has allocated $1.5 million specifically to address this concern and has directed DDoT to develop and implement a plan to use this money.

DDoT has come to the community for input and has requested that The Connecticut Avenue Coalition serve as the conduit for our ideas. The Coalition is made up of representatives from the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, Cleveland Park Historical Society, the business community, local residents, and the ANC (represented by Roger Burns (ANC3C04) and me). Each group within the Coalition is reaching out to its constituency to get as broad a level of participation as possible.

Please identify locations and conditions that you believe place pedestrians at particular risk. (e.g. crossing Conn. Avenue at Ordway). If you also have a suggested solution, that would be very helpful too.

Please limit your concerns to the area along Connecticut Avenue between Macomb and Porter Streets. The authorizing language is very specific and restricts where the money can be used.

I will compile the comments from constituents received either via email or at our meeting and forward them to the Coalition. The Coalition will add them to those received from the business groups, CPHS, and the CPCA and forward them to DDoT.

DDOT will then produce corresponding options for solutions to the concerns identified, as well as a price tag, and present them to the community at the April 13th CPCA members' meeting. The CPCA has arranged to break the meeting into small groups and decide how we as a community would recommend spending the $1.5m "DDoT bucks."

The ANC will then review The Coalition recommendations as developed on April 13 and any other community input it receives at its April 19th monthly and make a formal recommendation to DDoT.

Comments should be directed to Commissioner Afzal.

Zoning Commission Issues Giant Order

The District of Columbia Zoning Commission issued its order for the Giant on Wisconsin Avenue (search Notice ID #165208). The delay was due in part to Giant seeking clarification on some ambiguous conditions, and also in part by a brief filed by opponents of the development.

Once the order is published in the DC Register, opponents will have a short window to file another appeal. Time will tell how soon the ground breaking will take place.

Cheh to Cleveland Park: Build a Garage

A contributor comments on a Northwest Current article (PDF) in the Greater Greater Washington blog regarding the trial balloon Councilmember Mary Cheh has floated regarding a new municipal parking garage in Cleveland Park.

Notwithstanding the budgetary implications or issues regarding placement, this proposal raises several issues. Parking has long been a concern for Cleveland Park merchants, particularly given the recent spat of vacancies. However, one has to better analyze the problems to arrive at appropriate solutions.

On the issue of vacancies, many neighborhood activists would suggest that this was a result of broader economic issues surrounding national chains (Blockbuster, 7-11) while others blame the lack of parking. The Commercial Zoning Overlay, which limits to 25% certain food establishments, is blamed for many of the problems. Either way, in the short term, it appears that vacancy rates are not an issue in this upscale neighborhood.

Instead, the problem is the high demand for a limited number of parking spaces, by residents, retail employees and commuters. The RPP zone system was implemented, in part, to address the issue of Maryland Commuters parking for free on residential streets during the workday. Now, however, commuters with legal zone stickers are taking those precious spots.

It seems as if a hybrid parking system which encourages the use of meters and a sub-zone system should be piloted in Cleveland Park. Certainly the market based system employed in the ballpark district of Southeast and Southwest could be tried as well.

Either way, the idea of spending millions of dollars for a parking structure in one of the most transit-rich communities in the region is absurd and certainly not an environmentally responsible solution normally supported by Councilmember Cheh.

Tenleytown Insurrection

Greater Greater Washington covers the great Tenleytown Snow insurrection of 2010.

Aimed at shoveling scofflaws, the goal is to make passage for pedestrians easier while also shaming property owners into doing the right thing, as well as complying with the law.

Stay tuned, as current weather conditions may postpone the anticipated 4:00 meeting time at the Tenleytown Metro station.

Sustainable Forest Hills Needs Your Help

The Forest Hills area has been working with the DC Office of Planning on a Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Study. The program needs input per the information below:

Voting is your opportunity shape the direction of this community-driven process and to help us form working groups to take action on things like energy efficiency, water quality, biking, and many other areas.

Renters, homeowners, business owners, students, and workers of the study area (see map on our website) are all invited to vote

All voting closes Sunday, February 14th, so please vote now and spread the word!

Community Appears to Favor Mixed Use at Safeway

The Tsarchitect has revealed a poll circulated to discern the sentiment of the community where the Tenleytown Safeway is concerned. Sponsored by the Alliance for Rational Development, the poll is purportedly meant to provide a snapshot of support for the most recent plan released by the food store.

One cannot imagine that the current results showing a 68% response in favor of a mixed-use development (despite the obvious biases) is what the ARD had in mind when it created this survey.

As noted in the Tsarchitect blog:

ARD doesn’t represent the silent majority, and they don’t even represent a significant minority. The secretive organization is nothing but sound and fury crippled by ineptitude and a lack of web savvy.

Streetcars on Wisconsin Avenue?

At the January 14th ANC 3B (Glover Park/Cathedral Heights) meeting, the Commission discussed the issue of Streetcars on Wisconsin Avenue. DDOT has begun the infrastructure construction for a streetcar system in parts of Wards 6, 7 and 8. The system map shows transit lines crisscrossing the greater downtown and 'East of River' areas. The Ward Map Boards" (PDF) show a possibility for a future extension from Georgetown up Wisconsin Avenue.

One Glover Park Listserv contributor has outlined several reasons why this is a good idea and how it can work. This is an exciting opportunity to bring the areas of Glover Park, and possibly upper Northwest "Back to the Future" by returning streetcars back to communities that once had them.

Tenleytown Safeway on Hold

As a follow up to a previous entry regarding Safeway, the Zoning Commission granted an indefinite postponement to the grocery store. The DC Metro Urban Diary has a recap of the issue.

New Meter Rates for Wisconsin Avenue

DCist picks up on the new guidelines for parking rates in "premium demand zones" throughout downtown and selected neighborhoods.

According to the guidelines, Wisconsin Avenue from Van Ness Street to Western Avenue qualifies and will be subject to rates totaling $2.00/hr. The kicker is that enforcement here will be in effect until 10:00 PM.

Unless the corresponding Residential Permit Parking times are also adjusted, this may simply make parking in residential areas harder in high-traffic areas such as Friendship Heights and Tenleytown.

Safeway Postponed

An announcement on the Tenleytown Listserv suggests that Safeway has asked for a postponement of their redevelopment proposal. Will this mean Safeway will actually take the feedback from the community seriously?

Holiday Cheer in AU Park

The Washington Post covers a covers a fantastic example of holiday cheer first reported on the Tenleytown Yahoo Group.

Happy Holidays!

Klingle Road Update

Greater Greater Washington provides an update on the long and winding saga called Klingle Road.

A brief Safeway update

DCMUD has a brief update (which was corrected) on the Tenleytown Safeway. The comments are fairly interesting.