Neighbors,
Thanks to those of you who made it to the SMD meeting on the 1st of March. ?I've updated the performance parking "quick facts" I handed out at the meeting. ?Hopefully it helps explain the program. ?It's clear to me from the meeting that while folks were generally in favor of the program, I have some questions to answer and more educating to do. ?I want to reiterate that expansion of the pilot area would not involve?any new meters, nor would it create any restrictions for Zone 6 permit holders. ?Please contact me with any questions.
WaPo recently featured an interesting article about our very own David Vines, the chronic break-in artist currently awaiting sentencing. ?The gist of the article is that we're fed up and we're doing something about it! ?Check out the story here: ?. ?Thanks to those of you who wrote community impact statements. ?The AUSA, Thomas Bednar, extolled the value of these statements, and I can tell from reading the sentencing package Mr. Bednar wrote that the community's response motivated him to treat the case with utmost seriousness. ?If you'd like to see the package for yourself, send me a note and I'll forward it to you (it's a quick, but hefty 50-page read). ?Vines is now scheduled to be sentenced on April 6. ?
The ANC votes on Tuesday to approve an initial list of "big ticket" desired design changes, benefits and amenities associated with the Hine project. ?The five requested design changes are: ?1) lower height at 7th & Penn 2) improved/larger plaza 3) lower height at 8th & D 4) improved facade for the D St building and 5) a design at 7th & Penn that does a better job of drawing people towards Eastern Market. ? The initial set of requested benefits and amenities include: ?1) More/improved public use space 2) non-profit space 3) community meeting/multi-use feature 4) additional local retail and 5) a child care facility. ? The Hine sub-committee used the results of the public survey to inform the items considered. ?Further development of the "big ticket" list is certain to occur, and this does not include either a) requested mitigations or b) refinement and clarification of the benefits currently proffered by the developer. ?Stay tuned and look for a 3-D scale model at the Hill Center on 1 April. ?
The meeting date for the Reservation 13 meeting with Mayor has changed (at his request). ?The meeting will now be held on March 22nd?at 7 PM (location TBD). ?My sense of this issue is that it is going to rapidly become a focus of effort (it already is for several colleagues). ?A forewarning - we need to guard against any effort to pit Ward 7 against Ward 6, a potentially cynical ploy I feel some may use to push which ever side of the issue they favor. ?
Lastly, DDOT has asked the ANC to prioritize a sidewalk repair request. ?Several of you have mentioned in passing that some problem spots are not currently on either the "punch list" I put together or on the City's FY12 work list. ?If you can drop me a friendly reminder of these spots, I'd appreciate it. ?FYI, I'm asking the ANC to prioritize the 200 block of 12th St--it's an impassable mess.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Regards,
Brian
