Brian Flahaven

The Reservation 13 Community Meeting with Mayor Gray takes place Thursday, March 22, 7 pm – 9 pm at the DC Armory (2001 East Capitol Street SE). Here are a few important details:

• Enter the DC Armory from the East Capitol Street SE side of the building (north side)
• You must bring your photo ID to enter the building
• Metro: Stadium-Armory station
• Parking: Use Lot 3 across from the Armory
• If possible, arrive early so you can proceed through security and get a seat prior to 7 pm. Doors will open at 6:30 pm.

Hope to see you Thursday night!

Wow! What a great turnout for tonight’s Reservation 13 Informational Meeting at St. Coletta! We had around 130 people  join us for a panel discussion on the history of Reservation 13 and the master plan. A big thanks to our panelists –  Commissioner Francis Campbell, Elizabeth Purcell, Ken Jarboe and Frank Zampatori – for sharing the expertise on the master plan and for answering some great questions. I now feel really prepared for Thursday’s Reservation 13 Community Meeting with Mayor Gray.

And thanks to Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells who stopped by to share his thoughts about Reservation 13 and the future of the site [hint: not a fan of a training facility].

If you were unable to attend, here are the links to the meeting presentations/handouts:

• Reservation 13 Master Plan (approved by the Council of the District of Columbia in 2002).
• Reservation 13 Request for Expressions of Interest (pdf) – city produced RFP issued in 2008 to seek developers interested in Reservation 13. This is the document that a number of panelists referenced during the meeting. Note the great map on page 7 which outlines the parcels on the site.
• Developer Responses (pdf) – a summary, drafted by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, of the four development plans that the city received in response to the RFEI. Despite promises to the neighborhood, the city did not select a developer.
• Zoning Commission Final Rulemaking for New Hill East District – zoning for Reservation 13.

I’ll post my “takeaways” from the informational meeting in the next day or so. In the meantime, feel free to share what you learned from the meeting in the comments below.

Thanks again for coming out and learning more about Reservation 13!

Join ANC 6B’s Hill East Task Force tonight (Mon., March 19), 7pm – 8:30 pm at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Avenue SE) for a panel discussion on the history of Reservation 13 and the master plan. Tonight’s panel will feature the following four community leaders/activists who were involved in the development of the master plan:

• Francis Campbell, commissioner, ANC 6B10. Commissioner Campbell, who has lived on the 1800 block of Burke Street for 30+ years, will share his thoughts about living near the 67-acre site and the community work that went into the Reservation 13 master plan.
• Ken Jarboe,  former commissioner, ANC 6B. Mr. Jarboe is going to discuss zoning for the site and the many obstacles that the city and community have had to overcome over the past decade.
• Elizabeth Purcell, Hill East resident, 1600 block of E Street SE. Ms. Purcell will highlight the city’s 2008 request for expressions of interest and the four development proposals that the city received for Reservation 13.
• Frank Zampatori, Hill East resident, 1800 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE. Mr. Zampatori will outline the history of the site, its current uses and talk about how the city and community worked together on the master plan.

We’ve also invited Councilmembers Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) to attend, along with representatives from the Mayor’s office.

If you can’t make the meeting tonight, make sure to take a look at the following two documents prior to the Thurs., March 22 meeting with Mayor Gray at the DC Armory:

• Master Plan for Reservation 13 (approved by the DC Council in 2002);
• Zoning Commission Final Rulemaking for New Hill East District (approved in 2009)

It should be a great discussion tonight. Hope to see you there!

Reservation 13, Hine, Acqua al 2 and a host of other issues were discussed during the Tues., March 13 meeting of ANC 6B. Here are the highlights:

• During the community speakout, ANC 7A Chair Villareal Johnson (7A07) introduced himself and expressed his commission’s desire to work with ANC 6B on Reservation 13. As a result of ward redistricting, Reservation 13, the site of the former DC General Hospital, is now in Ward 7.  ANC 7A (to be renamed ANC 7F next year) is set to have Reservation 13 added to its commission area in 2013. Commissioner Neil Glick (6B08) and I thanked Commissioner Johnson for allowing us to discuss Reservation 13 with attendees at the March 6 ANC 7A meeting.
• The commission unanimously (9-0) a resolution (pdf) urging Mayor Gray and the DC Council to support mixed-use development at Reservation 13. I also announced that the Reservation 13 community meeting with Mayor Gray would be on Thursday, March 22, 7 pm – 9 pm at the DC Armory (2001 East Capitol Street SE) and that the Hill East Task Force will host a Reservation 13 informational meeting on Monday, March 19, 7 pm – 8:30 pm at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Avenue SE).
• Patricia Zingsheim of the DC Office of Planning presented potential plans to transform one of the old spans of the 11th Street bridge into a recreational space. Ms. Zingsheim emphasized that OP is only discussing the idea and no decisions have been made. She also mentioned that there is a community meeting scheduled to discuss the concept on Wed., March 28, 6:30 pm at 1100 4th Street SW.
• After a lengthy discussion, ANC 6B unanimously approved Acqua Al 2’s (212 7th Street SE) request to modify their liquor license to allow expanded second  floor seating and increased hours of operation. Acqua Al 2’s owner signed a voluntary agreement that addressed trash and noise concerns raised by neighbors. The commission is working with the DC Department of Public Works and the DC Department of Transportation to add signage and step up enforcement behind the restaurant so that delivery trucks do not block homeowner access to the alley.
• The commission unanimously voted in favor of a resolution (pdf) stating that ANC 6B will not support the sale of two-packs and three-packs of beer, ale and malt liquor unless the licensee applies for, and the ANC supports, a single sales exemption. ANC 6B also dropped the protest of Pennsylvania Avenue Market (1501 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) after the owner agreed to sign a voluntary agreement that prohibits the sale of two-packs and three-packs at the store.
• With the Hine School Planned Unit Development (PUD) process underway, ANC 6B voted to support preliminary recommendations on design changes (8-1)  and community amenities and benefits (9-0). The ANC 6B Hine Subcommittee report (pdf) includes details on the recommendations.
• New resident members were unanimously approved for the Hill East and Outreach & Constituent Services Task Forces. Congratulations to Sharon Raimo (6B05) on being appointed to the Hill East Task Force and Bradley Kading (6B04) for being appointed to the Outreach and Constituent Services Task Force.
• Commissioner Brian Pate (6B05), chair of the Outreach and Constituent Services Task Force, provided a brief recap of task force accomplishments in 2011. He noted the improved ANC 6B website and thanked 6B09 resident member Darren Cole for his work on the site.
• The commission voted 8-0 with 1 abstention to support the addition of a weekday farmers’ line to be planned and coordinated by the Eastern Market manager.
• A new position description and contract for the ANC 6B executive director was also approved 8-1. I thanked ANC 6B Chair Jared Critchfield (6B06) for leading the effort to update a contract and position description that was more than a decade old.
• The April ANC 6B commission meeting will be on Tuesday, April 10, 7pm at the Hill Center.

The 2012 Sun Trust Rock N” Roll Marathon will run through a significant portion of  Capitol Hill this Saturday, March 17. Organizers expect around 24,000 runners for this year’s event.  Its going to be particularly tough to drive anywhere north of our neighborhood for most of the morning and early afternoon. The race begins at 8:00 am, though the street closure of East Capitol Street will begin around 7:20 am. Race activities will finish in the early afternoon, around 2 or 2:30 pm. The race begins and ends at RFK Stadium.

 There will be bump cross routes at various points along the route, including:

• 17th Street NE & C Street NE
• 15th Street NE & North Carolina Avenue NE
• 10th Street SE & East Capitol Street SE

When possible, traffic controllers will allow vehicles to cross the route at these locations.

If you typically park along East Capitol Street and need your car on Saturday morning, please move it prior to the start of the race. You will not be able to move a parked car along the route once the race begins. 

Note that the southbound exit of I-295 at East Capitol Street SE will also be closed from 9:30 am – 2:00 pm. You can review the course map and road closure details on the marathon website.

If you plan to take Metro, note that there is track work this weekend. You can learn more about Metrorail work and Metrobus detours on the WMATA website.