January 2017 Minutes

SEE ALSO: BNCA comment page on the Comp Plan

Community Meeting – January 17, 2017, 7:00 PM

Officers:

• Dan Schramm – President
• Brian Stevens – Vice President (absent)
• Teresa Fleming – Membership Director (absent)
• Clyde Blassengale – Treasurer
• Lamont Bessicks – Recording Secretary
• Corresponding Secretary – (vacant position)
• Ian McFarlane – At-Large Member

Dan opened the meeting at approximately 7:05 PM.

Item 1: Old Business

• Officer Elections will be held at the February, 2017 meeting.
• Re-election of existing officers and selection for vacant positions.

Item 2: Treasurer’s Report

• Clyde presented the January, 2017 report, for the month of December, 2016.
• No new members
• Beginning Balance of $3,540.52.
• Contribution of $200.00 to the Silent Baptist
• Bank Charge of $2.00 for paper statements
• Ending Balance of $3,338.52.
• January Treasure’s Report was voted and accepted.

Item 3: Membership Report

• Teresa not present

Item 4: Announcements

• Noland Treadway, provided an announcement about Councilmember McDuffy’s activity.
• Newsletter from C. McDuffy’s office.
• Michigan Park distributes a ‘welcome flyer’ for new neighbors/residents.
• Ursula Higgins (ANC 5B02) is having a meeting on Thursday, January 19, at the Masonic Temple to address new development along 12th Street.

Item 5: Member’s Discussion: BNCA Comments on the Update to the DC Comprehensive Plan

• Tanya Stern, Deputy Director for Panning, Engagement and Design (Office of Planning) (tanya.stern@dc.gov)
• Visual presentation given. Topics Included:
• The Vision: Planning an Inclusive City
• The Comprehensive Plan: District Element
  • Themes of 2006 Comprehensive Plan (previous plan)
  • Area Elements
  • Upper Northeast Area Element
  • Citywide Elements
  • Future Land Use Map
  • Generalized Policy Map
• Why Amending the Comprehensive Plan?
  • Continual Population Growth: 672,2278 in 2015; ~680,000 in 2016; ~987,200 by 2045
• New Resilience Element
  • Draft definition of Resilience
  • “…to thrive in an inclusive manner, amid challenging conditions…”
• Process for Comprehensive Plan Amendment
  • Project Kickoff – late 2016
  • Formal Amendment Process – late 2017
  • Local & Federal Approvals – mid 2018
• All comp plan information is online: www.plandc.dc.gov
• Colleen Willger (Office of Planning) (colleen.willger@dc.gov)
  • Has its own boundaries, which are different from Ward boundaries.
    • How Comp Plan Supports DC Residents (a high;-level policy)
• Member Concerns
  • Disappearance/erosion of green spaces
  • Increased development that does not appear to be consistent with the existing plan
  • Development in appropriate places; that does not remove green spaces
  • Proper buffering for new development to protect residential areas
  • Increased density in a predominantly single-family residential area
  • Senior housing should be a component of the future plan
  • Impose historic preservation protections to the oldest areas
  • Affordable housing preservation where it exists; offer incentives
  • Developers need to provide more incentives for infrastructure
  • Control increase in population growth
  • Maximizing urban tree canopy to protect existing trees
  • Industrial areas should be rezoned for more constructive land uses
  • Does comprehensive plan deal with concerns like clean water?
  • With Mayor’s initiative about a reduction in automobiles, does the comprehensive plan deal with the potential of evacuation in the event of an emergency?
• Joe Barrios (former ANC 5B04)
  • Stressed that comp plan is very important, not just ‘shelf material’.
  • DC Zoning Commission must abide by it, or provide a very good argument for straying from it.
  • This map is for future development, not existing.
  • Joshua Gaffari – Project Manager on the Comprehensive Plan

Item 6: Other Community Concerns

Meeting adjourned at 8:58 PM.