June ANC Meeting--Almost Normal

Well, whaddya know...an almost normal ANC meeting. The bar is set pretty low, of course, but at least it didn't degenerate into a shouting session. Martin got the whole thing on tape (no static on that, so maybe that point is finally settled), but if you don't have the sitzfleisch to watch the whole thing, here are a few observations from your humble blogger:

The treasurer's report and minutes of the May meeting were approved unanimously. This may seem pretty humdrum, but it actually represents a breakthrough of sorts, because for the first time the draft documents had been delivered to commissioners Chapple and Padro before the meeting. Alas, this was not the case for the quarterly report, and Chapple moved to table it for that reason. There ensued a long, rather confused discussion about rules of order, but after fifteen minutes or so the tabling motion came to a vote. Brooks voted no, Chapple and Padro voted yes, and I think Curtis voted yes too initially. However, the Parliamentarian then tried his best to get Curtis to change her vote, launching into extended "explanations" of what it all meant. Despite protests that the motion had already been voted on, there was another vote, and maybe another (it was pretty chaotic and I couldn't always hear what was going on), but in the end Curtis abstained, so the motion passed to table it. Another first, I think.

The two written agenda items presenters were no-shows, but Mr. Wang (not sure about the spelling) of the Chinatown Steering Committee alleged that the DC Planning Commission was ignoring or bypassing the committee regarding various approvals. It was unclear to me whether his complaint referred to one of the no-shows (Yemi Wong, regarding a project in the 600 block of H Street) or to a project by the Gould development company on the block bounded by Mass, I, 6th and 7th, but most of the ensuing discussion involved the latter. (This was in part a reprise of an earlier ANC meeting back in October, I think.) Without a lot more background, it's hard to understand exactly what all the discussion is about but the initial complaint seems to be that the DC Planning Commission approved the design of the Gould project without the imprimatur of the Steering Committee. The poor guy from the Planning Commission got lambasted by Thorpe, who basically accused him of not knowing what the rules were. It's hard to tell if the issue is mainly a question of not being sufficiently deferential to the Steering Commitee or if it's really about the latter's dissatisfaction over what they've been able the shake down the Gould operation for. Gould, who was there again, made what seemed to me a pretty convincing case citing numerous meetings with the Steering committee or its sub-committees and concessions made to the Chinese community regarding design, amenities, contributions to organizations, and leasing, etc. He said he had paid Tony Cheng $6.5 million for the property and had offered him a pro rata share of the project, but Cheng opted out. So who knows what the real story is. Despite occasional lip service to preserving the Chinese presence in Chinatown, it mainly seems to be about tussling between rich developers and rich Chinese businessmen.

One interesting note: Thorpe urged Mr. Wang to make a presentation at the next ECCA meeting. Last I heard, the southern limit of ECCA's bailiwick is N Street--a long way from Chinatown. This is the second little indication I've heard recently suggesting that Thorpe sees his sphere of influence as covering a much wider swath of the city than the ECCA presently allegedly represents. An issue for a later date.

The Chinatown discussion took a very loooong time, and ended with a powerpoint presentation showing the project and highlighting derelict buildings and trash that have already been cleaned up in anticipation of construction.

Debby Smith made a quick appeal for support for a day spa she wants to build at the NE corner of 7th and P (1501 7th). The lot is presently owned by the NCRC but it will be disposed of by the DC government and she apparently has prepared the way to acquire it. She alluded to a previous bid for ANC approval, which apparently had been shot down by Thorpe. A fairly heated exchange ensued, but thankfully was cut short. Would be interesting to know the back story.

There was a presentation by the "People's Property Campaign" which is pushing a "Public Property Community Bill of Rights". Basically, there pitch is that no more publicly owned DC property should be sold until a promised inventory is completed, and that if sold its use should be restricted to certain purposes as determined by the community. They have a website. No vote was taken on this. (Wonder if that had something to do with the little "park" on N Street that UHOP would like to acquire.)

Finally, there was a presentation by Roosevelt Cohens who wants to open up a program providing day services for released criminal offenders from his house at 1718 5th Street. Thorpe (who lives nearby) reacted strongly to this, and discussion was cut short and the meeting gavelled closed.

Overall, this was a big improvement over previous meeting. The Parliamentarian still runs the show, speaking whenever he likes for as long as he likes, and either directly deciding who gets to speak or telling Ms. Brooks whom to recognize, and favored people get to go on and on. And rules of order are flouted repeatedly. But still...