Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met on June 10 via Zoom. Commissioners Bob Link (6DO1, vice chair), Ronald Collins (6D02, treasurer), Gail Fast (6D03), Andrea Pawley (6D04), Chearie Phelps-El (6D05), Bruce Levine (6D06, secretary) and Fredrica (Rikki) Kramer (6D07, chair) and Rhonda Hamilton (6D08) were in attendance.
DC Housing Authority (DCHA) Deputy Executive Nicole Wickliffe visited the commission to answer questions regarding the agency’s plans for the redevelopment of Greenleaf Gardens. Executive Director Pettigrew had been scheduled to attend, but was unable to .
DCHA has been placing non-seniors in the Greenleaf Senior high rise, stated Chair Kramer, citing adverse impacts on existing senior residents. DCHA has always operated the Greenleaf Senior building as senior housing. However, it was never officially designated as such, Wickliffe stated. Therefore, DCHA restricts asg vacant units to the elderly, she added.
What is the status of the rehabilitation of the Greenleaf Senior Building? asked Treasurer Collins. It was to be the first step in the redevelopment of Greenleaf, he pointed out. The plan has changed, Wickliffe stated. All of Greenleaf’s buildings are now considered obsolete, she said. In other words, the cost of rehabilitation exceeds the cost of replacement. Therefore, she said, DCHA is moving to redevelop the entire site. The agency plans to submit a Section 18 obsolesce application to US Housing Authority (HUD),” she stated. This will garner the agency more resources to fully replace all the buildings. The earlier master development agreement is still in place and the development partner remains the same.
The rent at Greenleaf has increased significantly, stated Commissioner Phelps-El. “The contractors are doing more damage to the building than they are fixing. The families moving in to Greenleaf Senior are not managing their children, creating an enormous amount of noise and disruption, she said. Commissioner Hamilton seconded her concerns.
The lack of progress on Greenleaf “harms the entire Southwest Community,” stated Commissioner Pawley.
Pawley castigated the agency’s ineffective public engagement with the larger Southwest community. The redevelopment is a concern to more than its public housing residents, she said, urging the agency to engage with the commission more fully.
Pepco Buzzard Point Projects
Pepco is installing Gas Insulated Switch Gear (GIS) and a new transformer on the southwest portion of its Buzzard Point Substation, according to Pepco Principal Project Manager Stephen Hoskins. He described the installation as about the size of a tractor trailer. The construction will start in August 2024 with completion in the first quarter of 2025, he said, with no work planned in public space. Workers will park on the property. The chair requested a more formal dialogue once Pepco has settled on a project contractor.
Once the GIS project is done, Pepco will replace the fence on V Street to improve security, said Pepco Project Manager Bardarch Sergelen. Cameras will be affixed to posts along the entire perimeter, the existing control house will be demolished and replaced with a new security data enclosure, he said. The gates will also be replaced and the front of the building will be left open with simple landscaping, he added.
A big 10-foot black security barrier is not a visual improvement, stated Chair Kramer, characterizing it as a “prison fence.” Kramer further complained about the blown-out windows currently in the front façade. “The primary driver for this is security,” stated Pepco External Relations Manager Linda Greenan. Nothing can be done to obscure the fence, she added. “We are open to doing something. Let’s talk about it,” Greenan said.
Pepco Environmental Manager Dave Waldron addressed the issues related to the decommissioning of the Buzzard Point Steam Plant Building. The structure, designated historic in 2022, was taken offline in 1981, he said. However, the plant was never decommissioned and the equipment inside has remained intact.
Pepco, Waldron stated, plans to remove legacy equipment within the plant, abating any HAZMAT issues beginning in 2025. There will be no impact to the community, stated Waldron. Pepco’s long-term plan is to move its outdoor substation into the building, he said. This equipment will likely occupy the entire building, he added.
“We were not told it would remain an active substation. How much radiation are you going to expose the community to?” asked Commissioner Hamilton. The adjacent outdoor equipment is now operating as a transmission substation and is merely being relocated inside, said Greenan.
Pepco needs both the neighboring residential and the distribution substations, Pepco Senior Environmental Manager Jamie Hill stated. However, future use of the site is still to be determined. First, Pepco must remediate the building under the supervision of DC Dept. of Energy and the Environment, she said.
Chair Kramer requested a construction traffic management plan for each of the Pepco projects.
DOEE Grants Vulcan Concrete a Draft Permit
The DC Dept. of Energy and the Environment (DDOE) has issued a draft permit for the Vulcan Materials Buzzard Point concrete plant, stated DDOE Air Quality Associate Director Hannah Ashenafi.
Chief of the Permitting Branch Stephen Ours outlined draft permit’s new operational requirements:
- quarterly wash downs of S Street SW;
- twice daily wet sweeps of the facility’s grounds to minimize dust track out;
- installation of an onsite truck wash;
- the required cleaning of all cement vehicles after loading compete prior to leaving;
- the implementation of a DOEE approved dust control plan for the entire facility;
- the installation of conveyor belts covers;
- additional emission limits for total suspended particular matter from the main exhaust point;
- increased air quality monitoring of facility including a one-year installation of fence sensors for coarse ad fine particulate matter;
- new maintenance and monitoring plans for the dust collectors controlling emissions from the plants silos and the cement weight batcher;
- engine idling requirements;
- the posting of no idling signs and annual training on engine idling for company drivers;
Commissioner Hamilton commended the agency for incorporating community comments into the new permit. How does the community know that the allowed release of particulates will not threaten health? she asked. Why didn’t the permit require Vulcan to upgrade its equipment? she asked. The agency cannot require such upgrades on a permit renewal, stated Ours.
No to Merchant Marinna
Secretary Levine briefed his colleagues on his and Vice Chair’s Link’s meeting with the Wharf Association and Hoffman & Associates concerning the application to the DC Zoning Commission (DCZC) for a Modification of Consequence to permit the Merchant Marinna Sports Bar at M Street Landing. The commission voted to oppose the project at its last meeting.
The Wharf and Hoffman have requested the commission reconsider its decision before the DCZC hearing at the end of June. Citing the vanishing amount of pedestrian space at The Wharf, Commissioner Phelps-Il urged commissioners maintain their opposition. Commissioner Fast agreed questioning the necessity of any change. Emphasizing the strength of the ANC’s position due to the DC Office of Planning opposition to the application, Chair Kramer concurred along with Treasurer Collins. “They haven’t done anything we can see and it does not seem to be an honest effort,” Pawley. “I would like us to stick to our guns,” added Commissioner Pawley.
Other Matters
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Captain McCall Tyler briefed the commission on public safety. Theft from autos during the summer remain a particular concern, stated Tyler. Criminals are targeting construction workers’ vehicles for tool thefts. Tyler encouraged all residential buildings to conduct MPD safety assessments. Motor vehicle theft and robberies also are down, he said. There was a shooting at 325 P St. SW, which has been the site of previous shootings. MPD is devoting more attention to the area, Tyler stated.
DC Office of Unified Communications Chief of Operations Marcelius Walker Jr. briefed the commission on District’s 311 system. The agency does not close out requests, he stated. Commissioners commended the utility of the system.
Dante Partners Vice President for Development Joel Patterson asked the commission to a two-year extension for the Westminster Church Planned Unit Development (PUD). The project has not changed, he said. Patterson said the time was necessary to secure fianancing for the project. The commission voted unanimously to the extension.
Commissioner Fast moved send a letter to the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) summarizing the commission views of agency’s “The Better Bus Plan.” Chair Kramer opposed her motion due to its late submission 48 hours before the meeting. Fast offered to circulate a draft for commissioner’s comments. Kramer expressed frustration at not voting on a final document. Fast emphasized the time sensitive nature of the letter. Her motion ed with three abstentions.
DOEE’s Office of Waterways Management Kara Pennino briefed commission on her new office, which is charged with promoting and facilitating stakeholder cooperation for the diverse uses of access to the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.
The commission voted to:
- approve the CA with Hen Quarter with the alterations required by DC Alcohol and Cannabis istration (ABCA);
- protest a liquor license of Fogo de Chao at 760 Maine Ave. SW on the grounds of peace, order and quiet in absence of a cooperative agreement.
ANC 6D meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month. The next meeting is July 8. For more information, visit www.anc6d.org.
