February 22, 2007 Public Meeting - Adopted March 22, 2007

The meeting was held at Lamond Recreation Center, 20 Tuckerman St., NE. It started at around 7:30 p.m., Chair Blondine Hughes (also ANC 4B05) presiding.

Also present when the meeting started were Commissioners 4B01 Sara Green, 4B03 Fred Grant, 4B06 Gloria Palmer, 4B07 Judi Jones, 4B08 Yvonne Jefferson and 4B09 Muriel Bowser. 4B02 Commissioner Faith Wheeler arrived after the minutes were accepted. A quorum was present for all votes.

Votes

1. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote, the Commission accepted Commissioner Green's motion to accept the minutes for Jan. 25, 2007.

2. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote, the Commission approved Commissioner Jones' motion to spend $25 to join the city's ANC Security Fund Program.

3. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote, the Commission adopted Commissioner's Bowser's motion to adopt a resolution in response to concerns voiced by parents and teachers from Whittier Elementary School, 6201 5^th St., NW.

That resolution calls on ANC 4B to write a letter of concern to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, with copies to the D.C. City Council. The letter will tell the Mayor that ANC 4B has been approached by teachers who said they have overwhelmingly voted ''no-confidence" in Principal Natasha Warsaw and are asking to remove her. The letter will also say that ANC 4B has also heard from parents who said they have signed petitions showing parents have no confidence in the principal.

The resolution asks that the Mayor send a neutral person to monitor the school. It also asks that the Commission receive a report on the investigation of the charges within 14 days.

The vote followed a lengthy presentation and discussion during the Community Concerns portion of the meeting. Thirty-five Whittier parents and teachers attended. Speakers included Tenia Pritchard, a Whittier 4^th Grade teacher, Nathan Saunders, of the teachers' union, and Bryant Banks, the school's LSRT chair.

Ms. Pritchard submitted a six-page report listing 58 incidents and issues at the school. Whittier had been "a school of excellence," but "this year it is falling apart," Ms. Pritchard said. She said that there are contract violations, that the

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budget has been approved without LSRT review, that the principal has falsified documents and changed grades without authorization, that the principal wages personal attacks against teachers, that she is not competent and is providing a poor and stressful climate for learning that is visible to students. Ms. Pritchard also said that the school's Blue Ribbon School status is being jeopardized.

In response to Commissioner Bowser's question, Ms. Pritchard said that the system's leadership has responded inappropriately to the complaints and today's meeting with a system official was unsuccessful.

Mr. Banks, who has three students at the school and said he is speaking as a parent, said that teachers are being intimidated. A teachers' union representative was put out of the building, he added. He said that there are more suspensions and detentions in the last five months than there have been in the last five years.

He asked that someone who is completely neutral monitor the school.

Chair Hughes said she attended a large parent meeting where parents were denied access to the auditorium and asked to use a small room instead. She said she knows the school and its teachers well, has grandchildren there, and has seen the recent problems.

The Chair asked Commissioner Grant to walk through the school and ascertain the problems. Whittier is located in Commissioner Grant's Single Member District, 4B03.

4. In a 5-0-3 show-of-hands vote, the Commission accepted Commissioner Bowser's motion to ask Loretta Neumann, of 7124 Piney Branch Rd., NW, to speak about the Takoma Historic Historic District Boundary Expansion Study.

The motion was in response to Commissioner Jones, who said she asked to put the item on the agenda but now wanted to remove it, and did not want Ms. Neumann to speak.

Ms. Neumann explained that a study is proceeding, but there is not yet a proposal. A historian is researching Takoma's architecture and its past, she said. His work and the community's deliberations will continue and the issue will return to ANC 4B for a recommendation before being presented to the city's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for approval, she said. She asked for volunteers for the study committee.

Background materials and a map showing the streets being studied in ANC 4B01, 4B02 and 4B07 were distributed.

5. In a 7-1 show-of-hands vote, the Commission agreed to adopt a motion made by Commissioner Bowser to send the draft letter she distributed to the

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Commission supporting Dakota Square, LLC's variance request before the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA Application No. 17600).

Developers seek a variance from the residential loading berth size requirement in Section 2201.1 of the D.C. Zoning Regulations for its residential units at 300-320 Riggs Road, NE, now a strip mall. The developer proposes building 420 apartments/condos and 85,000 square feet of commercial space. The requested variance would permit a 30-foot loading berth instead of the required 55 feet, and is needed for adequate parking at the residential portion of site, said Architect Geoffrey Griffis. The commercial portion will have the required 55-foot loading berth, he added.

Mr. Griffis detailed the proposal, presented a site plan and maps, and answered questions. A special exception will be requested in the future for a related project on South Dakota Avenue, NE, but at this time the applicant is asking only for the variance, Mr. Griffis said. He also said the developer is negotiating with the District of Columbia to buy a vacant triangle of land adjacent to the project. There will be some "work force" and "affordable" housing, Mr. Griffis said.

Gwen Vample, the secretary of Citizens Aware, a Riggs Park community group, said her organization supports the project and the variance. Ms. Vample said that there have been several community meetings to discuss the project and related issues, particularly traffic and a new street configuration, she said.

Commissioner Wheeler said she supports the proposal. The developer is asking for a small change to build a big project, she said.

Community Concerns

1. A woman said she is concerned about teens staying out too late. She supports a return to the 10 p.m. curfew. She said she is concerned about two area establishments selling cigarettes to minors and selling without checking IDs.

2. Mr. Thomas asked to hear from the D.C. Auditor's Office, as promised last month, about its recent letter to ANC 4B. Chair Hughes said she asked Mr. Lawrence Perry, of that office, to come and speak. Mr. Perry's name was called, during the meeting, but he was not present.

3. Mr. Thomas also said he wants to be certain that all Commissioners and the public have access to ANC documents and the ANC office. Chair Hughes said all Commissioners will have keys to the office and the public will have access to documents, upon request.

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Presentations and Reports

1. Commissioners Wheeler and Palmer each presented packages of ANC 4B documents, including minutes and grant applications, to Paul Montague. Mr. Montague had requested the documents.

Chair Hughes said that Mr. Montague was welcome to ask Commissioners questions about the documents after the meeting ended.

2. Police Officer Heather Straker discussed area crime statistics. There were three car jackings during a one-week period and car thefts are still "high" for the month of February, she said. There are new foot patrol beats throughout the area, she added.

She also warned residents about a scam artist who is going door to door in PSA 402 and 403 asking to shovel sidewalks.

The meeting adjourned at about 9:30 p.m.

----- Submitted by Sara Green, Secretary