The 4B01 Update
April 2006Sara Green, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 4B01
Please Come To Our ANC 4B01 Community Meeting!
When: Wednesday, April 5, 7:00 - 8:45 p.m.
Where: Juanita Thornton
Shepherd Park Library, 7420 Georgia Ave., NW
Agenda: Licensed Group Homes,
Community Concerns & More
Have a request or a question? Your ideas are
welcome.
Licensed Group Homes
There are an increasing number of licensed group homes in our community and that is a concern to many neighbors.
It is the heavy concentration of the homes on a few streets that is objectionable, neighbors say. For example, there are licensed group homes in four out of the 11 single-family homes in the 800-block of Fern Place. These are adjacent to each other and back up to other licensed group homes on Floral Place. The residents cite problems with noise, trash and parking.
D.C. Zoning Regulations permit up to six residents per home without restriction. Homes with 7 or 8 people are allowed, but they must be 1,000 feet apart. Right now, no one in city government will give us a list of the addresses of the licensed group homes in our neighborhood. We're gathering information about the location of the homes here, so please call if you have an experience or a concern to share.
How To Contact ANC 4B01 Sara Green
See
my web page http://www.geocities.com/ancsaragreen/ANCPage.html with news updates, documents and more!
Want to get email notices
about upcoming community meetings and issues? Just email me and I'll add you
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Some highlights from the March 23, 2006 ANC 4B meeting:
SAFEWAY UPDATE
Safeway executives announced an upcoming $6 million renovation of the store at 6500 Piney Branch Road. They would not comment on their request to sell beer and wine there.
The city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is still considering issues from Safeway's 2003 application to sell beer and wine and is expected to issue a decision in April. A majority of registered voters within 600 feet of the store signed a referendum petition opposing the sale.
Residents noted problems with trash, dirty floors and long lines. They also shared receipts showing the store charged the incorrect amount for sales taxes.
Safeway executives agreed to consider: 1) asking employees to walk with the Orange Hats to pick up trash; 2) putting trash cans on the streets around the store and emptying them; and, 3) installing price checking devices similar to those used by Target. Stay tuned!
WALTER REED's FUTURE
A decision on which government agencies might get the Walter Reed Army Medical Center site and tentative information about how the site will be used when the hospital facilities there close will be made in mid April, said a base spokesman.
A $1,000 GRANT TO TEACH LIFE SKILLS
The commission awarded a $1,000 grant to the Black Aesthetics Institute for a Saturday program that will teach about 30 Coolidge High School students life skills, like how to interview for a job. The students will also produce a film.
ANC 4B's NEXT PUBLIC MEETING
When: Thursday, April 27, 7 - 9 p.m.
Where: Place To Be Announced
HELP FOR WARD 4 SENIORS
Know a Ward 4 senior who needs help?
Age In Place helps seniors stay in their homes by providing the services people need. Part of Christian Community Group Homes, the program operated in Ward 5 for 10 years before adding Ward 4 to its service area.
All services are provided free of charge and are available to those who own or rent. They include mowing lawns and other yard work, house cleaning, painting, and many larger projects, such as installing wheelchair ramps. Call Tawana Moore at (202) 635-9384, ext. 105
April 29 Event Asks What Ward 4 Teens Think
One Ward 4 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner thinks teens are being ignored in plans to upgrade Georgia Avenue. Community groups are looking at improving "the Avenue" from Shaw to Eastern Avenue.
Steve Whatley, a commissioner from ANC 4A, wants to hear what teens think about the kind of businesses we should attract and what other improvements we need. He is hosting a youth forum on April 29, 2006, from 2- 5 p.m. at Nativity Church's Colonnade Room, 6000 Georgia Ave., NW. All teens from ANC 4A and ANC 4B are invited. Pizza, door prizes and special guests are featured.
Orange Hats Come Back & Safe Takoma
Residents are reviving the Orange Hat anti-crime patrols. Orange Hats are groups of neighbors who walk around the community for about an hour on assigned evenings. They look out for problems, alert police to suspicious activity and help out by picking up trash and noting abandoned cars, etc.
Also, D.C. and Maryland officials are thinking about funding a coordinator position to work on crime prevention issues that cross the Montgomery County/D.C. border. This proposal is called Safe Takoma, and it will be discussed at future ANC meetings. To join or learn more, contact Julie Guerrero Schor at
jgschor@yahoo.comTakoma Metro Station
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will hold a public hearing, possibly in May 2006, to hear what the community thinks about putting about 90 townhouses with two-car garages on part of the park and parking lot at Takoma Metro Station. This proposal cuts the public parking in half, to about 75 spaces, and would destroy nearly all of the mature trees on the site. Contact ANC 4B01 Sara Green for more information.
B&B Site To Get About 150 Condo Units
Centex, a national builder, is putting about 150 condominiums with underground parking on 7041 Blair Road, N.W. (now the B&B Catering site). The builder will share the latest exterior design drawings at the April 27 ANC 4B meeting, and we want to hear what the community thinks about the design.
Possible New Development on Blair/Eastern/Juniper
A developer might build two small multi-family buildings with a total of 10 units on the small vacant grassy site at the intersection of Blair Road, Eastern Avenue and Juniper Street. This site is in Montgomery County, which has control over the project. The proposal won preliminary county approval several years ago, but that approval will expire unless the county agrees to an extension. The developer has promised to come to a future ANC 4B meeting to present his proposal and answer questions.
Ledo's Pizza Comes To Georgia Avenue
Ledo's Pizza is taking over the now empty Pizza Hut site next to McDonald's on Georgia Avenue. They are expected to open as early as June.
Takoma Library Book Sale Needs Donations
This year's Takoma D.C. Library Book Sale is set for June 3 (Rain Date: June 10) at the Library (5th & Cedar, NW). Proceeds go to the library and clean used books are needed. Donations can be dropped off anytime the library is open.
By Telephone: (202) 829-8802
By Email: ANCSaraGreen@yahoo.com
See my web page http://www.geocities.com/ancsaragreen/ANCPage.html
News updates, documents and more!
Want to get email notices about upcoming community meetings and issues?
Just email me and I'll add you to my email announcement list.