After an ANC-less August, last night’s Advisory Neighborhood Committee agenda featured bikes, break-ins, and a daunting backup of private projects.

Bicycle Races

The next major topic of discussion was the highly-anticipated Capital Bikeshare program. DDOT spokesman Chris Holben announced that the two-year old SmartBike project—the first public bike-sharing program in the US—has been so successful that the city will expand it to 100 new locations and 1,100 bikes.

The new plan will include three locations in Georgetown, two of which have already been discussed and agreed upon—a spot on K Street next to the House of Sweden and on Wisconsin next to the Canal Bridge. The candidates for third location included the stretch of sidewalk right outside the University’s front gates and the intersection at Prospect and 35th, adjacent to the Car Barn.

The ANC voted to continue its support of the first two locations and, despite complaints from residents wary of potential increased noise, voted six to one in favor of the 37th and N location.

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Monday’s Advisory Neighborhood Committee meeting was short on entertainment, but awfully long on just about everything else.

Topics included how to ease the traffic jams at the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, a monthly public safety report, some complaints about the Alcohol Beverage Control Board’s moratorium, and a University’s ten-year plan—but sadly, it wasn’t Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan. Let’s get to the wrap:

Ed Solomon: Private Eye

In what we can only imagine was a long-gestating dream, Commissioner Ed Solomon delivered the evening’s public safety report after MPD Lieutenant Jon Hedgecock couldn’t attend the meeting.

“As far as crime in our area, it’s still basically what we reported last month,” Solomon said as he presumably imagined himself chasing down petty crooks and arresting bank robbers. “It’s trending down but there’s been some high-visibility crime in our neighborhood.”

According to Solomon, who we hope dons a mask and fights crime on the streets of Georgetown, MPD plans to move extra police officers from Friday and Saturday nights to “other higher crime nights.”

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Last night’s Advisory Neighborhood meeting was pretty long for my taste. Discussion included streetcars and the ANC’s preference for having them built without overhead wires and without dedicating an entire lane of traffic to their operation—but aside from that, (and streetcars aren’t even coming to Georgetown until after an environmental review that will start in 2012 or 2013) there wasn’t much more to it, as far as Georgetown students are concerned, than extended bar and restaurant hours and public safety improvements. Here’s the wrap:

Dining in the wee small hours of the morning

What’s that old saying? When the mice are away, the Advisory Neighborhood Catmissioners will unanimously pass a resolution that allows every bar in Georgetown to seek permission to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday for the entire month that the FIFA World Cup is taking place, with less than five minutes of discussion … and will play?

Something like that. But that’s pretty long for an aphorism, so let me break it down a little further.

At last night’s ANC meeting, commissioners responded to a bill passed by the D.C. City Council that will allow D.C. bars to seek exemptions to open at 7 a.m. from June 11 – July 11 for the World Cup.

Bars still need permission from their respective ANCs to seek an exemption from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, however, and Vox‘s guess is that if Georgetown University was still chock full of students, this would have been a serious issue.

But like we said, there was only about five minutes of mild discussion. Under D.C. law, bars can start serving at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Sunday, but few Georgetown bars are actually licensed to open that early. The ANC resolution will not only allow bars to seek exemptions from ABRA  to open at 7 a.m. but also to serve alcohol during the revised hours for the entire month of the World Cup, provided they serve food and open their outdoor seating areas at their normal hours only. (In one of our favorite parts of the meeting, commissioners wondered why bars had to open so early for the World Cup. Student Commissioner Aaron Golds (COL ’11) explained that it’s because the World Cup was being held in South Africa this year).

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With everyone’s favorite amateur photog soliciting ANC support, a bi-decennial liquor license moratorium discussion, a Late Night Shots founder pushing for greater leeway for his new restaurant, and a debate about the relative merits of pizza and crepes as drunk food, May’s ANC meeting was about as exciting as they come.

Stalker Becomes Stalkee? DrunkenGeorgetownStudents.com founder Stephen R. Brown made an appearance yesterday’s meeting, donning a Canadian Tuxedo and asking the ANC to make a statement against students threatening residents. Brown claimed he has been stalked and threatened by students because of his website. Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino chimed in her support, saying that she knows of other residents who have been threatened and intimidated by students.

The ANC did not make an official motion on the issue, but they did do some speechifying against harassment. ANC Chair Ron Lewis declared, “We abhor threats to our residents” and encouraged Brown to work with the Metropolitan Police Department to address the issue. Lt. John Hedgcock said he was aware of one incident of threatening behavior towards Brown and that MPD is “actively investigating” it.

Crêpe Amour: The Next Philly P? When campus media was looking to anoint the heir to Philly P, they largely left out Crêpe Amour, the new M Street creperie. But the ANC has their suspicions about the restaurant, which is petitioning to extend its operating hours. The restaurant went into yesterday’s meeting hoping to secure permission to operate 24 hours a day. But the ANC, still healing its Philly P-induced wounds, was not having it.

“We’ve been through such incredible brain damage right around the corner,” Commissioner Bill Skelsey said. “What’s the difference between crepes and pizza?”

Crêpe Amour’s representative tried to back away from the 24-hour request, floating a 2 a.m. closing time instead, and the ANC’s Student Representative Aaron Golds testified that drunk college students actually are not equally fond of crepes and jumbo slices, but in the end the ANC agreed that further meetings would be necessary to hammer out an agreement.

After the jump, read about the exciting world of Voluntary Agreements and liquor license moratoriums!

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Tuesday night’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting may be remembered by historians as the start of a new chapter in the Georgetown neighborhood crusade against late night takeout eateries. Plus, MPD reaffirms its commitment to increased patrols in the neighborhood in response to recent burglaries. Here’s the wrap:

MPD is on the job

Early in the meeting, Lieutenant John Hedgecock of the Metropolitan Police Department presented his report on crime in the Georgetown neighborhood.

“Throughout the Second District we are seeing a large increase in burglaries,” Hedgecock said.

He noted that there had been 12 burglaries in the past month, and that in one instance, four masked men had entered a house and robbed it. He also noted that in a recent robbery a neighborhood resident was beaten until he required hospitalization. Hedgecock said that MPD had partnered with the University and had increased uniform and nonuniform presence in the area.

Oh crêpe, not again

About an hour and 45 minutes into the meeting, a small M Street business, Crêpe Amour, presented a request for changes to its Alcoholic Beverage Control License. The request, presented by Sri Suku on behalf of his father, who owns the business, is necessary if the business is to go ahead with its plan to remain open past midnight.

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This month’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting lacked the kind of heated debate that can often break out on the second floor of the Georgetown Visitation School, but it did feature an appearance from Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans that spiced things up a little.

Evans’ appearance gave the crowd on hand an opportunity to ask some greater-D.C.-related questions, which touched on the District of Columbia’s current budget issues, the city’s response to the massive snowstorm in February, and the possibility of statehood—all in all, more civic-minded questions than the ones residents asked of Evans last year, such as a question about getting those infernal trolley tracks taken out of P Street.

Evans seemed uninterested in pursuing statehood at the moment. Why?

“It’s not in the cards right now. I hate to say this about one of my colleagues, but every time Marion Barry does crazy things it feeds right into Congress’ view that he could be elected mayor again and God forbid if they had control over their affairs what could happen then? I was talking with Northrop Grumman about relocating and his name came up, and that’s a problem,” Evans said.

The meeting also included a brief presentation from Georgetown Energy, a Georgetown student-run not-for-profit organization that is advocating the implementation of rooftop solar technology across the District.

Anthony Conyers (COL ’12), Peter Nulsen (COL ’12) and Jessica Robbins (SFS ’12) accompanied Mike Meaney (SFS ’12), who directly addressed the ANC about Georgetown Energy’s campaign.

He emphasized the financial sense of installing solar panels on roofs, noting that the typical Georgetown home would receive a net profit of $30,000 over a 30-year period by installing solar panels.

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Monday night’s marathon Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting was one of the most contentious in recent memory, with most of the meetings devoted to a controversial Department of Parks and Recreation agreement with the private Maret School for developing a new artificial surface and pool at Jelleff Field, located on 3625 S Street NW.

But first, other orders of business: Apart from the controversial Jelleff Field matter, the ANC passed a resolution expressing its support for renewing a five-year moratorium on liquor licenses in Georgetown, meaning no new liquor stores will open in the neighborhood.

The Commissioners also briefly reflected on Philly Pizza and Grill, noting in passing that they expect it “to be taken care of” on February 9, when the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment convenes to make a decision about Philly P’s appeal of the revocation of its license, which Philly Pizza very well may lose.

Georgetown is also set to lose three stoplights. After a successful experiment to see if a four-way stop would be as effective as a stoplight in controlling traffic using blinking red lights, the Department of Transportation will replace those stoplights—at 33rd and Q Street, 34th and Q Street, and 34th and Reservoir—with stop signs.

Jelleff Field: In what appears to be an increasing hallmark of the Fenty administration, the DPR agreement was characterized by its utter lack of transparency, occurring with neither competitive bidding nor community input.

Just two weeks ago, Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) disclosed in a press conference that the deal with the Maret School would grant the private institution exclusive use of the new field from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekday afternoon for the next two ten years. In exchange, the Maret School will be installing a $2.5 million upgrade to the facilities.

The agreement had slipped entirely under the radar of the ANC, so the tension was palpable as representatives from several community organizations took the floor before an unusually packed audience.

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In December, unplowed side streets disappointed commissioners

On Monday, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission kicked off the New Year with a relatively empty slate of issues, due mostly to the fact that the Old Georgetown Board doesn’t meet in January. Vox couldn’t be there, but afterwards, we caught up with student Commissioner Aaron Golds (COL `11) to hear what happened.

Among the business that did take place, citizens of Liechtenstein will be happy to know that the ANC approved a public space permit for a flagpole for their nation’s embassy on K Street.

The ANC also received an update that the Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue should reopen according to schedule in May. They responded to some construction issues on 35th Street and reviewed the District Department of Transportation’s response to the massive blizzard that enveloped D.C. just a few weeks ago.

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They’re still not OK with this

This month’s ANC meeting was low on the fireworks, but neighbors turned out to protest valet parking by the Georgetown Club and continue their battle against late night pizza.

Philly Pizza

Philly P has been a common topic of discussion at ANC meetings this year, with neighbors loudly grumbling about late-night patrons of the restaurant (read: students).  The discussion was largely a rehashing of old complaints, but Commissioners passed an important resolution for the upcoming January 12 hearing with the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment.  The resolution allowed ANC Commissioners to present their findings at the upcoming Zoning hearing and act as a party with full rights to present evidence and testify.

Student Commissioner Aaron Golds voted against the resolution, which passed by a vote of 5-1.

Commissioners and residents remain steadfast in their efforts to shut down Philly Pizza, charging that it is a fast food restaurant.

Georgetown Club Valet Parking

A surprising amount of time at yesterday’s meeting went to discussing the parking arrangement for the Georgetown Club, located at 1530 Wisconsin Ave.  Neighbors complained that valet parking was creating a public safety hazard by blocking traffic on Volta Place.  ANC Commissioners also chastised the establishment for failing to send a representative to the meeting.  A resolution was unanimously passed  that encouraged the Public Safety Board to allow valet parking at night during a special trial period to ensure the Club was responsive to neighbor complaints.

The rest of the meeting, after the jump!

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What a wild night at the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, with neighbors turning out for proposals about developing Georgetown’s post office (above) into apartments and shoring up the foundations on O and P Streets. First, though, University business.

Science Building Construction: About two years ago, the Office of Zoning granted Georgetown the right to build the new science building and an athletic training facility, as well as make alterations to the multi-sports facility. Then the recession happened.

With Georgetown’s construction on all projects stalled for lack of money, Assistant Vice President for External Relations Linda Greenan asked the ANC to approve the University’s application to the Office of Zoning to extend the amount of time it has to do the constructions by two years, until November 23rd, 2011.

The ANC unanimously approved a resolution drafted by Chairman Ron Lewis and student representative Aaron Golds (COL ’11) to support Georgetown’s plan. Still, Greenan said, there are no plans on when to start construction on any of the buildings.

“It awaits money,” she said. She added that Georgetown has applied for federal stimulus money to construct the new science building.

This issue also gave Golds a chance to shine as student commissioner, and he took it. You might think plans put on hold by the economic crisis that had not been changed at all wouldn’t receive much opposition, but you have not met the neighbors. Golds pre-empted public complaints by explaining how terrible Georgetown’s facilities can be, and how desperately they need to be updated.

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