A local governing body during its meeting Wednesday rebutted a zoning appeal that an unincorporated group of West End locals filed last month to prevent The Aston unhoused shelter from admitting residents.
The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission passed a resolution opposing the West End D.C. Community Association’s October appeal filed to the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment in an attempt to thwart the operations of The Aston, a former GW dorm on New Hampshire Avenue that D.C. officials opened as an unhoused shelter earlier this month. The resolution states that two commissioners toured the building on Nov. 6 and believe the shelter will operate similarly to how it did as a residence hall, refuting WEDCCA’s claim that it would violate local zoning laws by operating as an emergency shelter and providing medical care.
ANC Chair and 2A03 Commissioner Trupti Patel, who toured the unhoused shelter, said the building had no medical facility and that the shelter will have computers available to residents for their personal use. The resolution states that The Aston plans to host residents for two to five months while they find permanent housing, a similar duration to students staying for a semester.
“The building could be described as beautiful,” Patel said. “We got to tour the amenities of the space, to see the space. It is literally the same footprint of what The Aston was when it belonged to The George Washington University. The city has just updated it.”
The resolution comes after the BZA on Nov. 6 rejected WEDCCA’s request to postpone the shelter’s opening and expedite a Jan. 29 hearing when BZA members will decide whether The Aston violates zoning laws. WEDCCA’s appeal to the BZA marks the group’s third attempt to block The Aston from operating as a shelter after the group filed a pair of near identical lawsuits in July 2023 and October 2023, respectively. A District judge will hear the case for the second lawsuit on Feb. 7.
In the ANC’s final meeting of the term, commissioners also endorsed plans to renovate the park at 26 and I streets and approved final revisions to the body’s bylaws.
Here are some of the meeting’s highlights:
ANC supports 26th and I Street Park construction project
The commission unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Department of General Services’ scaled-back plans to improve accessibility and equipment at the 26th and I Street Park. Renovations will include new benches, bike racks and ADA-compliant ramps connecting the dog park, playground and plaza, according to DGS’s presentation to the commission.
The renovation effort, which the ANC endorsed in April, was frustrated in July when contractors found the roots of ”heritage trees” on the property where officials planned to expand the dog park. Jackson said a scaled-down renovation could go forward but the construction would be at risk of being stopped by Urban Forestry, the agency responsible for protecting trees with a circumference of greater than 50 inches.
The Public Space Committee will consider the project on Dec. 19 before the team receives final approval from the District Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, with construction expected to begin in late spring of 2025, Project Executive Bert Jackson said.
ANC disapproves IMF PUD
Commissioners passed a resolution 4-1 in opposition to the International Monetary Fund’s application submitted late last month to remove references to a library reading room in their Planned Unit Development.
When the IMF moved into Foggy Bottom in 1994, local organizations and neighbors voiced concerns about the displacement of community services located in an alley they proposed to close, which prompted IMF developers to offer to build a library reading room in the Fund’s Headquarters. But Zachary Williams, an attorney representing the IMF, said the library reading room never materialized because of security concerns following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center that disallowed the public from entering the IMF’s headquarters.
“The security protocols of post-9/11 at the IMF don’t allow these public uses the way they were originally envisioned,” said Williams.
Commissioner Patel led the opposition, saying that the Commission would need clarification on the IMF’s plans to offer an alternative space.
“I would rather we get a definitive answer from the IMF,” Patel said. “That is what engagement is about.”
ANC approves surgical center, French restaurant
Commissioners unanimously approved Capital Surgical Center’s application to open a multi-specialty ambulatory surgical center at 2112 F Street, where the medical group already operates a plastic surgery center. CSC’s presentation to the ANC stated that the group plans to provide D.C. residents with surgical wound care reconstruction and podiatry services and care for underserved populations like unhoused, elderly and uninsured individuals.
The ANC also unanimously granted Bar Angie, a French restaurant planned to open at 2300 N Street, a license to serve alcohol. The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration will meet on Dec. 23 for a final roll-call vote on the application, including consideration of any protests filed against it before the protest deadline of Dec. 2.
Commissioners approve final bylaws revisions
The Commission unanimously voted to adopt revisions to the body’s bylaws developed by the Bylaws Special Committee after 2A05 Commissioner Luke Chadwick read them for the second time after he presented the first round of revisions at the ANC’s October meeting. Commissioners created the committee in February to ensure ANC’s internal governance aligns with D.C. code.
The committee developed revisions over a period of six meetings, and changes include clarifying the boundaries of each single-member district and adjusting the beginning of ANC terms.
Commissioners support Vacant to Vibrant, oppose ERAP reform
The ANC unanimously passed a resolution in support of the D.C. Council’s Vacant To Vibrant Amendment Act 2024, a bill that would provide a variety of tax incentives to spur the development of vacant and blighted properties in the District.
The resolution states that two neighboring vacant and blighted Foggy Bottom properties — 2505 I Street NW and 2507 I Street NW — have presented dangers for locals. The resolution pointed to a December 2020 gas leak at 2505 I Street and stated that at 2507 I Street, an individual crawled through the broken boards into the basement and passed away due to a drug overdose in January 2020.
The governing body also passed a resolution 3-2 urging the D.C. Council to remove part of its Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Act that would eliminate pauses on evictions for nonpayments if the renter has applied for D.C.’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The resolution also requests that D.C. officials increase the speed of processing ERAP requests and require landlords to forgive overdue rent if they refuse to engage with the ERAP application process.
