Members of a local governing body say the Foggy Bottom and West End community lost a crucial oversight measure when the group’s failure to reach a legally mandated five-person quorum in November’s election revoked its ability to conduct official business.
Only four members earned seats in the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s November election, forcing the D.C. Board of Elections to revoke the group’s ability to conduct formal business, like approving alcohol license applications and developing agreements between real estate developers and residents. Commissioners said the ANC’s lack of governing power revokes its oversight over development projects that could harm neighbors and its ability to advocate on behalf of residents to the D.C. Council as community issues pile up.
“The longer this goes on, the more of an impact it’s going to cause, and the more the community is going to feel it,” 2A08 Commissioner Jim Malec said.
ANCs receive notice for public space and construction permits, land use changes, alcohol license applications and other actions taken by independent agencies, according to D.C. Code. ANCs can file resolutions in support or opposition, which are given “great weight” by agencies, meaning the governing bodies must articulate their decision with “explicit reference to each of the Commission’s issues and concerns,” per D.C. Code.
The Foggy Bottom and West End ANC has never failed to elect enough members to reach quorum in recent memory, though the group intermittently struggled with meeting quorum due to a lack of attendance in its last two-year term. Two locals, Keaton Dicapo and Sean Youngstone, intend to run for the seats representing single-member districts 2A01 and 2A09, respectively, in a special election to fill the vacancies next month.
Malec said the “most significant” effect of the lack of quorum is the body’s inability to file formal protests, which express dissent to plans like businesses’ applications for liquor licenses or construction permits. Malec said the ANC’s protests often serve as catalysts for community benefits agreements that mitigate the issues or disruptions the ANC foresees a project will cause.
Malec said in the short term, the ANC’s lack of quorum won’t have large implications, but as time goes on, the ANC will likely see applications that “require a greater degree of scrutiny,” which the body won’t be able to “appropriately” handle if vacancies persist.
He added that the individual commissioners can still work on “problems on the ground,” like helping community members ensure that the District removes snow from sidewalks or collects trash.
Commissioners in September voiced concerns about proposed rent prices at long-vacant office building at 2100 M Street, which real estate firm Post Brothers plans to convert into an apartment and price at $4,000 per month for a studio apartment.
The unease prompted a community benefits agreement, a legally binding contract, that required Post Brothers to disburse funds to local organizations, like Miriam’s Kitchen and the Foggy Bottom Association and establish an apprenticeship program during construction that will prioritize the participation of those living in The Aston — a former GW residence hall that D.C. converted to an unhoused shelter in November — or visit Miriam’s Kitchen.
Malec said when the ANC doesn’t formally protest a proposal, the District agency typically doesn’t view it as a vote against the project. He said that if the ANC supports a project, the community won’t face any disruptions or issues, unlike if the ANC opposes a plan.
“It’s much different when we’re talking about something that the commission has a problem with,” Malec said. “In those cases, we really have no voice in the matter and certainly no way to really start a negotiation.”
2A03 Commissioner Trupti Patel said the ANC’s ability to pass resolutions is essential to hold District government stakeholders accountable for overseeing The Aston. She said the ANC’s oversight could help ensure that the shelter adheres to “high standards of excellence” and that D.C. officials allocate more funds for maintenance if The Aston’s operations require it.
The D.C. Council allocated $300,000 for necessary roof repairs for The Aston in June after the ANC in April sent two resolutions to city officials requesting that the shelter secure funding from D.C. to repair the building’s roof in 2025 instead of 2028, as the Department of General Services projected.
“These are things that I view as absolutely critical and necessary for ANC 2A’s ability to be the voice of the people that we represent,” Patel said. “It’s personally frustrating to not be able to say with a united voice some of the issues that deeply impact our residents.”
Will Crane, the vice president of the Foggy Bottom Association, said he’s concerned that the ANC’s inability to endorse business permit requests could hinder business owners’ ability to open or maintain businesses in the neighborhood, particularly because of the existing deficit of people working downtown.
He said he wishes the ANC had the power to lobby the District government to ensure unhoused people in the neighborhood have shelter from the cold. But Crane said the implications of the body’s inability to conduct official business are unclear to him and other community members.
“They’ve told the community that they cannot conduct business, but from what I’ve heard, I’m not alone, that people don’t seem to understand what the official business is,” Crane said.
Crane said the lead-up to the opening of The Aston “drew the neighborhood apart” and prompted a lack of civility that “permeated” through the area. West End locals have engaged in legal battles attempting to prevent The Aston from opening, and the ANC had to adjourn its July 2023 meeting pertaining to The Aston early due to infighting.
Crane said he’s lived in Foggy Bottom for more than 20 years and has never seen the ANC fail to reach an elected quorum.
“Having this be a volunteer position that asks you to be publicly, like for the last ANC, publicly ridiculed and ripped apart and having these uncivil meetings,” Crane said. “I mean, why would anyone want to serve on that board?”
