In this issue: CCCA Webinar Thursday on Broad Branch Rd., Other DDOT Issues" | Ch/Art Sponsoring a Virtual Exhibition on Thursday | CCCA, Northwest Neighbors Village To Hold Session on Emergencies | DC Plans Could Affect Chevy Chase For Decades | D.C. Schools Abandon Plan to Move Lafayette Pre-K Across Park | Grants Available For Chevy Chase Small Businesses | Some Elementary Students Return to Class; Murch Plans Auction | DC’s Racialized Housing Landscape | Longtime Friends of the Library Volunteer Barbara Parker Dies | Northwest Neighbors Village Schedules February-March Events
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CCCA WEBINAR 7-8 P.M. THURSDAY, FEB. 25 ON BROAD BRANCH ROAD, OTHER DDOT ISSUES' |
CCCA is hosting a Zoom webinar featuring the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) from 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25. The primary topic is the newly released Broad Branch Road Environmental Assessment. DDOT representatives Wayne Wilson and Austina Casey will also answer questions about other traffic and road concerns in the neighborhood. CCCA newsletter editor Ted Gest and environment chair Shelley Hope Cohen will moderate.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82135248999?pwd=bDUzTGQyNlhNVjdDWC9GdWV0Y1Y1Zz09
Passcode: 422265
DDOT and the Federal Highway Administration are proposing rehabilitation of Broad Branch Road between Linnean Avenue and Beach Drive. Before moving the project through final design and construction, an environmental assessment has been prepared in accordance with national environmental guidelines.
The plan’s purpose is to rehabilitate Broad Branch Road to satisfy operational and safety needs in keeping with the setting of the area. Solutions will consider the adjoining land uses - residential developments and wooded areas to the west and Rock Creek Park to the east. Improvements will consider all modes of transportation including bicycles and pedestrians. The current road is dangerous for bikes and cars alike. DDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have been working on the rehabilitation of Broad Branch Road (http://broadbranchrdea.com/) since 2011.
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CCCA will hold its annual membership drive soon. Members should watch their email or snail mail boxes in the next few weeks for a request to renew your membership for 2021. We would appreciate your support as we continue our activities during the pandemic.
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The project has been slowed by the narrow right-of-way of the road, desires to widen it to accommodate a sidewalk and/or a bike lane and limitations caused by potential encroachments by the project on Rock Creek Park and embassy lands owned and occupied by sovereign nations. A revised draft environmental assessment released in October includes a preferred alternative that avoids all encroachments on embassy properties and minimizes encroachments on Rock Creek Park.
The right-of-way was found to be too narrow to include two traffic lanes, a climbing lane for bikes and a sidewalk. |
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CH/ART SPONSORING A VIRTUAL EXHIBITION ON THURSDAY
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Ch/Art is hosting its first virtual exhibition, "We Begin Again" from 5 to 6 pm this Thursday, Feb. 25. A juror and owner of art consulting firm Sightline, Allison Marvin, will comment on her selection process, including opportunities for artists to take questions on their work. To join the special event on Zoom, use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82051378997pwd=WEtYbUxRRFdUOWw3Q3IrVldQRHNzUT09i |
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CCCA, NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS VILLAGE TO HOLD SESSION ON EMERGENCIES
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Mark your calendar for a joint Northwest Neighbors Village and CCCA program from 7 to 8 p.m. Wed., March 17, on Zoom discussing Preparing for the Next Emergency. We will be joined by D.C.’s Fire and Rescue Chief John Donnelly and Ned Sherburne, Fire/Rescue Chief for Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.
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President’s Corner DC PLANS COULD AFFECT CHEVY CHASE FOR DECADES by Robert Gordon |
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We are in the midst of the most consequential policy debate affecting our community for years to come. In my 40 years living in Chevy Chase, I have never seen such a flurry of DC government activities that could alter zoning, land use, traffic patterns, density, inclusivity, and the infrastructure along Connecticut Avenue. This is the fabric of our community and changing it is serious business. Policy recommendations that are being prepared have teeth and will impact the look and feel of Chevy Chase for decades to come. This includes:
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Amendments to the DC’s Draft Comprehensive Plan.
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ANC 3/4G’s feedback regarding Comprehensive Plan Resolutions.
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Designation of north Connecticut Avenue as the “Chevy Chase Gateway”
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ANC 3/4G’s Housing Task Force report on Racism.
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A small area planning process for Chevy Chase to be conducted under the watchful eye of DC Office of Planning.
What are we to make of these government efforts? There are a lot of moving parts. In four monthly installments in the CCCA newsletter, we will tackle the complex issues piece-by-piece. This month’s President’s Corner offers a glimpse of how the pieces of the puzzle fit together and build on each other. In future articles, we will discuss the impact of each policy initiative on Chevy Chase and how to stay informed and involved.
The Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan), now being updated, is an over-arching document that establishes an inclusive, long-term vision for the physical development of the District of Columbia. The purpose of the Comp Plan is to help guide the District’s growth and change. It is meant to offer benefits for both current and future DC residents. The Comp Plan determines broad goals to guide public decision-making with respect to land use and future detailed planning efforts. But the document is about more than lofty hopes; the law requires all decisions by the city’s Zoning Commission accord with the Plan including zoning regulations and capital budgets. The Office of Planning started the updating effort in 2019 and amendments are due to be approved in 2021.
In response, ANC 3/4G created a task force to better understand and influence the Comp Plan’s impact on Chevy Chase. The task force produced the ANC’s Comprehensive Plan Resolutions and submitted them to the DC Office of Planning (OP). OP organized the ANC’s output into twenty-five resolutions that include environmental light pollution, affordable and workforce housing, increasing density along Connecticut Avenue and elsewhere in the neighborhood, building infrastructure (schools and community center/library complex), naming Connecticut Avenue a Chevy Chase Gateway, and requesting a Small Area Plan (SAP).
As a result of the ANC’s efforts and with the support of Council Member Mary Cheh, who secured a $150,000 budget for the effort, Chevy Chase is about to launch an intensive small area planning process for the Connecticut Avenue commercial district core of the community. The process will be overseen by OP officials and members of a Community Advisory Committee on which the Chevy Chase Citizens Association sits.
The public will have a first chance to shape how the process will work at a launch meeting for the plan March 4th starting at 6:30 p.m. Enroll at https://publicinput.com/chevychase/.
The borders of the SAP are shown below. Significantly, the borders are broader and deeper than asked for by the ANC. In further newsletters, we will provide insight into the progress of the deliberations.
Concurrently last year, the ANC created a Task Force on Racism comprised of three working groups addressing racial discrimination in Chevy Chase: 1) Community, 2) Education, and 3) Housing. Given our neighborhoods regrettable past, this is an admirable endeavor. The draft reports describe the injustices of the past and offer recommendations to remedy them in the future. The draft reports are finished, have been circulated, and are currently being debated and voted on by the assembled ANC. The complete reports can be found in the ANC website by clicking on the following:
The reports are viewed in Special Meetings apart from normal ANC business. A coming meeting, probably to be held March 8, will focus on the Housing Work Group Report, its findings, and recommendations. The group’s goal, as stated in the report, is a noble one: to “improve economic and racial diversity and inclusivity in our neighborhood.” The report does an excellent job in describing past legal, financial, and individual wrongdoing in excluding people of color from this neighborhood. The Housing Work Group further states, “The consequences of those policies and practices persist today in the form of elevated housing prices and few affordable housing options for most DC residents.” The report is a worthwhile read for those who want more information about the community’s lamentable history and the recommended approach to remedy that. The CCCA will explore the recommendations in upcoming newsletters, trying to unravel the costs and benefits for those who live and work in Chevy Chase.
All these elements: the ANC’s resolutions to the Comp Plan, the Racism Report, the Small Area Plan comprise the foundational elements of the final amended Comprehensive Plan that will affect us all for a generation to come..
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Additional Resources Shown here are links to some of the key resources that you may wish to review for greater clarity as you consider the consequences of the current policy issues that we have discussed.
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DC SCHOOLS ABANDON PLAN TO MOVE LAFAYETTE PRE-K ACROSS PARK
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Lafayette Elementary School’s Pre-K program probably will shrink from four classes to two in the coming school year because of a lack of space at the recently remodeled school. If only 40 slots are available, it is likely that families with older siblings already attending the school will fill them all. In recent years, the waiting list for Lafayette Pre-K has exceeded 200.
The school system had proposed to move the entire Lafayette Pre-K program to the former LAMB School at 1375 Missouri Ave., N.W., across Rock Creek Park. Many Lafayette parents opposed the plan in a petition and an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G meeting. Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said on Jan. 27 that instead of moving Lafayette Pre-K, DCPS would open a Pre-K at the Missouri Ave. location that would be open to students citywide through a lottery. Ferebee said that, “"As Lafayette continues to grow in enrollment and with few options to accommodate growth onsite, DCPS will continue to partner with the Department of General Services (DGS) to monitor available facilities and locations for future consideration."
ANC 3/4G member Michael Zeldin, whose district includes Lafayette, said the ANC wrote to Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn asking that DCPS begin "serious exploration of both short-term and long-term facilities opportunities to relieve the overcrowding at Lafayette." The ANC mentioned the possibility of leasing the Episcopal Children's Center at Utah and Nebraska Avenues. The ANC has also suggested to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson the need for a long-term solution for overcrowding at Lafayette. |
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GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR CHEVY CHASE SMALL BUSINESSES
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The Chevy Chase Main Street (CCMS) program is offering grants of up to $4,000 for small businesses in the Main Street corridor. Only businesses within the Chevy Chase Main Street boundaries are eligible. Funds can be used for technical assistance, exterior and storefront improvements, interior renovations, security improvements, and/or equipment. Applications are due by 5 pm Wednesday, March 24. Grant awards will be made by Wednesday, April 7. All project activities must be completed by August 30. Applications may be accessed on the website districtbridges.org. Guidelines have been sent to small businesses by email. If you have questions, message CCMS program manager Alex Krefetz at alex@districtbridges.org.
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SOME ELEMENTARY STUDENTS RETURN TO CLASS; MURCH PLANS AUCTION
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Many students returned on Feb. 1 to part-time in-person learning at our local public elementary schools, Lafayette and Murch. Virtual learning is continuing for students who opted not to come back to school. Lafayette Home and School Association representative Anastasia Khoo said, “Huge thanks to the administration, staff and teachers who have made this all possible. Countless hours of planning, practicing, and work have gone into re-opening safely.” Murch is following a hybrid model in which in-person learners go into the building two full days a week. Murch is gearing up for the biggest fundraiser of the year, the annual auction. This year's auction will be held virtually starting at 7 pm Saturday, March. 20. The entire neighborhood is invited. No tickets are necessary! If you live in Chevy Chase and would like to order an auction night meal from Rose's Luxury or I'm Eddie Cano, you can do so by March 10. Details on the auction can be found here. (https://murchschool.org/hsa/2021auction/) |
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DC’S RACIALIZED HOUSING LANDSCAPE
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Sarah Shoenfeld, a public historian, presented a Zoom talk sponsored by CCCA and Historic Chevy Chase DC last month on the role of racially restrictive deed covenants in shaping local neighborhoods. Even though these covenants were struck down by the Supreme Court over 70 years ago, their legacy is still with us.
Working under a grant, Sarah is co-directing a project called Mapping Segregation in Washington, DC: http://mappingsegregationdc.org/. Her group is developing lot-by-lot documentation of racial covenants that can be viewed on the detailed maps featured on the website. These covenants laid the framework for redlining and other policies that are responsible for today’s persistent wealth gap and widespread housing insecurity.
The sad history of Reno City, once home to over 340 white and black families after the Civil War, is presented in the video below.
You can view the recording of the session here Type in the passcode: X8u4HZu@
Additional resources include Remembering Reno City, at https://youtu.be/0ITpiIjILhA, and Segregated by Design, at https://vimeo.com/328684375 |
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LONGTIME FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY VOLUNTEER BARBARA PARKER DIES
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Barbara Parker, who oversaw and enhanced FOLio, the popular used bookstore on the second floor of the Chevy Chase D.C. library until the spring of 2018, died February 11 after a lengthy illness. Barbara was well-known for her dedication to the library and to the community and, of course, for her love of reading. .
"The news of Barbara's death was not unexpected, as she'd been ill and in hospice care," Susan Klinger, president of the Friends of the Chevy Chase Library, wrote in a message to volunteers. "But it did not lessen its impact. Barbara took the FOLio reins from Bette Landish several years ago and worked hard to make it even more successful. While we can’t quantify her contributions, we can remember the books sold, the encounters with friends and neighbors, the warmth generated by our little community center/bookstore. May we hold her memory in our hearts and may her memory be a blessing for everyone who contributed books, bought books, browsed books in FOLio."
A memorial service for Barbara is anticipated for later this year.
Our neighborhood Chevy Chase library, like other D.C. branches, remains closed to patrons and is open only for takeout, available Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. The building is closed from 2-3 p.m. daily for sanitizing. Information on reserving books, on-line services, including streaming, and on other city-wide library activities is available at dclibrary.org |
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NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS VILLAGE SCHEDULES FEBRUARY-MARCH EVENTS
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Northwest Neighbors Village has planned interesting talks and other live events that are open to the community online. NNV sponsors many smaller group activities for members and volunteers. Information on all activities can be found at nnvdc.org. Have a little extra time and energy? Become a Volunteer!
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