DC Government

Public Meeting on 2 DC Bills Regarding Neighborhood Preservation and Blighted Properties

By Prince Of Petworth

This meeting will take place Wed. Jan. 27th at 2pm in room 412 of 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The two bills to be discussed are B18-448 which was introduced by Evans and would eliminate the vacant property registration system and focus only on blighted properties.

and

B18-546 which was introduced by Bowser and would keep the vacant property registration system, eliminate the exemptions, allow for an upward sliding scale for registration fee depending on amount of time property is vacant, simplify the citation issuance process, and require property insurance for vacant properties.

You can find links to the full text of the bills here.

Do you think it is a good idea that the $5 – $10 tax penalties be removed for all vacant properties except for those determined to be “blighted.” Which properties do you think should be defined as “blighted”? Do you think the Council should support penalties for vacant properties or only ones deemed blighted?

The Challenges of Building Green Under DCRA’s Watchful Eye by Michael Kiefer

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: Michael Kiefer from GreenDCRealty will be contributing a monthly column about various aspects of real estate in DC.

GreenSpur Inc.one of Washington’s exciting new green developers recently took on quite possibly one of the more challenging adaptive reuse projects I have seen in years in an effort to demonstrate that “carbon neutral” construction is possible at all levels, even with a dilapidated pre Civil War era home. This adaptive reuse home at 19 4Th St NE being just blocks from the Nation’s Capitol was to be emblematic of the challenges GreenSpur Inc was looking for, however rebuilding of it was the easy part, the real challenges didn’t come about until the layers of DCRA began to unfold.

As most are familiar dealing with local government agencies in large city there are the normal hurdles that one must overcome to get projects up and running and with DCRA the District’s building regulation department is no different, that is until you start proposing elements of sustainability and historical preservation. Preserving the historic makeup of Washington is something we all want to see and be a part of but we seem to be caught in the midst of some conflicts when it comes to proposing some really exciting opportunities to reducing a buildings total life-cycle impact on the environment. DCRA’s primary focus is to make sure that buildings are constructed properly however their knowledge of some fairly mainstream technologies such as geothermal HVAC systems presented this group with a few more challenges.

Greenspur’s president Mark Turner is no stranger to the DC permitting process, he previously worked as Vice President of Construction for Abdo Development. Personally I was surprised when I heard that it took over 6 months, just to acquire a building permit when all you hear is that the Mayor’s office is seeking to find ways of expanding green development and green collar jobs here in the Nation’s Capitol. After acquiring the building permits DCRA proceeded to shut this firms job down twice for lack of permits, which as anyone who has ever attempted to build something in DC knows being shut down does nothing but cost time and money. From my discussions with Turner he mentioned that DCRA finally acknowledged that the proper permits had already been obtained and that it was an internal issue within their department that caused the delay.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Water main break on 1500 block of Spring Place NW

By Prince Of Petworth


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Thanks to a reader for sending:

“We have a water main break at the 1500 block of Spring Place NW. Residents notified WASA’s emergency line at 8 PM on December 30 and have been without water since 9 PM on December 30. WASA began digging up the street at 8 AM, December 31.

It is a sewer and main line break, “very bad” in WASA’s words.”

From WASA:

“So right now, we have both a water main and sewer break. Spring Place between 16th and Perry is shut down in order to facilitate repairs. Our Water Services Foreman said that crews are working hard to restore water today.”

CM Graham Says Ward 1 Park Projects Back on Track

By Prince Of Petworth

Council Member Jim Graham sends an update of Ward 1 parks in an email:

“After the D.C. Council’s vote on Tuesday, December 14, to rescind $83 million in Parks and Recreation Contracts many of you called and wrote to me asking what that meant for Justice Park, Park View and LeDroit Park.

I am happy to report that these parks construction projects are already “back on track.” The Deputy Mayor for Economic Development has assured me that the $750K Justice Park project and the $1.2 million Park View project will be overseen by Allen Lew − Executive Director of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization − and will move forward. This is excellent news given the great speed and success with which Mr. Lew has handled school renovations and constructions.

The final project, the LeDroit Park (former Gage school transformation) will remain in the Deputy Mayor’s portfolio and the contract for the reconstruction will be re-bid and move forward.”

DC Among “Worst States In America For Starting A Business”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from PoPville flickr user rockcreek

Thanks to a reader for sending this depressing news from the Business Insider:

Small Business Survival Index: 84.795 (#51)

Personal Income Tax Rates: 8.500 (#44t)

Corporate Income Tax Rates: 9.975 (#50)

Property Taxes: 4.13 (#41)

Workers’ Compensation Benefits Per $100 of Covered Wages: 0.26 (#1)

Note: According to the report, the District of Columbia was not included in the studies on the states’ liability systems, eminent domain legislation and highway cost efficiency, so “D.C.’s last place score actually should be even worse.”

From speaking to small business owners this is sadly not surprising. You can see the full list here.

Dear PoP – Unemployment in Ward 8 Nearly 30%

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville Flickr user Rukasu1

“Dear PoP,

I was browsing the DC government webpage today and found this information page on unemployment in the District. I was astonished to see that overall employment in Ward 8 was almost 30%. Contrast that to Ward 3’s 3% and you have some pretty serious income disparity in the district.”

October Wards Unemployment ’09

Holy cow 30% unemployment is insane. Ward 8 was also the only Ward to have a nearly 10% increase from ’08. Is there something the city should/could do to alleviate this problem?

Lots of Tree News – For Your Home and the City

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user annejuliet

The city has announced that it will be planting 3000 new trees all over the city based on requests it received from the city call center. Pretty cool. From an emailed press release:

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has begun planting more than 3,000 new street trees to help meet Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s Green DC Agenda goal of expanding the tree canopy and establishing the District as one of the world’s pre-eminent green cities…

From December to May, DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) will plant the new trees across all eight wards of the city. Planting locations are based on requests that were made by residents to the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center before July 15, 2009…

The tentative planting schedule will begin with Ward 7, then Ward 8, 5, 6, 2, 1, 3, and 4. The planting schedule for specific neighborhoods will be posted on the UFA website this week, but is subject to change due to equipment, weather, emergencies, and other extenuating circumstances.

In addition, UFA will plant 100 elm trees in a partnership with Casey Trees and team up with the organization Trees for Georgetown to plant 40 new trees in that historic neighborhood.

And if you’d like trees on your property DDOE has a special offer with RiverSmart Homes for $50:

Through a special offer from the RiverSmart Homes program, District homeowners can have shade trees planted on their property for only $50 per tree. Space is the only limit to the number of trees we can plant on each property. You can sign up for the $50 trees offer by clicking the link below and filling out the requested fields. In the spring, a representative of Casey Trees will visit individual homeowners determine the most appropriate trees and locations for planting in each yard. Once the tree species and locations have been chosen, Casey Trees will then schedule the planting. The cost of planting is included in the $50 co-payment.

You can read more info about that program here.

Medical Marijuana for DC?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from PoPville flickr user cacophony76

Thanks to a reader for sending the news from a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition:

U.S. House and Senate negotiators agreed on Tuesday on the final details of the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act:

* Washington, DC will finally be allowed to implement the medical marijuana initiative that voters overwhelmingly approved in 1998 but has been blocked by Congress each year since then.

* Washington, DC will be able to use federal funds to implement syringe exchange programs.

Here’s how Congressional appropriators themselves describe the news:

Removing Special Restrictions on the District of Columbia:…Also allows the District to implement a referendum on use of marijuana for medical purposes as has been done in other states, allows use of Federal funds for needle exchange programs except in locations considered inappropriate by District authorities…

Has anyone else heard about this?

Dear PoP – What’s Up With the Tree Boxes Fenced on 17th Street, NW?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

What’s up with all the tree boxes on 17th Street (between N and P I think). On both sides of the street, they’re surrounded by two-foot-high chain-link boxes. Is someone worried a squirrel might escape?”

I believe this is related to the Streetscape project for 17th Street, NW. DDOT writes:

“The $4.5M 17th Street Resurfacing Project is one of the District’s ARRA projects. The scope of work includes 17th Street from Mass Avenue to New Hampshire Avenue and is anticipated to be completed by fall 2010. Work includes, replacement of existing sidewalk with concrete sidewalk, new granite curbs and brick gutters, mill and overlay of the roadway, replacement of Fire Hydrants, installation of new trees in designated areas, new street lights and new traffic signals.”

Borderstan writes that “Construction will start Nov. 30, 2009, and end by Nov. 30, 2010.” Borderstan also reports on a rally this past Saturday because:

“At the November 23 public meeting on the 17th St. renovation project, DDOT reminded the community that a significant number of trees – virtually all the trees between P Street and Riggs on 17th Street – would be removed to accommodate the streetscape project.”

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