DCRA to Midcity ANCs: Keep Your Recommendations, Thanks [CORRECTED]
To the average passerby, it’s not immediately obvious why some streets have more or fewer of different types of businesses. That’s because D.C. isn’t a free market: zoning regulations dictate the character of most commercial corridors.
Take the Midcity area. Since the 1980s, zoning regulations have decreed that only 25 percent of storefronts in an “arts overlay” along U street and down 14th Street can be occupied by eating and drinking establishments (a similar district exists in Cleveland Park). At this point, the threshold has been reached: According to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory affairs, there’s only 12.64 linear feet of store frontage left.
Last year, local businesses, two neighborhood associations, and three Advisory Neighborhood Commissions recommended that the threshold be bumped up to 50 percent. The original zoning was designed to help support the arts, but a study performed by ANC 2F found that galleries and theater spaces would be helped by having more bars and restaurants in the area, not fewer. The city is undergoing a comprehensive zoning revision, and the community expected that its recommendations would be incorporated.
This Monday, they received a shock: The Zoning administrator ruled that it would approve no more building permits or certificates of occupancy as a matter of right; all new businesses would have to go through a special appeal process with the Board of Zoning Adjustment. For anyone hoping to open a new bar or restaurant in the area, that could be another couple months of hearings and legal fees.
Today, the MidCity Business Association blasted off a furious email to members. “Requiring all new projects to go to the BZA will absorb an enormous amount of business, community and government resources as projects seek exemptions to a rule that is widely regarded as outdated and harmful to economic development,” it reads. “It will send a strong message to local, regional, national investors that DC is business unfriendly.”
Peter Raia, a realtor for Long and Foster, represents an ANC single member district covering U Street between 9th and 14th and supports the enforcement of the 25 percent cap.
“Most people there will say, we think we have enough restaurants and bars,” Raia explains. “Even when I talk to licensees, they even feel there’s enough restaurants and bars. They can’t make enough money, because there’s too many of them. It’s killing some that are trying to survive.”
But that’s not true for blocks at the other end of 14th street—the affected zone goes all the way down to N street, and now anyone who wants to open a bar or restaurant there will need to apply for a special exemption. MidCity Business Association is sending an urgent letter to councilmembers Jim Graham and Jack Evans—we’ll see whether the protest is heard.
EDITOR'S NOTE 4/13, 3:08 p.m.: We're re-reporting this item; a new version will be published soon. —Andrew Beaujon, 202-332-2100 x. 249
8:06 pm
Dear Lydia:
Please do some basic research on how zoning overlays actually work. Maybe you can even call the DC Zoning Commission to get some of those basic facts, rather than relying solely on a one-sided email.
For instance, in the Cleveland Park zoning overlay, the maximum amount of restaurants has been reached. It's not up to DCRA or the zoning administration to ignore that overlay just because the ANC or neighbors ask it to. It's up to the DC Zoning Commissioners to change the overlay limits.
If this research-free posting is what we can expect in the future from the City Paper now that Erik Wemple is gone, you guys are screwed.
K?
10:54 pm
Sally,
Thanks for your input. I don't believe I implied that the Zoning administrator could unilaterally make changes to the overlay--only that Midcity community organizations, having expressed their opposition to the 25% limit, might have expected the regulation to be overlooked until the codes had been revised. If this is an unreasonable expectation, I could have pointed it out, but I'm not sure I see what about the post is inaccurate as it stands.
Lydia
12:08 am
The Zoning Board of Appeals process takes about 4 to 6 months to play out.
What business can sign a lease, wait FOUR to SIX months while paying rent, before even being able to get a building permit? Not many.
This is bad, bad, bad for the 14th Street and U Street corridors.
Hope everyone likes the way Cleveland Park looks, with tons of empty retail, because that's where 14th Street is headed.
12:24 am
lydia: the post seems pretty fair to me. sally looks like she has a chip on her shoulder.
i think the important point here is that the corner of 7th and florida and the corner of 14th and N should, in no way, be part of one giant commercial overlay. break it up into smaller pieces. this would be the equivalent of putting 17th street in dupont and M street in georgetown into one big commerical strip. it doesn't make sense.
6:58 am
Lydia:
Thanks for the response.
But, your headline implies that the zoning administration is ignoring ANC recommendations. That is inaccurate.
You also ask "Why did the Zoning Administrator rule against such a broad expression of community support for change?" This also is inaccurate.
The overlay is set by the Zoning Commissioners, not the ANC or the zoning administrators.
If the 25% cap on bars/restaurants is too low, which I agree it is, then the solution is, like with the Cleveland park overlay, to work through the zoning commission to amend the overlay cap.
And I'm glad that you're at least acknowledging that the point of your story was for the zoning administration to just "overlook" what the law requires. As much as I dislike the rigidness of some of the overlays, at least I'm glad the city government is aware of the law and is following it. In the past, the city has "overlooked" various zoning laws and residents got screwed.
Worst case scenario is a business that opens up because the city "overlooks" the zoning laws, and then, once the community expresses its outrage, the city orders the business to shut down because they should never have received their certificate of occupancy. That becomes a lose-lose for everyone: the city looks incompetent, the business owner gets shafted, and the neighborhood gets a reputation as anti-business.
I've dealt with zoning issues for many years (hello, Newark Street Giant!). There are lots of complexities involved that make it quite confusing (zoning commission, zoning administator, office of zoning, board of zoning adjustments, etc.).
But the pretty clear implication of your article was that the zoning administrators are willfully ignoring the expressed will of the people when it comes to this overlay. And that is simply not accurate since the zoning law is quite clear on the matter.
Midcity ANCs and advocates of the increased overlay cap need to work with the Zoning Commissioners to change - or get rid of entirely - the overlay.
And, if you're going to be covering these complicated zoning issues, you owe it to your readers to present accurate information and all sides of the story.
9:10 am
I sure hope no DC agency would just ignore rules because there's a good likelihood the rules will get changed. Like it or not, the 25% limit is law. I support changing that, but the zoning rewrite hasn't gone into effect yet, and until it does, DCRA is responsible for enforcing the regulations as written. The neighborhood can push for a text amendment to change it sooner, which also has to go to the Zoning Commission but wouldn't have to wait for the whole rewrite to complete.
11:00 am
Too much red tape and bull shit, this is why people don't like to open and operate bussinesses in the District, plus the pay-offs and shakedowns by DCRA inspectors, for which the District's AG office needs to investigate!
1:50 pm
Having assisted in crafting the MidCity BA response I would hardly call it a furious email to its members, the response outlined the implications which had been discussed extensively during the Arts Overlay process and outlined what MidCity BA's response would be:
MIdCity Business Association's Response to the Ruling
We will be sending a letter to CM Jim Graham, CM Jack Evans and other city officials asking for their help in obtaining an urgent text change to the zoning regulations to increase the allowance from 25% to 50% of the total area.
We will be continue to work with our community partners including the Logan Circle Communtiy Association and the U Street Neighborhood Association along with commissioners from ANC1B, ANC2F and ANC2B to develop a constructive and positive response as our community coalition continues to work together to promote positive, balanced economic and community development in MidCity.
Nobody was asking for enforcement not to happen. However having not seen the study and findings that DCRA based this ruling upon, I personally would like to see those findings to assess the accuracy of their data.
Scott Pomeroy
6:24 am
The request for accurate data regarding the percentage of establishments in the 14th & U corridors was made directly to the Zoning Administrator, Matt LaGrant, by the Logan Circle ANC Arts Overlay Committee during the summer 2009 committee meetings. Andrea Doughty, the chair of the committee, offered her own survey findings and asked Mr. LaGrant, who said he was understaffed, to verify the percentage. The discussions of the 25% rule and the need for accurate data is documented in the committee's minutes. More recently, Fred Moosally, Director of ABRA, requested updated data from the Zoning Administrator.
7:48 am
I'm glad that the Logan ANC, Moosally, and others asked for the data, which I hope we'll all get a chance to see. DCRA and ABRA need the info, as does the Zoning Commission to do their jobs. There are many development projects in the pipeline for 14th & U and the data is necessary so that development & new establishments can happen. (Yes, food & drinking establishments can still come to the neighborhood, despite the hype.) Getting the data, providing it, and acting on it is responsible gov't. As for changing the zoning regs, this requires careful review, consideration by the pubic and expert planning so that we can have the best neighbors possible.
8:34 am
Having accurate data about what is going on is good for everyone, that has never been the issue. As the ANC (Logan) 2F process outlined and Cleveland Park experiences have demonstrated, the enforcement of the overlay is a blunt edge tool.
So, getting the data, providing it, and acting on it is responsible government and in this case the community, many planning experts included, reviewed where we were without a final version of this data and concluded the tool was not adequate, recommendations were made and endorsed nearly unanimously by the community.
Nobody is saying they ought not to enforce the laws, they are saying they need to be changed. However, as a result of this ruling, the very limited resources available to this community, which could be focused on acting upon the data in a pro-active fashion will now be spent on individual zoning cases for what is really a macro issue that is not being addressed.
Half funny: Half not!
This now makes nightclubs a potentially easier option to get approved than restaurants, as they don't have to go before zoning. I can't wait til we start worrying about night clubs morphing into restaurants to get around the overlay exemption.
Scott
9:13 am
I think you all are missing the point. The regulation as written is so ambiguous that you can't really tell to measure the 25% (there are requirements that laws be written clearly enough so as to be understandable). There are at least three options based on the language of the regulations. Next, the government never set up a proper enforcement mechanism. What it should have done was regularly published the results of the measurements, as well as required that any new issuance of liquor licenses be limited by the results of the measurements. As it is, a business had no way of knowing, first, how the 25% would be measured, and second, whether it's investment in a new lease and liquor license and architectural drawings etc. (substantial sums of money; let alone what it costs the landlord) would be a complete waste. Now you have a quite a few businesses and landlords sitting out there with leases and liquor licenses wasting money in limbo. This is typical of your council members who write laws without thinking them through in any thorough manner.
10:08 am
PS: No this is not true. But it sure does seem like where we are heading.
"This now makes nightclubs a potentially easier option to get approved than restaurants, as they don’t have to go before zoning. I can’t wait til we start worrying about night clubs morphing into restaurants to get around the overlay exemption."
Scott
11:51 am
Any businesses, 'in-the-works,' which have already applied for alcohol licenses & C of Os, aren't effected by the Zoning Admin's determination. New eating & drinking establishments applying for a C of O in the area will need to apply for a Special Exception with the BZA. This procedure will allow the community and the planning/zoning experts to insure smart growth for 14th & U.
Unfortunately, much misinformation is circulating & stirring an overreaction by MidCity and others.
12:23 pm
Max, do you have a copy of the survey and exactly which of the establishments are in the situation of "in the works?" Applying for a ABC license and applying for a C of O are at the opposite ends of the approval timelines.
Depending upon the legal definition of in the "in the works", businesses can be in any of these stages of DCRA application:
Pre-application
Environmental Review Process
Preparing Your Permit Application
Intake/Completeness Check
Plan Submittal
Plan Review
Permit Issuance
Inspections
Certificates of Occupancy
Please note where Certificates of Occupancy are located on that list.
3:37 pm
No, I don't have a copy of any survey. As a first step, or pre-application, business owners start at DCRA to see if their intended use is permitted at a particular site. Those who have already received a "yes,"are in the process. It's my understanding, although I'm not an attorney, that with the Zoning Admin's recent determination, new establishments seeking verification for food and drinking establishment uses would be informed by DCRA that such uses would require a special exception in the subject zone. Contact or visit the DCRA office for a detailed explanation of the process.
1:57 am
Using this as a platform to hype and swipe is unfortunate.
If the CP or its commenters really want to inform or be informed, why not contact sources who can provide factual information? The problem with posting ill-informed, poorly researched, unsubstantiated reports is that CP merely perpetuates BS, and, from the looks of its blogs, becomes a draw for misinformed, disgruntled, conspiracy hacks to spread their baseless, hateful drivel.
8:36 am
Yeah, I'm surprised that a business association would expect the law to go unenforced.
9:26 am
Hardy Boy: Your point is well taken. I'll have a more comprehensive update on this next week.
11:25 am
I am a business owner in the corridor. The people you mention as instigators in your article have been champions of businesses here and have contributed immensely to my success. They are knowledgeable, well intentioned, fair, and effective neighbors, who have given unselfishly to really improve the neighborhood. You do a grave disservice by mischaracterizing them here. I would hope that when you update your report that you refrain from posting unsubstantiated and untrue quotes by your unnamed sources. Thank you.
1:48 pm
SHS - Your opinion is not shared by the majority of businesses that operate on 14th or U Street who have had to interact with those individuals. Your characterization is the exception not the norm.
2:16 pm
Who are you to know?
2:18 pm
Who are you to ask?
2:24 pm
I heard that a hundred nimbys signed a petition to prevent Masa 14 from expanding to a second story.
2:30 pm
Anonymous, Your opinion is noted, however your post is not the voice of the business community.
6:31 pm
SHS - who are you to know what the opinion of the business community is? The history of Klein and Estrada's anti-business actions in the community are well documented, particularly as it relates to businesses with ABC licenses.
6:57 pm
Why has the City Paper removed any commentary and posts related to Phyllis Klein, Ramon Estrada and Peter Raia.
Has one of them threatened the Paper. I find it very strange that all references to them have been omitted.
9:50 pm
Anonymous, you must be taking your information from unsubstantiated blog posts like these that invite creepers to unload.
10:09 am
I'm a business owner in the corridor, and I know that SHS is either false trolling or deeply out of touch with the rest of us. Fine, enforce the percentage for now but let's get back to the larger community committee process that two commissioners and one unelected obssessive individual dislike.
2:07 pm
Like I said... hostile, misinformed creepers are invited to (and do) unload here.
2:17 pm
What a mixed-up, kooky dialogue. Who are one the hundred people protesting to stop a great new 14th street business from expanding?
6:47 pm
Like I said...let's get back to the larger community committee process that recommended an increase in the percentage, even if two SMD commissioners and a self-appointed neighborhood enforcer happen to dissent.
8:48 pm
SHS: "unsubstantiated and untrue quotes by your unnamed sources."
Whatever inquiries or pressures could have contributed to CP editing out mention of the three names (which is their editorial right), they interestingly remain as named recipients on the email from DCRA, which the MidCity Business Association published online last week (link below). Granted, two are elected ANC commissioners, and arguably should be alerted regarding any important agency matter in their districts. However:
Why, then, would Phyllis Klein be listed? She is not a city agency rep, nor representing an affected client (as with Andrew Kline), nor elected to any position, and is the only person in an unofficial capacity on the short list of recipients. Unless she wishes to tell us what organizational capacity she was acting under? DCCA, for whom she is listed as the point of contact for THREE relevant committees? Or, if she was simply acting as a solitary resident focused on this, that would be her right, but would explain her unique place in the food chain here?
(And, this decision impacts a far larger territory than covered by the two commissioners on the email, and beyond the boundaries of where Ms. Klein keeps it neighborly.)
Named, sourced, substantiated--see Appendix I:
http://www.midcitylife.com/index.cfm?objectid=29BF669C-4284-11DF-BAA600219B8E5AF3
6:02 am
Sorry, HMS Sub, your conspiracy theory, "substantiated" by the fact that people were sent an email, tells me that your critical thinking skills need sharpening. Obsessions and ax grinding are better told to a therapist. It's clear that if a hundred people in the neighborhood are protesting expansion of a local business, there are issues. Andrew Kline? Didn't the CP report that he committed fraud,forgery?
6:52 am
Glad the adults at the City Paper finally cleaned up what had been a very poorly researched posting.
Too bad it took so long to do and contributed to so much confusion among businesses and residents. And it's basically impossible to figure out what the original posting said since it's been so heavily edited.
An inauspicious foray into the world of zoning by the new Housing Complex.
7:02 am
Could the CP talk with the people who are protesting Masa 14 and find out what the real issues are? Also, it seems to me that having the zoning administrator confirm the data is a very good thing. Reliable data is a necessary for good planning and shaping policy. So, I applaud whoever helped the process.
7:50 am
"Obsessions and ax grinding are better told to a therapist."
Tell it to the alley lady.
3:28 pm
I think that the protest letters are available for the public to see.
8:57 pm
Good day to all. Let’s try to set the record straight for those that have genuine questions. It is factually untrue to say that I object to liquor licenses (critics, please review the minutes of our meetings completely, not just the bullets). Let me give a few examples of how I have supported these businesses. When I started as ANC one of the first things I motioned for and supported was extended hours for licensees for inaugural week. Many ANC’s throughout the city did not allow their businesses this opportunity.
I have advocated for all restaurants and bars to be treated equally, in some cases by granting full hours to establishments that were unduly restricted. I’ve encouraged others to move to soft closings, and others to be open earlier for breakfast and lunch. In my first 16 months, I have helped or am currently helping at least 9 establishments get new licenses (e.g., Dickson Wine Bar, Little Ethiopia, Café Society, Brixton Pub, U Street Music Hall, Gori Café, Masa 14, etc.), and I have supported others with changes to their licenses (e.g., DC-9, Marvin, Almaz, Ulah Bistro, U street Café etc).
I have also advocated for licensees to enter into voluntary agreements with residents, to ensure that the needs of residents here – not just businesses – are met. Please do not confuse my advocacy of voluntary agreements with “opposition” to liquor licenses.
Sadly, people I respect in this community are stating that DCRA’s decision will open the age for more clubs, or that it sends out bad signals to businesses looking to come here. These claims are unsubstantiated, and, in my opinion, fear-mongering to protect personal interests. Those voices claim to represent businesses in my SMD, but the truth is they represent only a fraction of the businesses here, not the majority. DC is always looking for great business to come to the district and I am always looking for smart growth in the area. But there are over 60 liquor licenses in my SMD alone. It’s time to start spreading some of that out, and to invite in a larger range of businesses like Pulp, Vastu, Muleh, Paul So’s Art Galleries,Dekka, Cork Market, Palace 5 – the home-grown businesses that we are so proud of.
If there is ever any doubt about my position on any topic, please talk to me about in person instead of resorting to mud-slinging on blogs. Please come to our ANC meetings the first Thursday of every month at the Reeves center and we can talk. I always look forward to the dialogue and learning more about what the local residents and businesses want and need.