tour historic McMillan Park - Saturday, 04-21-2012

This message is from Mary Farrell - mjfranc6b03 @ aol.com

The original McMillan Park gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Olmsted, Sr. is known as the ``father of American landscape architecture, having designed New York`s Central Park, the US Capitol grounds, Stanford University, and the country`s oldest state park, the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls. DC residents enjoyed access to McMillan park until World War II. In 1985, the slow sand filtration plant at McMillan was replaced with a new rapid sand filter plant. The tour will be on Saturday, April 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the entrance, 1st Street, NW, one block north of Channing Street NW. Metered parking available.

Sponsored by ANC Commissioners Tony Norman, James Fournier, Mark Mueller, and Hugh Youngblood. Free tour and refreshments. Kids and pets welcome (if monitored). Come see, photograph, and enjoy this uniquely historic site.

argument for a park at McMillian Reservoir

See this message from Bloomingdale resident Rene Albacete:

The minute I started reading this article about racial disparities in park acreage, the McMillan Reservoir came to mind. Sure, we have many large open spaces in the vicinity of the reservoir, but none of it is available for public use. Can you really compare our small triangular pocket parks (which are afterthoughts since they are not suitable for development) and occasional two-to-three acre park to Rock Creek Park`s 1,754 acres?

Viewed in this light, requesting a 25 contiguous acre public park is not an unreasonable request. Further, the unique historical character of the site provides an opportunity for creative park development. New York City`s Highline, Seattle`s Gas Works Park, and Germany`s Duisburg Landscape Park are examples of creative, thinking which transformed abandoned industrial facilities into community assets. Many say that the city`s current plans for McMillan is a done deal and that a compromise is in order to minimize the impact to the community.

I say No.

If the bulldozers are not pushing dirt, it`s not too late to push for more. Let`s not forget, this proposed development is an integral part of a monumental corridor in the nation`s capital, which some consider the capital of the world. Mundane development along the long-neglected North Capitol corridor in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol Building is absolutely short-sided and unacceptable.

two McMillan activities this Saturday, 4-7-2012

1) McMillan Community Meeting – Saturday, 04/07/2012

From Dianne Barnes:

The McMillan Project Community Meeting
Saturday, April 7th, 2012 - 2PM – 5PM
The Summit Apartments
116 T St, NE

MAG (McMillan Advisory Group) is sponsoring a second meeting to hear community issues, concerns, and ideas about the McMillan Project.

For more detailed information, please call Dianne Barnes, 202 then 387- followed by 2497.

2) We Heart McMillan Park Party & Exhibit Opening at Big Bear Cafe – Saturday, 04/07/2012

Subject: McMillan rally

This is a rally in support of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site.The event will have music and information about what the future holds or could hold for McMillan.

WE ♥ MCMILLAN PARK PARTY & Exhibit Opening (DC)
Saturday, April 7, 2012, 7:00pm - 10:00pm at Big Bear Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/events/300997049973014/

McMillan on the agenda for the Tuesday, 03-20-2012 ANC 5C meeting

The agenda for the Tuesday, 03-20-2012 ANC 5C meeting is posted at the ANC 5C website (www.anc5c.biz).

The agenda includes two references to Bloomingdale's McMillan Sand Filtration site:

Update-OAG Legal Opinion re: McMillian Sand Filtration Site………………Chairman Edwards

Deputy Mayor’s Request for Special Meeting re: McMillan Sand Filtration Site

So McMillanites might wish to attend this Tuesday night ANC 5C meeting.

Bloomingdale Civic Association meeting agenda -- Monday, 3/19/2012

Bloomingdale Civic Association President Teri Janine Quinn has released the agenda for tomorrow night's BCA meeting:

Bloomingdale Civic Association Meeting Agenda
Monday March 19, 2012 at 7p.m.
St. George`s Episcopal Church, 160 U Street, NW

I. Housekeeping Matters

a. Proposal Re: Executive Board and Representatives Responsibilities & Executive Board Attendance Requirements

II. Zoning Issue Regarding 58 Rhode Island NW (Eric Schultz)

III. McMillan Update

IV. Update on C.O.V.E. (re: Special Election for the Ward 5 council seat)

V. DC Board of Elections and Ethics Presentation (DCBOEE Staff Attorney Rudolph McGann)

VI. Financial Report

VII. Committee Reports

a. Follow up on 5k Run/Walk and Bar Crawl Proposals
b. Beautification Committee (Clean Up Day)

VIII. Updates from Bloomingdale Representatives

a. Executive Office of the Mayor
b. Offices of the At Large Council Members & the Chairman’s Office
c. ANC (Bloomingdale Commissioners)

IX. Upcoming Events

- Thursdays with the Candidates (COVE Forums) (6:15-9PM) @ McKinley Technology High School, 151 T Street, NE

o March 22: William Boston & Amanda Broadnax
o March 29: Ron L. Magnus & Kenyan McDuffie
o * April 5: Tim Day @ 8PM (may be moved to another date)
o April 12: Drew Hubbard & Shelly Gardner

- Monday, April 9, 2012 911:30AM- 3PM): Howard Theatre Ribbon Cutting @ 620 T Street, NW

Next Bloomingdale Civic Association meeting will be Monday, April 16, 2012

suggestion to redirect the DC budget allocation for McMillan elsewhere; a Randolph Pl NW neighbor responds

First, see this message sent by ANC 5C03 Commissioner Hugh Youngblood to the mayor, the DC Council and others regarding the current DC budget's allocation towards the McMillan Sand Filtration site project:

From: Commissioner Youngblood
Date: March 8, 2012 6:06:09 PM EST
To: ``vincent.gray @ dc.gov``
Cc: Cross Jason , ``eric.goulet @ dc.gov`` , ``kbrown @ dccouncil.us`` , ``vorange @ dccouncil.us`` , mcheh @ dccouncil.us, ``twells @ dccouncil.us`` , dcatania @ dccouncil.us, pmendelson @ dccouncil.us, mbrown @ dccouncil.us, jgraham @ dccouncil.us, jevans @ dccouncil.us, mbowser @ dccouncil.us, yalexander @ dccouncil.us, mbarry @ dccouncil.us, James Fournier , 1B10@anc.dc.gov, ``Edwards, Ronnie (ANC 5C11)`` <5C11@anc.dc.gov>, Bradley Thomas <5C01@anc.dc.gov>

Subject: DC Budget Input and McMillan

Dear Mayor Gray:

It was a pleasure chatting with you and your team at the Florida Avenue Park ribbon-cutting event on February 25th.

Thank you for sending budget representatives to the community to discuss our City`s current fiscal challenges. Mr. Eric Goulet provided a comprehensive overview at the 27 February Bloomingdale Civic Association meeting and asked us to submit ideas to help shape the future.

On behalf of Bloomingdale and the surrounding communities, Commissioner Fournier and I urge you to please reallocate the $50m (plus any contingency reserve) currently earmarked for McMillan to other capital projects in Ward 5. The Rhode Island Avenue corridor, Bates Area, and other under-served communities within Ward 5 would reap much greater benefit from this investment than would the already developed Bloomingdale community.

Mr. Goulet noted during the Bloomingdale Civic Association meeting your desire to focus the City`s limited budget resources on development projects most wanted and needed by the community. The people of Bloomingdale oppose the Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) master plan as presented. Bates and Rhode Island Avenue representatives have, however, strongly expressed their desires for new development in their communities.

Additionally, we recognize that the massive additional infrastructure investment that would be required to mitigate adverse storm water and transportation impacts of the proposed VMP plan on the Bloomingdale community lie well beyond the reach of the funds currently allocated for the VMP plan. If the current McMillan plan were to proceed, the project could easily snowball out of control and face funding shortfalls for years, leaving the people of Bloomingdale and the surrounding communities to contend with the adverse impacts.

McMillan deserves world-class, sustainable development, and other Ward 5 communities have much greater immediate needs for investment.

Sincerely,

Hugh

--
Hugh Youngblood
ANC, SMD 5C03
240 . 925 then 1079

b) Now see this subsequent message from a Randolph Place NW resident:

From a Randolph Place NW resident:

I am concerned about an e-mail sent by one of our ANC Commissioners, Mr. Youngblood, to the D.C. City Council, in which he is affirmatively ASKING the city to ``reallocate`` funding of $50,000,000 ($50 million) AWAY from Bloomingdale. First, he claims that he is writing ``[o]n behalf of Bloomingdale.`` He never sought his ANC`s input on this issue, to my knowledge -- I wasn`t ever asked, nor any of my neighbors. Nor did he seek input from the Bloomingdale Civic Association. He is writing on his own behalf, and nothing more. His motives are unclear, at best. (He also claimed that he is writing on behalf of another ANC Commissioner, Mr. Fournier. This is likewise untrue. Mr. Fournier has stated to the ANC 5C, which forwarded it to the Attorney General`s office (to whom this issue and that of Mr. Youngblood`s other possible conflicts of interest were reported) that he was not even aware of this e-mail; Mr. Fournier distanced himself from the content of Mr. Youngblood`s message, in writing, on March 11, saying: ``I did not know about this e-mail.`` So, too, has the chairman of ANC 5C, Ronnie Edwards.)

Second -- and this is what I am most worried about, as should every Bloomingdale resident -- this presents the unfortunate situation of one of our own Bloomingdale Commissioners not only ``urg[ing] to please reallocate the $50 million (plus any contingency reserve)`` away from Bloomingdale, but more importantly him claiming that the ``Bloomingdale community [is] already developed,`` and therefore apparently does not need any more funding from the city. Again, this is untrue. We certainly DO need funding from the District -- as much as we can get. And Mr. Youngblood, as our Commissioner, should certainly make sure that his ANC is obtaining all the funds he can get, rather than sending them away to unspecified other projects and districts that are not even within his purview. Plus, please take a walk along North Capitol or Florida Ave. N.W., and tell me with a straight face that you consider this blight ``developed.`` You cannot.

Lastly, setting aside the present time and his limited tenure, this sets a terrible precedent for future projects or requests for any D.C. funding for Bloomingdale, well after Mr. Youngblood will be gone -- this is not just about the McMillan site, but will affect any kind of funding or future development: if Mr. Youngblood`s statement that ``Bloomingdale is already developed`` is taken at face value by the Council, the City will certainly reconsider, if not outright reject, future requests for support by us. The Council can quote this untruth right back at us: ``Bloomingdale doesn`t need funding -- your area is `already developed,` according to your own ANC...``

It behooves our Commissioner to rally on behalf of his own. At a minimum, he should be a passive representative, as he has been for most of his tenure. But to affirmatively steer funds away from his own neighborhood is decidedly not part of his mandate as our ANC Commissioner.

Let`s just put it this way: Georgetown is certainly ``developed`` by anyone`s standards. Yet, its ANC Commissioners are not going to steer funds away from Georgetown to ``other under-served communities`` that may perhaps ``have much greater immediate needs for investment.`` ...... Trust me -- Georgetown will take it. So should we. Mr. Youngblood`s position as ANC Commissioner is not to hand out money to others that was given to the community that he represents.

McMillan community benefits agreement (CBA) proposal kickoff letter

Followers of the McMillan Sand Filtration site project:

John Basile of EYA send a letter to MAG member Dianne Barnes from Jeff Miller that is titled "McMillan CBA proposal kickoff letter."

You can see this letter, dated 03-13-2012, in PDF format posted at the Bates Area Civic Association blog.

a vote of support the McMillan Sand Filtration site project

All,

I am in favor of the proposed development plan of the McMillan site for a variety of reasons:

1) If the city is going to make itself more livable and affordable, we need to increase the overall supply of housing. This plan adds at least 735 units.

2) Of course the industrial heritage of the site merits careful consideration. This plan preserves a representative number of the sand filtration storage silos and internal vaults to properly reflect this era`s water filtration technology. Moreover, the plan does so in a useful and integrated way. Open space by itself has some value but this plan creates more meaningful open space that will engender lots of use by a wide variety of people. Some have said we need to maintain the ``water filtration capacity`` of this site. To be generous, this is simply not possible unless the District (and we as taxpayers) spend millions of dollars to restore a system that is insufficient both in capacity and technology, no matter how nostalgic we may be. I might add that the city is losing both physical pieces and public access to a far superior historic landscape to the District/Federal Government development at St. Elizabeth`s with but a fraction of the discussion consumed by McMillan.

3) One of the most vociferous opponents and cheerleaders for the neighborhood NIMBYs of this development works for The Catholic University of America. The CUA has its own development agenda as anyone who takes a walk around the Brookland Metro Station will see. It seems obvious to this writer that the University is perfectly happy having a faculty member touting what is essentially a travelogue of unrelated ideas--not anywhere near a ``plan``. For the NIMBYs, though it is adequate ``proof`` that other options exist. Never mind that the travelogue has no spatial, economic or environmental rigor. It is disingenuous for the CUA to play a role in this discussion as they have a clear conflict of interest--their development becomes more valuable with McMillan undeveloped amid the endless ``Groundhog Day`` of meetings, citizen groups and ANC commissioner-pandering.

4) The merits of the City`s purchase of this property and the amount paid are history. The fact is that the city bought the property to develop. Without adequate, viable economic use of this city resource, the city does not have revenue for more affordable housing, libraries, schools, parks and playgrounds, fire and public safety as well as historic preservation.

As a member of the ICOMOS scientific committee on Cultural Towns and Villages and a long standing advocate of historic preservation, it saddens me to see this site sit for years while the same arguments cycle and cycle like so many hamster wheels. This plan is well thought-out, sensitive to environmental, historic and economic conditions and most importantly, creates a place of lasting value for future generations to enjoy, while preserving the essence of the tangible and intangible value that the McMillan site represents. I urge you to review it carefully. If you look at it without prejudice you will see the thought, experience and sensitivity that it represents, and I believe you will also support it.

Jeff S., FAICP

And here is a subsequent post by Jeff:

All,

The number on the DC Government site,
http://dmped.dc.gov/DC/DMPED/Programs+and+Initiatives/Neighborhood+Revitalization/Ward+Five/McMillan+Sand+Filtration+Site , for the cost the entire development is $700 million, so $47 million over 5 years would represent about a 7% investment. I will investigate in more detail, but the number does not seem on the face of it to be an unreasonable contribution considering the tax base of 1.1 million square feet of commercial, retail and residential, especially if the city is going to use 30 year bonds or Tax Increment Financing. I wonder how many Ward 5 Council candidates know the difference between a TIF and a general obligation bond? Or what a proforma is for that matter...LOL

Jeff

a neighbor expresses frustration with the planned McMillan development project

See this Email exchange:

Hi Hugh,
Here's something that I worked up ---a little "pie in the sky" i'll admit..but I wanted to put a thought piece together to jump start a locally derived alternative plan worthy of that land...I shared with John Salatti....he seemed mildly enthusastic about it...but I think also he has a realistic view of the desire of the city to make some money on the property... he encouraged me to think more about how such a plan would generate funds for the city... I think that this is a good and useful line of thought.

Let me know what you think.... I sent it to Scott Roberts to put on the Bloomingdale blog to solicit community opinions, but no dice so far....I'm unsure if Scott ever looked at it...and i think he has forgotten about it...if you dig it, i would suggest that the next step is to share it with the community to see how it can be modified to generate local support... or transformed into a more workable community derived plan.

It's really frustrating to see this last great open space be used in the way they are proposing. It's such a waste of a world class opportunity. What they are proposing is so mediocre...so mundane...so uncreative and so yesterday.... not really about the future in any way.

T

On Mar 3, 2012, at 12:43 AM, Commissioner Youngblood wrote:

Hi T,

Thank you for writing.

The VMP-DMPED team is trying their best to accelerate the process.

I'm working with a group called Friends of McMillan Park to remove VMP due to the lack of an RFP process etc and to advance an alternative plan to develop a world class park with community amenities (museum, meeting space, etc) and sustainable economic underpinning via industrial and commercial reuse of the caverns and other historic structures where possible.

What would you most love to see happen at McMillan?

Have a great day,

Hugh

On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 11:56 AM, T wrote:

yes,... also the mockups online aren't the ones that i saw.... the park was much bigger ...and it was in a diagonal across the property, not a single corridor... regardless, there is so much wrong with this plan it's hard to know where to begin.... I'm im more or less pro-development (of some kind).

T

On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:49 PM, John T. Salatti wrote:

T,

The Council has not approved this plan, but the District is moving forward with the various approvals that would be needed before the Council votes. So the community still has a lot to do to have an impact on the final plan that gets to the Council.

Thanks for your continued sharp eyes on this project.
John


John T. Salatti
Vice President, Bloomingdale Civic Association
(202) 986 - 2592
"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"

On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 10:23 AM, T wrote:

Scott,

I've been following (from here in Africa) the McMillan stuff pretty closely and when I was there in 2010 i took place in all the VMP community meetings. I'm really surprised that this plan is nearly at implementation phase. I have never seen where it was voted on and approved by the City Council. I thought the whole H. Thomas victory was in part about stopping this ghastly plan from going forward. Is this my imagination or has this thing just gone behind closed doors to finalize it?

Am i missing something or they simply circumventing the community now in pushing this thing forward?

T

WCP: McMillan historic preservation application drops

See Lydia DePillis` post from this morning.

Click on her link to see the imbedded stuff.

McMillan Historic Preservation Application Drops
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Feb. 29, 2012 at 8:16 am
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2012/02/29/mcmillan-historic-preservation-application-drops/

The Historic Preservation Review Board application for development at the McMillan Sand Filtration Plant replicates a lot of the information in the draft of the one that'll go to the Zoning Commission (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/09/18/mcmillan-plan-almost-ready-to-go/) — there's no more detail on building architecture, just massing sketches—but does have a bit more information about the old stuff that's supposed to stay even as new buildings go up around it.

A citizens group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/181355693594/) organizing under the slogan "Development Without Demolition" (sound familiar?) has been reinvigorated, and will likely be a presence when the plan goes before the HPRB, which looks like it'll happen before Zoning.

Full application after the jump.

projected groundbreaking for the McMillan Sand Filtration site project is 2013 Q4

See this Washington Business Journal article from today.

Note that the posited groundbreaking for the development project at Bloomingdale's landmarked McMillan Sand Filtration site is projected for 4th quarter of 2013.

Horrible news? Fantastic news? What do you think?

Major D.C. projects to kick off in 2013

Washington Business Journal by Michael Neibauer, Staff Reporter
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 11:54am EST

Get your shovels ready. Next year may be a very busy one for big-time groundbreakings in the District.

Work on six projects — the ones we talk about most often, the ones whose total cost tops $4 billion — may kick off in 2013, according to a schedule provided to the D.C. Council by the deputy mayor for planning and economic development. All feature land that is owned by D.C. and managed, at least in part, by the deputy mayor`s office.

The fun starts in the first quarter of 2013 with the St. Elizabeths east campus (total cost unclear) and Southwest Waterfront ($1.16 billion) redevelopments. Second-quarter groundbreakings feature another pair of projects — EastBanc`s West End development ($152.2 million) and Hine Junior High School ($191.4 million), a Stanton-EastBanc venture.

In the third quarter of 2013, we may see work start on Property Group Partners` Interstate 395 air rights project ($1.2 billion) and the William C. Smith/Rappaport Skyland Town Center ($260 million).

And in the fourth quarter, according to this schedule, construction will kick off at the McMillan Sand Filtration Site ($775 million).

The Donohoe Cos` project at Fifth and Eye streets NW has been pushed back to the third quarter of 2014.

The timelines are, naturally, subject to change. Planning and zoning, financing, legal disputes — any number of issues could throw the schedules off. And Mayor Vincent Gray, as a rule, does not participate in or greenlight groundbreakings unless the project is actually ready to break ground.

Still, seeing a best-guess groundbreaking date in writing is progress.

Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins has a date with the council`s Committee of the Whole Thursday for an oversight hearing.

one neighbor`s predictions for the firehouse and the McMillan Sand Filtration site

A Randolph Place NW resident comments:

Guess what Engine Company 12 will be in 25 years?

An old, abandoned firehouse.

Guess what the McMillan parcel will be in 25 years?

An old, abandoned water treatment site.

Earth to Bloomingdale residents: "traffic consultants rarely tell communities that new development will cause any problems." Do you agree? Disagree?

It looks like my attempt has flopped to encourage some discussions on the traffic impacts in Bloomingdale arising from the McMillan Sand Filtration site development.

This morning's Greater Greater Washington Breakfast Links post references Lydia DePillis's WCP Housing Complex post on development project traffic studies:

"Neighbors often don't believe traffic consultants when they say new development will cause minimal new traffic, but those consultants are counting on mixed uses, transit, and changing behavior."

Spot on? Off-base?

What you do you think of the "art of traffic impact assessment?"

Lydia comments on the McMillan Sand Filtration site & its transportation plan; what do * you * think?

Washington City Paper Housing Complex reporter Lydia DePillis just posted an item on the DC Zoning Commission and its review of transportation plans of large development projects that go before the Zoning Commission.



Green Light
Posted by Lydia DePillis
on Jan. 4, 2012 at 5:57 pm
-
Lydia briefly mentions Bloomingdale`s McMillan Sand Filtration site.

Here are the three paragraphs that reference the sand filtration site:

Then there’s McMillan Sand Filtration Plant, where development plans have engendered distrust for decades. A citizen group commissioned an outside expert to review the developer’s traffic study, asking for more information; local ANC officials are sure that adding hundreds more residences and large office buildings will make it impossible for people in surrounding neighborhoods to get to work.

But there are two problems with that.

One: Projects of a certain scale start to develop their own gravity. More residences and office workers are the only thing that justify large transportation investments like streetcars and bus rapid transit. And if there’s a mix of housing, commerce, and offices—which McMillan is supposed to have—people will be able to get to work, buy groceries, and take their kids to a playground without getting in a car. That way, even the largest of new developments won’t have the impact residents fear.

Two: Sometimes traffic is good. Urban places are congested. And well-managed congestion—with a robust array of alternatives—encourages people to do something different, like move closer to where they work, telecommute, or bike instead of drive. All take the pressure off a traffic study as something that people seize on to contain a new development.

What do you think ?

an alternative use proposal for Bloomingdale's McMillan Sand Filtration site -- a medical marijuana cultivation site

See this message from ANC 5C03 Commissioner Hugh Youngblood:

Dear Bloomingdalians,

Please see the following proposal for an alternative use of the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration site shared by a senior member of the community who lives on the Unit block of Florida Ave NW. This proposal could potentially generate a level of revenue for the City that would dwarf the expected level of revenue from the cookie-cutter mixed dense urban development project proposed by the DMPED-VMP hybrid team. Please feel free to call me or email me with your thoughts.


``After having gone to several meetings and then reading Bradley Thomas`s testimony before the City Council, I have finally figured out what is behind the redistricting flap--McMillan. Despite the protests and hard work of our honest, motivated and pure hearted ANC representatives, it appears that McMillan will be separated from Bloomingdale. The McMillan pie is so rich and is attracting so many fingers that our leaders just can`t compete with all that greed. So let`s be realistic, McMillan will be exploited to the benefit of developers and politicians rather than the benefit of the community. Knowing this, why don`t we stop trying to beat them and let`s join them. Soon we will have poor little marijuana plants growing inside nasty warehouses under artificial light all over Ward 5. If we can convert McMillan to a farm, these plants can grow in the environment nature intended: fresh air, clean soil and direct sunlight-- in a word, organic and free range. There are many out of work tobacco farmers in Calvert County who would happily do the cultivation. With proper care and fertilization, the District can grow enough marijuana to provide the medicinal needs of the whole east coast. What a financial boon this will be for the citizens of the District of Columbia. We can even end the Lottery. You know that nasty little mechanism the government uses to flitch money from the financially disadvantaged under the false promise of instant wealth. The District can even undercut the price of marijuana charged by the Mexican Cartels, striking a blow against smuggling along the Country`s southwest border. The adjacent Washington Hospital Center can reap financial gain by setting up a clinic across the street where ``headache`` prescriptions for marijuana can be obtained. Of course, we will need a gift shop on the premises to fill the prescriptions and sell the required paraphernalia: bongs, gas masks (for communal use) cigarette paper, pipes, T-shirts and hats etc., all of this to the employment and economic benefit of the District. With legalization, there will be many out of work marijuana sniffing dogs. We can create a feral colony to walk among the plants to discourage thieves. The fence around McMillan can be easily fortified with wire and guard towers to protect the plants. As the project progresses, we can add a church so that many visitors can experience a religious high. We can call it ``The Head Church of DC.`` Money will be gushing out of McMillan at a flow which greatly exceeds the amount of water which the site once produced. Of course, we can expect that the Feds will want a piece of the action. You can imagine the constituent jealousy of DC residents not having to pay any taxes as a result of the McMillan income. No problem, we`ll just trade a piece of the action for statehood, and finally we will be able to vote--thanks to McMillan. Our boring city flag can be replaced by one sporting a brightly colored marijuana plant and we can shed the old name (District of Columbia) and call ourselves the Marijuana Republic. Yes, there is a bright future for this useless piece of real estate which is no longer in Bloomingdale.``

Hugh Youngblood
ANC, SMD 5C03
240.925.1079
anc5c03 @ gmail . com

WBJ: "DC hands over initial McMillan work to joint venture"

See this article from the Washington Business Journal:

Commercial real estate
D.C. hands over initial McMillan reservoir work to joint venture
Premium content from Washington Business Journal by Michael Neibauer, Staff Reporter
Date: Friday, December 2, 2011, 6:00am EST
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/print-edition/2011/12/02/dc-hands-over-initial-mcmillan.html

D.C. may have chosen to take the lead on the complicated rezoning process for redevelopment of the McMillan Reservoir sand filtration plant, but the city can`t do it alone.

Vision McMillan Partners, the lead developer on the 25-acre mixed-use project surrounding the Bloomingdale and Stronghold neighborhoods of Northwest D.C., was recently awarded a $1.34 million contract to act as D.C.`s lead agent before the Zoning Commission, the Historic Preservation Review Board and any other panels whose approval must be obtained.

``It`s not unusual for us to take on the front end entitlement work and pay for it ourselves,`` said Jeff Miller, D.C. real estate development director. ``The way we structure it in this deal is that Vision McMillan Partners takes it through the process and we end up paying for everything.``

Traditionally, when the District redevelops city-owned property, it provides the parcel or building to a developer through either a sale or ground lease. But save for St. Elizabeths and, perhaps, Hill East, few District projects are as thorny as McMillan. D.C.`s five-year capital plan includes $48.9 million for infrastructure work on the site.

``We`re not in the business of moving dirt,`` Miller said. ``We have enough fingers in this pie that we`re not afraid of losing control.``

Miller, who works under the deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said his office is ``resource constrained`` to handle this work itself.

Considering the McMillan redevelopment plan calls for medical office space, townhouses, apartments, senior housing, retail and park space, Miller said, ``You can`t assemble a better team than that group.``

Vision McMillan is a partnership of EYA, Jair Lynch Development Partners and Trammell Crow Co., said Aakash Thakkar, EYA senior vice president. Dickie Carter of Urban Service Systems Corp. is an investor, along with other unidentified investors.

Then-Mayor Anthony Williams named the joint venture master planner in 2006.

The venture ``will be working with the District and the community to take the McMillan project through the HPRB and the Zoning Commission approval process,`` Thakkar wrote in an email.

The McMillan redevelopment is among the District`s most complicated, given the historic nature of the site, the sand-filled catacombs, or cells, that weave beneath and the sand silos that stand above.

The century-old plant, shuttered by the federal government in the mid-1980s and sold to the District shortly after for $9.3 million, is just east of the McMillan Reservoir and south of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The city intends to control the site throughout its development, while asking Vision McMillan to handle the ``sticks and bricks of delivering pads`` through some kind of arrangement, Miller said.

The plan is fluid, and a deal has not yet been struck, he said. The project is likely to include 1 million square feet of office space, upward of 600 apartments, 175 townhomes, up to 100,000 square feet of retail and a central park of about 3 acres.

The planned-unit development application for McMillan, though virtually finished, is expected to be submitted to the Zoning Commission in the first quarter of 2012.

Commissioner Fournier: "ANC Redistricting in Ward 5 - Do NOT split Bloomingdale"

ANC 5C07 Commissioner James Fournier has asked to have this message posted.


----------Original Message----------
From: James Fournier
Date: Dec 1, 2011 12:41:19 PM
Subject: ANC Redistricting in Ward 5 - Do NOT split Bloomingdale
To: mbrown@DCCOUNCIL.US, JACKEVANS@DCCOUNCIL.US, PMENDELSON@DCCOUNCIL.USCc: anc5c-commissioners@googlegroups.com, ronnieedwards.5c11@gmail.com, 5C02@anc.dc.gov, b-ashton-thomas@verizon.net, john.salatti@gmail.com, vorange@dccouncil.us, DCATANIA@DCCOUNCIL.US, HThomas@DCCOUNCIL.US, 5C11@anc.dc.gov, Ted Kill

Dear Councilmen M. Brown, Evans, and Mendelson:

That the Chairman of ANC 5C (which includes Bloomingdale) is compelled to answer the direct question of whether the redistricting plan that Harry Thomas's office submitted was the one agreed upon by the task force with the caveats of yes, "as edited," and "following technical adjustments," speaks for itself. So does the fact the only information he has about the redistricting process is a variation of the canned campaign e-mail that Harry Thomas has been circulating, for over a week, to everyone with a question concerning redistricting - regardless of the question posed.

Everyone in Ward 5 is not stupid, and you heard many of them at the November 29th hearing. The types of answers, resolutions, and ponderously empty statements repeatedly coming from Harry Thomas and his political allies are telling and plainly suggest that they think we are.
Ward 5 residents:

If you care about the bizarre consequences of the Thomas plan, regardless of which part of Ward 5 that you may live in, take the few minutes to submit your thoughts to the members of the redistricting subcommittee receiving this email:

Michael Brown - 202-724-8105; mbrown@dccouncil.us
Jack Evans - 202-724-8058; jevans@dccouncil.us
Phil Mendelson - 202-724-8064; pmendelson@dccounsil.us

The redistricting subcommittee is co-chaired by Councilmen J. Evans and M. Brown. Harry Thomas is not on the subcommittee. And yet he was the councilman pummelled with questions about the panoramic deficiencies of his plan at the November 29th hearing. Let the subcommittee know that there is no basis for dividing Bloomingdale and that if Harry Thomas thinks that dividing Bloomingdale will make forcing his ill-conceived development plans for the McMillan site onto the Bloomingdale that he has another thing coming.

I asked Harry Thomas to explain the basis for dividing Bloomingdale at the November 29 hearing before the DC City Council.

He refused.

Telling. . . .

- Commissioner James J. Fournier(ANC 5C07) - Bloomingdale, Stronghold, Park Place, Franklin Commons

Bradley Thomas: "Why I Support in Part and Oppose in Part the Position of Commissioners Salatti, Fournier on the Ward 5 Redistricting Plan"

From ANC 5C01 Commissioner Bradley Thomas:

WHY I SUPPORT IN PART AND OPPOSE IN PART THE POSITION OF MY COLLEAGUES COMMISSIONERS JOHN SALATTI AND JAMES FOURNIER ON THE WARD 5 REDISTRICTING PLAN

Today, Tuesday, November 29, 2011, I attended and gave oral testimony at the hearing on B19-528, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Boundaries Act of 2011, conducted by the D.C. Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting. I sat and listened intently to all 42 other witnesses and paid particular attention to the witnesses who spoke on the topic of what effects the Ward 5 Redistricting Task Force plan may have on the Bloomingdale community. Go into the hearing, I believed (a belief that was validated by the testimony presented) that the dispute, for lack of a better term, boils down to three issues which I summarize here in the form of three questions:

1. Does respect for the democratic principle of “one person-one vote” dictate that adjustments need to be made in the proposed Single Member District (SMD) lines because of the fact that the population of many of the proposed new SMDs does not fit within the 2,000 plus or minus 5% target specified in the redistricting guidelines?

2. Would the Bloomingdale community, which is by and large represented by a single civic association, the Bloomingdale Civic Association, be adversely impacted by having its population split between two ANCs?

3. Would an ANC configuration which places the McMillan sand filtration site in an ANC other than the one in which the majority of Bloomingdale’s residents live leave the Bloomingdale community without an effective voice in the development of the McMillan site?

My friends and colleagues, Commissioner John Salatti (5C04) and Commissioner James Fournier (5C07), have been quite articulate in answering all three questions in the affirmative. And while I reach the same conclusion as to question one, for the reasons I laid out in my testimony before the Redistricting Subcommittee this afternoon, I differ with Commissioners Salatti and Fournier on questions 2 and 3. While I don’t expect to change any minds, I do encourage all of my friends in Bloomingdale, and yes, we can still be friends even if we don’t see eye to eye on every issue, to read the full text of the written testimony I submitted today.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here is the text of my testimony:

ANC Redistricting Hearing Testimony-full text
Commissioner Bradley A. Thomas, ANC5C01

Let me first express my gratitude to the Honorable Co-Chairs and members of the D.C. Council’s Redistricting Subcommittee for allowing me to be heard on the issue of ANC redistricting in Ward 5. My name is Bradley Thomas and I am the Commissioner who represents Single Member District ANC5C01. I also chair the ANC5C Economic Development Committee.

The decision to testify in this matter has not been easy. I do so reluctantly because the last thing I want to do is to give the impression that I’m opposed to Bloomingdale or the way it has unified and progressed under its current leadership. On the contrary, I consider myself a supporter of Bloomingdale. Never-the-less, I rise to support the Ward 5 ANC Redistricting Task Force proposal.

I was not a member of the task force but I believe the team was fairly selected from a cross section of the ward and that it operated through a fair and open process. Like my friends from Bloomingdale, I didn’t always agree with every decision the task force made but unlike them, I don’t question the integrity of the process.

First off, I have great affinity for Bloomingdale. I’ve never mentioned this before but my roots there go back more than 80 years. As a boy, my father, with his newly divorced young mother moved to Flagler Place in 1928 or 29, shortly before the stock market crash that plunged this nation into the first Great Depression. 60 years ago, my grandmother moved from Flagler Place to the unit block of W Street, N.W., where she lived until her death almost 20 years ago, about a year after I moved into my home just south of Bloomingdale’s southern border of Florida Avenue. Thus, from a purely emotional standpoint, I want to support Bloomingdale at every juncture.

Secondly, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Bloomingdale’s current Commissioners. Hugh Youngblood is as energetic and enthusiastic as any public servant I can name. John Salatti is popular among his constituents and knowledgeable about the goings on both in and around his community. James Fournier is as thoughtful and articulate a spokesman as anyone I have met in my year on ANC5C. All three of them take very seriously the interests of their neighborhood and work tirelessly on behalf of the citizens who elected them. But I come here today because on the ingular issue of whether the redistricting plan coming from the Ward 5 Redistricting Task Force adversely affects Bloomingdale, I firmly believe that their position is ill-informed and emerges from a “glass is half empty” perspective.

Let me begin by stating that I agree with my colleagues that any redistricting plan ought not have any single member districts that fall outside of the 2,000 plus or minus 5% population threshold specified in the redistricting guidelines. I strongly urge the Council to make any adjustments that might be necessary to insure that we don’t wind up with some districts with for example, fewer than 1,800 residents and others with more than 2,200. I think, from my outsider’s point of view, that that kind of tweaking can be done without scraping a generally reasonable and well thought out plan. But Commissioners Fournier, Salatti and Youngblood have articulated the position that the proposed redistricting plan will divide Bloomingdale and dilute its political voice. I respectfully disagree. The Bloomingdale Civic Association (or BCA), which represents most of the residents living within the boundaries of what are now ANCs 5C03, 5C04 and 5C07 will not be disbanded by the adoption of the redistricting proposal. The BCA will still represent those same residents. Under the new plan, however, that constituency will have a voice in not one, but two ANC’s in Ward 5. Presently, they have three votes out of 12 on ANC5C, thus representing a 25% voting block. Under the new arrangement, Bloomingdale residents will be the majority in 4 SMDs and will have one vote out of 6 (or 16 2/3 % ) on one ANC and 3 votes out of 6 (or 50 %) on another ANC in the ward. Thus overall, Bloomingdale will have a greater, not a lesser voice in Ward 5. Think of it as analogous to a set of parents, apprehensive about their daughter’s impending marriage. The best advice for those parents is “don’t think of it as losing a daughter, think of it as gaining a son.”

My colleagues in Bloomingdale also argue that the new proposal is detrimental to Bloomingdale because it takes from them control of McMillan Reservoir. With all due respect, I submit to the Council that the McMillan project does not belong to Bloomingdale but rather to all of the citizens of the District of Columbia. Furthermore, its development, with job creation, housing opportunities and environmental impact reaches far beyond Messrs. Fournier, Salatti and Youngblood’s single member districts. The storm water run off and traffic effects alone will be felt as much in my SMD, on the south side of Florida Avenue, as in Commissioner Youngblood’s SMD on the other side of the street. If Mr. Youngblood and Mr. Salatti get to have a voice in McMillan’s future, why shouldn’t ommissioner Pinkney and I be permitted to speak on behalf of our affected constituents?

Once again, I did not serve on the Ward 5 Redistricting Task Force. And when I heard of the plan to change the configuration of the ward from 3 large ANC’s to 6 smaller ones, I was less than enthusiastic. ANC5C currently covers all of Ward 5 west of the railroad tracks. If we are going to divide what is now a 12 single member district ANC into 2 ANCs, logic dictates we should do so as evenly as possible. The only logical place to draw the dividing line is through Bloomingdale, the neighborhood which is geographically in the north-south center of our present ANC. If we keep all three current Bloomingdale SMDs together, we wind up with two unbalanced ANCs; either a large one on the north end and a significantly smaller one on the south, or vice versa. The opposition to the proposed split presumes that the two new ANCs cannot work together for the collective good
I respectfully disagree. If this is to be One City, then we in Ward 5, can and must function as One Ward.

In conclusion, I say to the Council that I hope the redistricting proposal put forth today will receive a favorable reading. And to my friends in Bloomingdale I say that I hope you will take a fresh look at the proposal and see the glass as half full; a chance to have more, not less, input into the affairs of the ward and the city. The bottom line is that the task force which drafted the proposal was composed of 30 or more spirited and opinionated individuals and we know from experience that whenever two or more people get together, there are going to be differences of opinion. This committee worked through its differences to reach a consensus. Would I have reached the same results? Maybe, maybe not. But I honor and respect the efforts of those who volunteered their time to take on this formidable task. If the Council needs to make minor adjustments to make the SMD population numbers work, by all means it should do so. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.

I * think * that ANC 5C voted last night to support the plan to have the McMillan site in a separate ANC from the remainder of Bloomingdale

I attended last night`s ANC 5C meeting held here in Bloomingdale.

At the tail end of the meeting, Commissioner Pinkey submitted a resolution titled ``Resolution on Redistricting and Designation of Six (6) Advisory Neighborhood Commissions WIthin Ward 5.`` I do not know if the full text of this resolution is posted anywhere.

It would appear that the resolution voted on and passed last night supports the plan to have Bloomingdale's McMillan Sand Filtration site in a separate commission -- a separate ANC -- than the remainder of Bloomingdale.

Perhaps one of the commissioners could weigh in and clarify.

an alternate idea for Bloomingdale's McMillan Sand Filtration site

See this brief message from Bloomingdale resident Todd Crosby:

"I saw this interesting article on CNN and thought it would be a great idea for the McMillan Sand Filtration site:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/11/tech/underground-park-new-york/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 .

Click on the link to see all of the images.