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Friday, March 29, 2013

Bertha Holliday: statement on & copy of Costa Brava Settlement Agreement

See this message from Bloomingdale resident Bertha Holliday:     

                          
         
TO:    Bloomingdale Neighbors
                        
As one of the signatories (as a designated representative of  The Neighbors of the Unit  Block of T St., NW) of the recently approved Settlement (Voluntary)  Agreement) with Costa Brava, I am pleased to provide a copy of that agreement for the information of Bloomingdale residents..  I  also would like to share that from the very beginning of the process, Mr. Larry Holden, one of  the owners and  the manager of Costa Brava, indicated that he welcomed  Settlement Agreements as a means for building community relations and making sure the business is responsive to community needs.  Throughout the process, Mr. Holden  made every effort to understand the perspectives and concerns of protestants., and kindly noted when those concerns were at odds with business concerns . Consequently, discussions between Mr. Holden and protestants were  always easy, civil,  and free-flowing.  Thank you Mr. Holden and welcome to the neighborhood!
        
 I also take this opportunity to explain the Settlement Agreement process and  the rationale for The Neighbors of the Unit Block of T St., NW seeking to be a party to such an Agreement.  For various reasons, many in Bloomingdale have adopted a very negative stance towards the filing of protests with the  DC Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration of liquor license applications of new bars and restaurants.   This  was most recently  indicated by votes of members of the Bloomingdale Civic Association that were nearly unanimously against the filing of protests against 3 liquor license applicants.  Yet, ironically, many of these same residents actively engage in protests to the liquor license applications of  Bloomingdale`s carry-out liquor stores.  Indeed, virtually every liquor store in Bloomingdale has a Voluntary (Settlement) Agreement.  Yet, many neighbors malign protesters of  alcohol license applications of bars and restaurants as `anti-business` and even crazy (I read a tweet that indicated I personally sought to protest liquor applications because I believed people would be coming out of the bars naked!).
             
The Neighbors of the Unit Block of T Street, NW are not ant-business or crazy.  We fully recognize and appreciate the significant  investment (in some cases in excess of $500,000) made by liquor license applicants.  We also acknowledge and appreciate the contribution these businesses can make to the overall quality of life in Bloomingdale -- and state this in our petitions of protest.  And we understand that business seeks to operate with as few regulations and requirements as possible to maximize profits.
        
But The Neighbors of the Unit Block of T St., NW, who live in very close proximity to the 1st and Rhode Island , NW area where many of the new businesses are locating, also fully recognize and acknowledge that Bloomingdale, in architecture, lifestyle, and  character, is fundamentally a residential neighborhood, without a business `corridor`:  In Bloomingdale, we have scattered businesses and businesses  located in very small commercial areas -- and nearly all have  residential dwellings  next to, behind, above and/or in front of them.  Consequently, we believe the building  of working relationships and mutual understanding between nearby residents and business becomes very important to enhancing these business` bottomline.  We also acknowledge and appreciate  the significant investment of  tens of millions of dollars that residents of our block, over the past 20 years, have personally made in major renovations, landscaping, and maintenance of their properties in order  to transform this block of approximately 80 rowhouses from what the Washington Post called `the crack cocaine capital of DC` of boarded up houses to one that is clean, safe, quiet,  with trees and flowers and storybook rowhouses.  And for these reasons, we seek to protect the desirability of our real estate and the tranquility of our block as a means for maximizing our hard-earned home values.
                                                                           
The Settlement Agreement (formerly known as a Voluntary Agreement) is the instrument that DC has devised for handling the somewhat inherent conflict between residents and those  businesses selling alcoholic beverages.  But  Voluntary Settlements can only be  negotiated if a protest to the liquor license application is filed.  The basis for such protests are identified by ABRA regulations and include concerns about hours of operation, noise, signage, trash, etc.  ABRA regulations also identify who may file such protests such as abutting neighbors, groups of 5 or more neighbors, ANCs, Civic Associations, etc.  Once a protest is filed , protesting parties and business owners are strongly encouraged to  enter into mediation/negotiation and make use of an ABRA mediator. This consensual  negotiation process begins with all parties (protestants and business owners) describing their  concerns and proposed remedies.  These are discussed (often for several weeks)  by all until agreement is reached by all parties --regardless of how many protestants there may be.  A single Settlement is drafted (usually by the business owner`s lawyer),  and reviewed and approved  by  all.  The Settlement than goes to the ABRA Board for tentative approval.  If approved, the Settlement goes to the ABRA General Counsel for legal review.  If the General Counsel suggests modifications, these must be reviewed and approved by all parties.  If such approval is secured,  the business owners and protestants sign the Settlement,  which is again reviewed by the ABRA Board for final approval, dismissal of all protests,  and granting of the liquor license.  The Settlement Agreement  is incorporated into the requirements of the liquor license.  I believe the protest/Settlement  process is  very fair and transparent and civil. 
         
I urge Bloomingdale residents  to think about the liquor license protest and  Settlement Agreement   process  in  a more nuanced manner.  I encourage your  review of ABRA regulations regarding  protest and Settlements  on the ABRA website.  And  I  encourage  you to read the Costa Brava Settlement  Agreement so that you might be aware of,  and better understand  the legitimate concerns  it addresses. (The Agreement will also  soon be posted on the Bloomingdale Civic Association website.)
               
Here is the Costas Brava Agreement [see below].
                   
Respectfully,
Bertha  Holliday

5 comments:

  1. Ms. Holliday is aware that there is a fundamental difference between a bar or restaurant where you consume liquor on the premises, and a liquor store, where one consumes their purchase off premises, correct?

    Her attempt to conflate protests of the liquor licenses for these two very different business models entails a leap of logic that's fatally flawed. The only thing they have in common is "liquor." The affects upon a neighborhood from both have the potential to be VERY different.

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  2. It's sad that Dr. Holliday and Friends of T Street continue to feel the need to interevene in the liquor applications of new bars and restaurants in our neighbhorhood. I wonder if our neighborhood saviors even tried to speak with the owners of Costa Brava before filing their petition? Thankfully, they were looking out for the interests of the residents of Bloomingdale when they filed their petition.

    As one of the members of the Bloomingdale Civic Association who opposed Dr. Holliday's motion at our December meeting, namely for a challenege to Red Hen and Aroi Thai's liquor licenses, I am still amazed that she continues her crusade. This issue illiustrates the continuing clash in the neighborhood between "old guard" neighbors and those of us who are newer to Bloomingdale. Those who claim to be looking out for our interests, might not have our same interests at heart.

    After reading Dr. Holliday's long justification to her petion against Costa Brava, I'm not convinced. If Dr. Holliday know's her Bloomingdale history, the area where these new bars and restaurants are locating, was the business core of Bloomingdale many years ago. While I support her desire to protect her property values, I would argue that her home values have increased largely in the past few years based largely on the addition of Rustik Tavern, Boundary Stone, Aroi Thai and others. Because even though she and her neighbors cleaned up their block, if there aren't businesses, including restaurants and bars nearby, their home values would not increase as much as they have. Our renewed business core has made our neighborhood even more highly desired.

    I would argue that there is not the need to force new bars and restaurants to enter into these "voluntary agreements". But rather, if Dr. Holliday and her group would just try to have an open dialogue with the owners of new businesses, I believe they could establish the same goals.

    That being said, I'm opposed to her continued goal of forcing bars and restaurants in Bloomingdale to close one hour earlier than is required by DC law. I hope that other neighbors realize that in the end her continued crusade is solely to force new bars and restaurants to closer early, on the basis of noise or whatever arguement she can come up with. I think all of the bars and restaurants that have come in over the past few years have been very respectful neighbors. The ironic part of all of this, is that only some of our new bars and restaurants are under voluntary agreements. What that means, is that while one bar can stay open until 2am (or later), others have to close an hour early thanks largely in part to Dr. Holliday and the Friends of T St.

    Brice

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  3. @Brice: Unfortunately the wording makes the process sound adversarial, however its the only legally binding way that DC has provided to work with business owners. Any type of gentleman's agreement/handshake doesn't mean anything once a business has a liquor license. Unfortunately for every Rustik,Boundary Stone, Aroi, etc that are wonderful neighbors, you end up w/ the other end such as Steve May and the firehouse group that would clearly ignore any non-legally binding agreement w/ the community.

    Looking at Dr. Holliday's letter, there's nothing in there that indicates it was an adversarial process. In fact she states the opposite and praises the owner in her first paragraph.

    As for closing an hour early, I'm sorry this is a residential neighborhood, you shouldn't expect the same hours as the entertainment driven sections of the city. Every business except for Aroi is next door to a house.

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  4. There is an interesting item in the VA/SA - the requirement to add some sort of "soundproofing roof" for the Summer Garden. Having visited the site, I can see that would be nice for the neighbors, but won't it be a hassle to get it permitted? If it is a solid roof, won't that require a trip to BZA? Is it easier to obtain for C-2-A than R-4?

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