Meeting notes provided by Devi Bengfort Keller
DRAFT ONLY- Not Yet Approved
MCMILLAN ADVISORY GROUP
MONTHLY COMMUNITY MEETING
ALL NATIONS BAPTIST CHURCH
THURSDAY February 20, 2014
7-8:30 PM
Chairwoman Dianne Barnes began the meeting at 7:04. Roll-Call was taken.
1. Review of January MAG Meeting Minutes
MAG was given several minutes to review the meeting minutes from the 1/9/14 MAG meeting and
Special 1/23/14 MAG Meeting to Review the CBA.
Minor edits made to January 9th meeting minutes. Michael Clark was nominated for Community Center
Chair but declined.
No edits were made to the 1/23/14 minutes.
MOTION: Approve both the 1/9/14 meeting minutes and 1/23/14 special session meeting minutes.
Motion seconded and passes.
2. Proposed Bylaws Amendment
Mat Bader made a proposal to amend Article III, Section 6 of the MAG bylaws to provide clarity on the
“one person, one vote” clause.
The amendment reads:
“Voting members shall not encumber more than one voting member seat (i.e. hold multiple MAG voting
seats based upon holding multiple community positions represented on the MAG). In the event that a
voting member is eligible to hold multiple seats, that member shall encumber the seat tied to the
greatest weight. The order of greatest weight shall be: (1) a DC Board of Election vote, to include ANC
SMD 5E09 (former 5C07) and ANC SMD 1B10 positions; (2) election by advisory neighborhood
commissioners, to include ANC 5E Chair position; (3) organizational election among local civic groups, to
include all civic association positions; and, (4) other group representation as defined under section 2,
voting members, to include all remaining positions. Upon vacating a seat, the MAG representative will
contact the leadership of member groups or communities to inform of the vacancy in
representation. Member groups and communities are responsible for selecting a new representative in
accordance with Article III, Section 3, and shall inform both the MAG Chair and member groups or
communities of the new representation.”
MOTION: Accept the amendment to the bylaws as written above. Motion seconded and a vote was
called.
Ayes: 10 Nays: 1 Abstention: 0
Quorum is present. Amendment passes. Secretary will make the change to the bylaws and circulate.
MOTION: Add Hanover Area Civic Association as a voting member of the MAG.
Motion seconded.
Floor open for Discussion: One member asked for the reasoning for adding them as a member. Original
MAG agreed on the criteria of a one-mile radius. It was confirmed by Google Map search that Hanover
Area is within the one mile radius of the site.
A vote was called. The Amendment passed by unanimous vote. MAG will add Hanover Civic
Association as voting MAG member.
3. Preparation of Community Benefits Package to VMP
Committee updates for input into Community Benefits Agreement:
A. Traffic & Transportation Committee
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Update from Anne Corbett:
VMP received new traffic impact study, Anne will have a meeting tomorrow with every
individual that needs to sign off on the study, will incorporate all feedback, will take it to DDOT
as a courtesy, and then the study will be available to the MAG within approximately two weeks.
Zoning commission hearings are set for May 1, May 5, May 8, and potentially May 13 if there is a
need for a fourth date. The Law is that the TIS needs to be public 45 days prior to first hearing
date, so it must be published before March 15. Ann will try to get to the MAG in advance of
public publishing date. Still on track to do that.
Information on hearings: There is a public comment hearing for each of the hearings. The
project is too big to be done in one hearing, so it is divided up into topic areas/project
components. Folks presenting on behalf of VMP or other party status in support of project will
present, those with party status in opposition will have equal time to present. District agencies
will present. They then will take public comment, three minutes per individual, on the topics of
the evening. Comment must be confined to the topics discussed at each hearing.
Hearing topics broken into three sections: 1) Master plan/low density 2) Medium density
commercial/residential 3) High-rise office buildings.
- May 1: Master plan and design guidelines, public park space and community center
design, initial transportation analysis.
- May 5: Residential, Jair Lynch’s mixed use, EYA’s townhouses, retail, grocery store, and
transportation associated with those components
- May 8: 3rd Day: Healing Gardens, Office buildings, health care facilities.
- May 13: If needed, for overflow topics and rebuttal.
Question on Evarts intersection: It will be an offset intersection, won’t line up across North
Capitol. Anne’s understanding is that the offset will make the intersection higher functioning.
Can invite traffic engineers to come next month’s meeting.
Adding lights to Franklin and Girard, and having them timed, with do not block the box signs, so
residents can get out of Stronghold. They have demand management plan where the traffic
engineers can explain how every movement is supposed to happen.
ACTION: Ann to find answer on traffic lights, and invite traffic engineers to come to next meeting.
Suggestion: If lights aren’t feasible, need to have an alternative at least, look into other options, such as
stop sign. This needs to be addressed.
ACTION: Ann offered to have an open community forum only on transportation/traffic. The whole
MAG agreed. All communities invited to attend, will be broadcast widely. This meeting is to happen
sometime in March.
B. Buildings Committee
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Chancellor’s Row: Townhomes designed on all four sides to have the same quality materials, no
difference in front vs. side and back.
Grocery store is designed without signage on 1st Street. Concern is more about access. Jair had
meeting with major grocery store, one of the concerns was where exactly the door was,
dedicated turn lane, traffic.
C. Retail Committee
Devi Keller presented on Retail Committee findings and recommendations. Anne Corbett answered
some questions:
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What is process for grocery store?
-They are trying to make most attractive opportunity for a grocery store
-For food: Need a range of price points. Lower price food options in addition.
The site will go ahead if there is no grocery, no caveat about lack of grocer hamstringing
development. It would be more affordable for VMP to develop without the grocer.
North service Court is designed to be regularly closed on the West half every Saturday and
Sunday for Farmer’s Market.
One MAG rep indicated that more retail is better. Want second floor on walkway to be retail,
would better justify tall buildings.
Who will own the stores when they are completed? Convention Center said one of their biggest
issues was that the city owned the store, they did not suffer empty fines, had no incentive to fill
the retail. Need to make sure there are incentives to keep retail in.
-Answer: Who will own the stores has not yet been decided yet. EYA does not control any retail
but they would like to. Jair Lynch Development Partners control a lot of retails. There has been
a lot of different discussion about whether to condo all retail into one section and divided
among VMP. The city is not likely to take ownership, city will own public space, the retail for the
regulator houses; or in public space on temporary/weekly basis, publicly owned, but ideally
privately managed so there is private incentive to keep it active. Jair Lynch Development
Partners will likely own retail in its building, and Trammell Crow Company in its building, private
agreement about retail vacancies.
There will be retail in the medical office buildings.
D. Park/Community Center
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Planned elevator- Yes
Roof access on green roof? The elevator used to pop up on top of roof, HPRB did not like it.
Elevator needs to pop up taller than building. If roof is accessible, will need a fence/railing. Got
criticism from HPRB. Would also add substantial cost to the building.
They intend the roof of the community center to be a green roof. But not a green roof that you
can stand on.
Scaffolding structure for the silos. MAG rep offered suggestions to potentially put access to the
silos from the green roof of community center.
Lower level of community center: Have open space for volleyball and basketball.
Need more recreation opportunities. Dance studio/etc.
Lower level, fitness center: equipment
South Service Court: Recommendation to move it to create more pedestrian space.
-Design South Service Court in a way that doesn’t make it a convenient cut-through street.
-Understanding that this is not logistically possible to load the grocery store if there is no street.
Still need to get to loading dock/parking and multi-family building.
-Bottom line is the grocery store needs to be loaded. Delivery trucks cannot be put on North
Service Court.
E. Historic Preservation
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For interest, passed out information on Tiber Creek, once passed through Bloomingdale.
4. Other Business
There is a proposal to request funding to help with preparation for Community Benefits Package.
Request would likely go to Anne; Anne would have to get DMPED’s approval for execution of funding.
What is likelihood of getting $5,000?
-Response: Depends on how the issue is framed. We want to protect our assets; we don’t want anything
to get misinterpreted.
Frame the request constructively, give parameters, hire a facilitator, allow them to facilitate, we will be
constructive under their leadership, with the goal of getting to consensus. Anne would support this.
MAG is a volunteer group that does not have the expertise. The hard part is the group making choices
and coming to closure on priorities. Get a peer review of language.
ACTION: Table this as an agenda item for next week’s meeting.
Meeting adjourned.