00:00:05: Meeting begins.
00:01:21: Commissioner introductions: Commissioners Nash, Sherman, Lynch, Ferguson, and Gosselin in attendance.
00:07:03: Commissioner Sherman proposes an amendment to the agenda to allow for an executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss the ANC website; approved 5-0.
00:08:40: Discussion of ANC’s response to procedural issues surrounding proposed zoning changes for Connecticut Avenue and Civic Core.
00:12:21: Ellen McCarthy, former Director of Office of Planning (OP) explains the process.
00:18:03: Commissioner Gosselin asks if the ANC could wait to weigh in during the 30-day comment period.
00:18:16: McCarthy clarifies the ANC doesn’t want to wait - the ANC can’t raise during the comment period an issue they should have raised at the original April 29 hearing.
00:20:31: Commissioner Sherman suggests the ANC send a letter now to the Zoning Commission (ZC) asking for a contested hearing so the ANC can have party status.
00:25:44: Commissioner Lynch asks for clarification on the difference between rulemaking and contested designations. Commissioner Sherman shares his understanding. Commission discusses the importance of fuller representation of the ANC at the April 29 Zoning Commission hearing.
00:37:18: Commissioner Gosselin laments the lack of agreement on the Commission and in the community. He questions whether the failure to notify the ANC of the November 9 meeting might have been a “test case” of the new procedural rules passed by the ZC on April 11 (case 22-25, which serve to limit the ANC’s role in zoning matters. Discussion of this issue ensues.
00:47:19: Members of the community comment.
01:01:06: Commissioner Nash argues for a delay in voting on the proposed letter to ZC.
01:02:25: Commissioners Gosselin and Lynch hold a dialogue about the appropriateness of voting, the substance and process of the case, and how those might be connected. There is additional discussion among Commissioners on the process issue and the importance of community representation.
01:09:02: Community members offer additional comments.
01:17:28: Commissioner Gosselin tables the letter.
01:18:20: Commissioner Gosselin frames discussion on substance of proposed zoning changes. He proposes a resolution calling for a single zone along the Connecticut Avenue corridor with a height limit of 70’. Commissioners discuss questions of height and the trade-off between height, housing, and green space.
01:29:29: Commissioner Gosselin notes there is considerable interest in development, not just at the Civic Core site but at other locations along the corridor.
01:31:43: Chair Gore joins the meeting.
01:45:31: Commissioner Gosselin notes that with the higher elevation of the Civic Core site a tall building there will loom over the rest of the avenue.
01:49:12: Public meeting ends. The Commission goes into executive session.