Ward Six Redistricting Task Force (#W6TF): Meeting Notes

This page will hold the rolling summary of the W6TF meetings from the most recent to the first meeting. The individual meeting summaries can also be found under the Filing Cabinet page as stand alone documents. The goal is to post the summary within five days after the meeting.

August 8, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force Meeting

Theatre Church

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn; Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Tyler Merkley, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Mr. Fengler began by reviewing the process to date, outlining the six listening meetings that have been held to solicit the views of ANC commissioners and the community members living in each ANC area. He said that the first set of votes had been taken the previous weeks, analyzing a series of maps proposed both by commissioners and community members. He said that from the proposals they had chosen one designed by Robert Stephens, a community member, who developed a map with five ANCs rather than four, but that was similar in design to the current map.

Fengler said that the Task Force members had left the last meeting with a couple of research questions to be answered, and said that the meeting would be in two parts: the first part will focus on these questions and the second part of the meeting will be to approve initial SMD boundaries. The agenda is trying to keep focus on approving initial ANCs and SMDs boundaries. No decisions have been made, and no meetings have been held outside of public view. He made it clear that Councilmember Wells has mandated that every decision will be made in public and there will complete transparency.

Part 1 - Research Questions:

1. Where should the census blocks below Massachusetts Ave. at Union Station go?

The first question, to be dealt with by the 6E sub-task force (Coburn, Marshall, Francese).,is to look at two SMD options for 6E and 6C regarding "where" the census blocks in Ward 6 south of Massachusetts Ave, west of Union Station. Should be placed. The first option keeps these census blocks in ANC 6E. The second option moves those census blocks to ANC 6C. Ms. Russell proposed moving the blocks into 6E, and described the numbers of the blocks and their population. They comprise 792 people. No Task Force members worked on the SMDs for 6E over the weekend, so the discussion proceeded in the full committee. Mr. Jarboe said there are 14,185 people currently in 6E, less the 792 that would move to 6C, which would leave 13,393 people in 6E. This means that 6C would have six members, and 6E would have six members. In order for 6E to get to seven members, it would need 19.013 people. Recommendation: Mr. Fengler recommended the census blocks be moved to ANC 6C. The recommendation was seconded by Ms. Russell, and passed 6-1, with Mr. Fengler in opposition.

2. Where should the north-south dividing line be between ANC 6E and ANC 6C?

The second question regarding ANC 6E was to prepare two SMD options regarding the north/south dividing line between ANC 6C and ANC 6E. The first option keeps the line where it was placed in the Stephens plan—straight up North Capitol St. The second option moves the north/south dividing line east to Union Station at either H or K Street and then returns it to North Capitol St. It was reported that the Mt. Vernon Square Neighbors Association has a vested interest in air rights projects happening over I-395 and over the tracks at Union Station. This configuration will give them standing to participate in both major development issues. The blocks are in ANC 6C and no-one is currently living there. Recommendation: Mr. Fengler moved/Ms. Francese seconded to change the current ANC boundaries approved at the last meeting so that North Capitol is the boundary until K Street which then it would go west to Union Station and around Union Station to Massachusetts Ave., so both 6E and 6C have party status in upcoming air rights discussions. The recommendation passed unanimously.

3. Should Near Southeast (6D 07) Remain in ANC 6D or be Moved to ANC 6B?

The ANC 6D subgroup was to prepare two SMD options for the near southeast community (generally the freeway to river using South Capitol as the north/south boundary). The first option would keep this community in ANC 6D. The second option would move this community to ANC 6B. The 6D Task Force subgroup is comprised of Mr. Merkeley, Ms. Francese, Mr. Jarboe. Mr. Merkeley reported that option 1 mostly keeps the status quo and makes only a few changes from the current set-up. There is a minor transfer of liveaboard people at the marina from 6D 01 to 6D 04. He noted that everything north of the freeway at South Capitol St. is the Capitol grounds, where there’s lots of land but no people resident—a large empty space.

But, on the other hand, Potomac Place in 6D03 is s really large development right on 4^th Street, and the three buildings could be divided into different SMDs, making changes without radically changing the map. Mr. Fengler said he has no problem with approving that change and going to OP to get approval for splitting the tract. When changes have to be made, they can throw everything into disarray, but this map is visually appealing—with 6D07 maintaining its connection to 6D. Mr. Merkeley said that the drafting group had run out of time, and could make more changes with time. Mr. Fengler said that starting with the initial guidance of not splitting a census block, this is the best plan. It can be okayed is a first draft and be given back to the task force to work on without splitting up a block then there could be an alternative posted, even though it’s not official –it’s a guideline that might further the debate.

Mr. Jarboe then presented a plan for 6B incorporating near southeast. Option # 1: He started by explaining that there are several anomalies in the map as it exists: while the Marine Barracks are both north and south of the freeway, the entire population is attributed to the north. To compensate, you can take a “nibble” approach, taking a block from here, a block from there.

Option 2: how do you bring in 2700 people into 6B—you end up with 12 SMDs, not 11. He said the task force went around and around and could not make it work-- you still have to reach across something—the commercial block on 6^th Street, Ellen Wilson Houses, up to Results. And if you do this, you still have to shift boundaries and bring up more people. You have to go from 10 to 11 SMDs and increase 6B boundaries on the South.

M. Francese said she didn’t like option 2 because it’s too large. Now there’s one ANC with 12 SMDs and the rest are small. It would make ANC 6B way too large. Most important, she said, is the City’s Comprehensive Plan, which puts the entire waterfront in the same Planning District, and it’s very important. If the Office of Planning sees it that way, it should be that way. Ms. Russell added that 6D works well the way it is now and it should stay below the highway—the Southeast community will “face” south in a few years. 6B works the way it is now, and it has its focus on preservation, and if you added in 6D’s development focus they wouldn’t have time to deal properly with it.

Mr. Merkeley said that there’s reason it’s a difficult issue because many of the things that have been said about option #1 are true. But, he said, his conclusion is Option #2 because there’s a lot of power in the people in Southeast, and they would like their vote to be north of the freeway, they believe they face that way, and their lives are in that direction. Ms. Scheeder said that it was a difficult issue for her, but that the discussion for me is about connecting residents with the people they feel connected to, and giving as much credence to those southeast residents as possible. Mr. Jarboe also said it was a difficult choice. He said that except for the Hine project, which is disposed of, there is not a lot of development in 6B, and they can deal with it. What is important, he said, is the wishes of the residents and the way they face, and they mostly face north—there’s not a lot down there now, and once it starts filling in, they will face themselves. But until then, the cohesiveness of the boundaries is important, and Option #1 creates linkages between 6B and 6D but Option #2 makes more changes to the existing boundaries. He said he was leaning toward Option #2.

Mr. Fengler said that if you listen to 6B, 6D doesn’t know anything about preservation, and 6D says 6B knows little about the large-scale multi-mix development issues. 6B decisions impact other ANCs. He said he believes that all the ANCs should be of a similar size, and adding more the largest ANC would move us further away from that goal. People in southeast, he said will re-orient themselves to the south as the neighborhood develops. He said he is against extending 6B below the freeway, and support Option #1, keeping the status quo.

Recommendation: Mr. Fengler moved and Ms. Francese seconded a recommendation to support Option #1 to keep near southeast in ANC 6D. Mr. Jarboe requested an amendment to post both options on the blog, saying this is not the end of the conversation. The amendment passed 6-1. On the main motion as amended, the recommendation passed 4-3, with Mr. Fengler, Ms. Russell, Ms. Francese and Mr. Coburn in support and Mr. Merkeley, Ms. Scheeder and Mr. Jarboe in opposition.

Part 2 - Initial SMD Boundary Recommendations:

The Task Force then unanimously approved the options it voted on throughout its deliberations: that the “Kings Boundary’ option map, which includes Kingman Park in ANC6A; approved the proposed SMD boundaries for ANC 6A, 6B, and 6C; authorized the working group for ANC 6D to continue to develop two SMD boundary plans, including an alternative that will split the census block for the three-building development Potomac Place Towers and one that will not split this census block. Both these plans will be included in the initial task force ANC/SMD redistricting report with the caveat that these two proposals await task force approval.

The Task Force also authorized the task force sub-group for ANC 6E to continue to develop SMD boundaries over the next week, as they had been unable to complete the task. The draft plan will be included in the initial task force ANC/SMD redistricting report with the caveat that it is pending task force approval.

Mr. Fengler said the report of the Task Force would be published on or about August 18^th and will be distributed widely to ANC Commissioners and community members so they have adequate time for discussion prior to the ANC meetings during the second week of September at which they will give their official comments.

Part 3 - Community Comments:

Commissioner Alex Padro, chair of ANC 2C (which will become part of Ward 6) said he was disappointed that the work had not been completed on his ANC, but he looked forward to working with the Task Force.

Commissioner Ron McBee, chair of ANC 6D said he appreciated the relationship between southwest and southeast, and that in ten years from now the situation will be different.

Commissioner Neil Glick, chair of ANC 6B thanked the Task Force for its hard work and expressed his appreciation for keeping Hill East intact.

2C Commissioner Rachelle Nigro said that she can live with a little addition to the ANC, and she appreciates the work the Task Force has done.

6B Commissioner Jason Crutchfield asked if the maps will be posted and was told they would be on the blog as pdfs.

6D Commissioner Andy Litsky thanked the Task Force, especially Ms. Francese who came to work after a week in the hospital.

6D Commissioner Roger Moffatt said he was pleased that the Commissioners had been allowed to have input in the process,

6D Commissioner David Garber said that he was in the unenviable position o representing the people in 6D 07 and he wanted to do what his neighborhood wanted, which is to go to the Hill. He said the key is that they are a newer community and they want to define who they are.

6B Commissioner Gladys Mack said that she was glad to see that Kingman Park was included in 6A.

6B Commissioner Norm Metzger identified his remarks with David Garber, saying that he recognized neighborhood cohesiveness and the affinity for the Hill in 6D07 should be recognized.

6B Commissioner Ivan Frishber associated his remarks with Mr. Metzger’s, adding that folks in near southeast feel cut off from 6b, and people in 6B want to be connected with those in 6D.

Zev Feder, a Southwest resident, said, as someone who attends many ANC meetings, he had no idea that people are so intense about keeping or not keeping parts of the ANC, and that people share so much

Rob Amos said he was appreciative that the Task Force was so open to the concerns of the Mt. Vernon Square community and there was feedback from both 6C and 2C on his issues.

In answer to a question, Sondra Gilbert was told that the King’s Option map, which shows Kingman Park, is on the blog, and that all correspondence, information and maps are distributed to every known listserv. Ms. Francese said she was disappointed that Ms., Gilbert thought that the process was closed.

1. Approved changes to ANC 6D / 6C boundaries from initially approved redistricting map. First, modified the North Capitol diving line between 6E and 6C to turn east at K Street to Union Station tracks. Then use Union Station tracks, as well as Union Station, as the north-south diving line until Massachusetts Avenue. This essentially expands 6E to Union Station to allow both ANCs to participate in the future air rights development. Second, the census blocks below Massachusetts Ave have been moved from 6D to 6C. This will allow ANC 6C to have six commissioners within the 2,000 resident target.

2. On a 4-3 vote, the task force decided to keep near-south east within ANC 6D. The task force also decided to include the option not approved (expanding 6B to include near-southeast) in the initial task force proposal as an information item.

3. Approved initial SMD boundaries for ANC 6A, 6B, and 6C.

4. Authorized the working group for ANC 6D to continue to develop two SMD boundary plans. One that will split the census block for Potomac Place Towers and one that will not split this census block. Both plans will be included in the initial task force ANC/SMD redistricting report with the caveat that these two SMD proposals are pending task force approval.

5. Authorized the working group for ANC 6E to continue to develop SMD boundaries over the next week. The draft plan will be included in the initial task force ANC/SMD redistricting report with the caveat that it is pending task force approval.

6. The task force will be working to complete the initial task force ANC/SMD redistricting report by August 18. This report will be sent to all ANC commissioners and community organization list serves for review. This will allow each of the ANCs, and their respective community, neighborhood and business associations, the time to review the initial redistricting report and make official comments/recommendations during the first two weeks of September. Members of the task force will attend the September ANC meetings to answer questions about the redistricting proposal.

7. The task force will meet again on September 19, Monday at 6:30pm to discuss the ANC/SMD boundaries in light of the comments/recommendations forwarded by ANCs as well as their respective community, neighborhood and business associations. We are still working to find a place for that meeting.

And finally, to anticipate the inevitable question, the maps that reflect the ANC/SMD boundaries approved last night (to include ANC 6D and 6E working group proposals) for the initial redistricting report will be posted by August 18. Our hope is to have them built and posted sooner, but we can’t make any promises (recall, we are all volunteers with regular day jobs).

August 3, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

Watha C Daniel Library (lower level), 1630 7th Street, NW

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkeley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Mr. Fengler opened the meeting by saying that the initial listening have been completed and it is now time for the task force to shift gears and start working on the Ward 6 ANC boundaries.

W6TF ANC/SMD Boundary Guidelines:

Fengler asked for the adoption of a set of nine guidelines to govern the redistricting process. The W6TF adopt the guidelines for ANC redistricting decisions from the following (changes adopted at the meeting to the initially proposed guidelines are in yellow):

1. ~~Promote~~ Recognize neighborhood cohesiveness by grouping residents into ANCs where they are likely to have the most concern about issues that come before their own ANC, and have an affinity of interests and preferences with other residents in the same ANC.

2. To the extent that current boundaries contribute to effective functioning of the ANCs, limit the scope of change to ANC and SMD boundaries.

3. Balance workloads and resources of ~~ANCs through a flexible target of 7-9 commissioners~~ and pay attention to likely caseload based on development patterns, historic districts, etc.

4. Take advantage of natural or built features to the extent they make sense to residents in defining the boundaries of ANCs.

5. Aim for ANC total populations that are close to multiples of 2,000 to preserve flexibility in drawing SMDs. Aim for SMD populations in the range of 1,900-2,100 "unless the deviation results from the limitations of Census geography or from the promotion of rational public policy, including but not limited to, respect for the natural geography of the District of Columbia, neighborhood cohesiveness, or the development of compact and contiguous districts."

6. Take likely population growth into account in setting ANC and SMD boundaries. This may mean creating SMDs with populations on the low end of the acceptable range

7. To the extent possible within Ward boundaries and subject to population requirements, design ANCs and SMDs that are compact and contiguous.

8. Avoid splitting census blocks.

9. Do not propose boundaries that would dilute the voting strength of minority populations.

10. Evaluate areas outside Ward 6 boundaries when appropriate

Mr. Jarboe asked a question about No. 6, wanting to know whether the “low end” meant going below the range defined by the Redistricting Committee guidelines. Mr. Fengler said it was his view that the both the Office of Planning and the Redistricting Committee said that if it involves AND boundaries it could be done. He mentioned as an example NoMa, where it would be difficult to come up with 1900 people, so if you had fewer and had good justification—e.g. Cohesiveness, neighborhood boundaries, he said he would feel comfortable making a recommendation for an SMD that fell below that. But as a guideline, he said, we should strive to have SMDs in the range prescribed.

Mr. Jarboe expressed confusion because No. 6 has language that contradicts language in No. 5. Mr. Rice said that’s not so because 6 allows the creation of SMDs for other reasons. Mr. Fengler expressed the concern that if there were ANCs with 11 or 12 members, then there will be ANCs of 4 or 5 members, which were not supported. He said that every ANC should have a structure that will promote their operations, and he has a concern about super ANCs and small ANCs--that the small ones will not have the resources or issues compared to the larger ANCs.

ANC Boundary Proposals:

Mr. Rice said that this was the first time the Task Force had talked among itself about size, and that he thought that each member should say what she/he liked about each map. Mr. Fengler felt, however, that it would be more expeditious to review the proposals first to develop an understand of each and then vote to determine which ones to focus on.

Jarboe proposal: His proposal was new to the group and had not been previously posted. It is a variation of the Pate quadrants proposal (see below). It’s basically a Super ANC proposal, follows other maps in changing 6C, and leaving 6B with 13 members, 6A with 12, and 6C and D with seven members each. It’s a proposal designed to deal with 6C.

Ronneberg proposal: this map, the second of two submitted by Dir. Ronneberg, is driven by his view that H Street should be in a single ANC, and organizes ANCs around commercial corridors. His basic purpose is to design a way for H Street to speak with one voice on issues like development and alcoholic beverage licensing, which does not happen now.

Stephens proposal: As described by Cody Rice. This plan establishes five ANCs, joins 2C with 6C 01, 02, and 03 for seven Commissioners. It moves Capitol Quarter from 6D to 6B, and leaves 6A pretty much the same as it is now, with the addition of Kingman Park.

Fengler/ Rice proposal: This map expands ANC 6C to an area that will give it seven commissioners by moving a portion of the current 6A between 7th and 8th St NE north of H St NE, as well as moving south into 6B. It also moves Capitol Quarter from 6D into 6B. All commissions have either 7 or 9 commissioners.

Pate proposal: This proposal divides the ANC into four quadrants, with 6A and 6B being large and 6C and 6D being smaller.

Two other proposals were presented: Shields and Manevong.

Mr. Fengler then asked for a vote for each proposal from the task force members to identify which proposal warranted further discussion:

Ronneberg: 0 votes

Stephens: unanimous yes

Rice/Fengler – 0 votes

Pate/Jarboe – quadrant proposal – 5 votes

Shields – 0 votes

Manevong – 0 votes

Based on the task force interest, two proposals were accepted for discussion: the Stephen Proposal, called the status quo, because, while I adds a fifth ANC, its basic shape remains the same as the current ANC design; and the Pate/ Jarboe Quadrant Proposals, which present two variations on a basic division of the ward into four areas.

Quadrant Plan.

Mr. Jarboe began the discussion by pointing out the two differences between his and the Pate proposal: the area of 6D that goes south of the freeway that includes a piece of 6B, making 6D a Super ANC; and the keeping of most of northeast in one area. Mr. Fengler said he wo9ud not be in favor of such a plan because at the 2C listening session, their community did not indicate they would accept pushing 6D into Stanton Park. Ms. Scheeder said she liked the quadrant proposals because it’s the best outcome for four ANCs, and it makes king adjustments easier. She said that NoMa is going to grow across North Capitol Street. Mr. Rice said he is skeptical of proposals that create super ANCs. They already have large number of members and increasing those numbers would stretch the ability of the ANC to do everything and limit their effectiveness. He said he dismisses the concept of Super ANCs out of hand. He said that five ANCs work for Ward 6. Mr. Merkeley said he likes aspects of the quadrant plan, such as the North Capitol Street boundary in Northeast and it’s the best way to divide Southeast and Southwest, keeping southeast with 6B.

Stephens Plan

Mr. Jarboe raised the issue of the shelter and apartment building below Massachusetts Avenue west of Union Station, and Mr. Rice said that it’s 800 people, and aside from that it’s where the air rights project is.

Mr. Fengler said he likes the Stephens plan. It creates a 6E that can handle those 800 people, and it preserves the status quo, it answers the 6D waterfront issues and has lots of other values. Mr. Merkeley and Ms. Scheeder agreed that it answers many questions without moving everything. Mr. Rice noted that it gives a piece of 6A to 6C (North of H Street, moving the 6C line east from 7^th to 8^th Street).

Ms. Russell said that it focuses on what’s to come as well as what’s here. It doesn’t stretch out too far beyond what’s already done. Mr. Jarboe said that the plan deals with which way residents face. He said he was warming to the idea of keeping NoMa in 6C, and keeping the Navy Yard in 6B southeast will become a new neighborhood—the stadium, high rises, new retail areas on M Street.

Mr. Rice said he feels this plan is 85-90% there; however he has a list of about five things that still need work. One is Stanton Park is not resolved.

Ms. Scheeder said she’s comfortable with this plan

Recommendation: Mr. Rice moved/Ms. Russell seconded a recommendation to accept the Stephens “status quo” plan as the Ward 6 redistricting map, with the issues yet to be resolved as toted below. The recommendation was passed unanimously, 7-0. Other issues were:

1. Without objection, the task force moved the southern half of Lincoln Park, at the request of 6B Commissioner Brian Pate, will be moved to ANC 6B.

2. For the next meeting, review SMD options for 6E and 6C regarding where the census blocks in Ward 6 south of Massachusetts Ave, west of Union Station should be placed. The first option keeps these census blocks in ANC 6E. The second option moves those census blocks to ANC 6C.

3. For the next meeting, an alternative proposal will be drawn up affiliating near southeast, 6D07, with ANC 6B. Two proposals should be drawn up, one not dividing ANC 6D and leaving it relatively intact, Mr. Rice pointed out that there are 2,700 people east of South Capitol Street, and from 3^rd Street east it is largely an unpopulated area..

4. Leaving St. Colletta’s Church in 6A, even though it has been moved to Ward 7. It is an unpopulated area, which is a good neighbor and serves as a benefit to the people in its community. Mr. Fengler said that a letter of support for the action should be requested. This is also a census tract that will have to be split.

5. Councilmember Wells will have to be followed up with on the inclusion of Kingman Park in ANC 6A, as per the request of the residents.

Mr. Rice pointed out that the Task Force went “around the world” to get back to the status quo plan. Ms. Scheeder pointed out that the listening sessions were very important and the community input was very good.

Mr. Fengler assigned task force members into ANC-specific SMD subgroups to construct initial SMD boundaries for consideration at the next task force meeting:

ANC 6A: Coburn, Marshall, Fisher

ANC 6B: Jarboe, Merkeley, Russell, Scheeder

ANC 6C: Scheeder, Fisher, Francese

ANC 6D: Merkeley, Russell, Jarboe,

ANC 6E: Coburn, Marshall, Francese

Community Comments:

6B Commissioner Ivan Frishberg thanked the Task Force for its action on Hill East. Rob Amos of Mt. Vernon Square Neighbors Association thanked the Task Force for listening to the requests of his community.

Tony Goodman, of the ANC 6C Zoning Committee, made a plea to avoid splitting NoMa at the train tracks. He said he’s okay with creating a border at H or K Street putting the line next to the air rights where there are no people. He also raised the issue of whether the area south of the freeway that contains Boathouse Row and Maritime Plaza is in 6B or 6D. He also asked about the 50-80 people living below the freeway on Lowe Barracks Row, where there’s nothing now but a dog park, and how the allocation of that and affects Commissioner Caro Green.

Monte Edwards of the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association said that for the sake of the cohesiveness of the Stanton Paarl community it is essential that H Street be in a single ANC.

Dr. Ronneberg said he was disappointed that his proposal wasn’t accepted because there should be one ANC for H Street because the problems and policies for the two halves of the street are different now and they should be the same.

Jared Crutchfield said that Boathouse Row belongs in 6B 07.

Finally, Alex Padro, ANC 2C Chair, said that in his opinion “getting rid’ of the area east of North Capitol St. is making the new situation for 6E even worse. He said he had been encouraged at the listening meeting, but was disappointed after this meeting.

August 1, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 6B Community Listening Meeting

St. Colletta’s School, Independence Avenue and 19^th Street SE

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Community Members Present: ANC 6B Commissioners Neil Glick, Norm Metzger, Brian Flaihaiven, Dave Garrison, Brian Pate, Ivan Frishberg, Carol Green, Francis Campbell O5ther Commissioner: Nick Alberti, 6A. Community members: William Phillips, Sharon Raimo, Rob Stephens, Floyd Brown, Lena McEwen, Jack Calhoun, Bobbie Krengel, Alaine Perry, Ellen Opper-Weiner, Nancy Metzger, Bill Sisolak, Peter Waldron,

Mr. Fengler reviewed the previous meetings, outlined the procedures for this one, and pointed out the sample questions that had been included in the agenda. He then began the substance of the meeting by calling on ANC 6B Chair Neil Glick.

Mr. Glick began by reading a set of five principles that arose from a discussion with “many of my fellow Commissioners and this reflects a majority of Commissioners on ANC 6B.” They have not taken an official position because they have not been in session.

1. Commissions should be focused on what communities share for commercial and cultural cores as this is more often than not the focus of commission’s work. As such it is the commonality that should be prioritized,

2. Natural and easily defied boundaries should guide architecture of commissions and SMDs wherever possible,

3. Size of SMDs matter as a principle of how lines are drawn to protect equal representation. However, it would be a mistake to extrapolate that principle to the size of commissions as a whole. The City has a wide range of sizes for commissions, and there is no generally right or wrong answer to the right size for commissions other than how that commission will best function to serve the community they represent.

4. Large scale changes should be avoided wherever possible. Commissions have history, common files and common work product. Major disruptions negatively impact the work of a commission and therefore their service to the public.

5. Commissions benefit from a diverse population.

Mr. Glick then read his answers to the questions that Mr. Fengler asked on the meeting agenda:

1. Do you feel that the current AND boundaries represent your neighborhood?

Yes, they do rather well; it is a compact almost perfect square district.

2. Are there aspects of the current boundaries that present challenges because of dissimilarity?

Not for me.

3. Should large residential buildings or complexes be dispersed among multiple SMDs?

No that would be a very bad idea.

4. Is the freeway the proper north/south dividing line? For example, is there an opportunity to move part of a western SMD to ANC 6D that uses the 3^rd and/or 4^th Street tunnels to “connect” the residents on both sides of the freeway?

Yes, this is a decent dividing line. South Capitol Street is another strong dividing line, and a better boundary. ANC 6B has been working on 8^th Street t toward the Navy Yard issues and I think we should continue this work.

5. If East Capitol Street the proper north/south dividing line? For example, is there an opportunity to move part of a western SMD to ANC 6C?

East Capitol Street is ideal. It is a major division street for the Hill.

6. Do the residents living around the baseball stadium believe their community “core” is located in a/Barracks Row b/Waterfront Mall c/both /or d/neither?

Barracks Row, I think, and for food shopping most likely Harris Teeter, with some shopping at Waterfront Mall,

7. Should ANC 6B retain Eastern Market, Barracks Row and the entire Pennsylvania Avenue corridor?

Yes, if Pennsylvania Avenue SE is divided up among different ANCs there could be a huge issue in the future with differing standards for development. As it stands ANC 6B has worked hard on promoting all of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and in hopes of making the entire street unified in transit issues, (potential traffic oval at 15^th Street and Penn) and the Eastern Market Plaza.

8. Since t least four of the existing SMDs exceed the 2,000 population target (not including 6B11) how many SMDs should the new AC have? Nine? Ten? Eleven? Twelve? Does it matter?

11 or 12 would be ideal. We've had 12 in ANC6B from 1992-2002.I was Commissioner 6B 11. It helps to share more of the work on our ANC Committees.

He said it was a very bad idea to move Hill East; it’s an attack on Hill East and makes it appear that people. are intent on cutting Hill East off? East Capitol and the River are boundaries. Eastern Market has been in 6B for 11 years, Hill East for 35.

Commissioner Norm Metzger answered the questions:

1. Do you feel that the current AND boundaries represent your neighborhood?

Yes.

2. Are there aspects of the current boundaries that present challenges because of dissimilarity?

No.

3. Should large residential buildings or complexes be dispersed among multiple SMDs?

No.

4. Is the freeway the proper north/south dividing line? For example, is there an opportunity to move part of a western SMD to ANC 6D that uses the 3^rd and/or 4^th Street tunnels to connect” the residents on both sides of the freeway?

No. The freeway and South Capitol Street are artificial lines.

5. If East Capitol Street the proper north/south dividing line? For example, is there an opportunity to move part of a western SMD to ANC 6C?

East Capitol is a reasonable line, but other streets would work just as well.

6. Do the residents living around the baseball stadium believe their community “core” is located in a/ Barracks Row b/ Waterfront Mall c/ both /or d/ neither?

I echo Commissioner Garber’s view, and believe that people living in Southeast perceive their ‘core” is Barracks Row and the Hill.

7. Should ANC 6B retain Eastern Market, Barracks Row and the entire Pennsylvania Avenue corridor?

Certainly, Eastern Market and Barracks Row have been an integral part of 6B and should remain that way.

8. Since t least four of the existing SMDs exceed the 2,000 population target (not including 6B11) how many SMDs should the new AC have? Nine? Ten? Eleven? Twelve? Does it matter?

Ten or 11.

He said that Ellen Wilson Houses has to remain on the Hill; it was designed architecturally to be part of the Hill and belongs there. The same should e said for Capitol Quarter, which has also been designed to tit in north of the freeway,

Brian Flaihaiven, the 6B commissioner who represents Barney Circle and Hill East, said he echoes the view of those who said that it is important to choose neighborhoods over numbers. And though Ward 7 needed numbers, and we gave them numbers. But ANC 6B functions well with ten members send it should stay that way. He said he strongly opposes a separate ANC for Hill East. He said that Rosedale and Kingman Park work on a north-south organization, and they should be organized east-west to minimize disruption, which should be a goal of the process. .

Dave Garrison, who represents the Garfield Park area, spoke about the idea of 6D extending north to the Garfield Park area, which is his SMD. He said his constituents see themselves as part of the core of Capitol Hill, and their primary allegiance is to the Hill. Half the SMD is in the historic district. He said they know all about historic preservation, which is not true below the freeway. Adding Southeast would not be good. They should not be taken away from their primary allegiance. He also said that the freeway is a practical border.

Commissioner Brian Pate said he wanted to associate with Me Glick’s principles. He said that to treat Hill East separately would be to Balkanize it. He said he also felt strongly that Lincoln Park should be divided north and south so that 6B would have half the park. He said that on the issue of the freeway dividing 6B and 6D, the freeway is not a barrier, that Southeast and 6B share issues: the CSX tunnel project, the Marine Barracks redevelopment; the DC Water tunnels; the schools—the re-opening of Van Ness School, which he endorses. As far as 6B, there are important pending issues like the Master Plan for the Hine Jr. High School site; the Eastern Market legislation—10 or 11 SMDs are right for 6D. Lastly, he said, he is on board with the Stevenson (Stephens?) plan for the ANC shape. He said the quadrant plan with super ANCs would have 27 people in A and B without Kingman Park.

Ivan Frishberg said that his SMD was the most awesome SMD in the City with the Hine Master Plan, Eastern Market, and the Metro Plaza all projects in the works. Success is how we connect all the pieces together. He said the freeway is an obstruction, not a barrier, and keep 6B as a large commission.

Commissioner Carol Green said that the freeway is a natural dividing line. She said that putting large buildings in separate SMDs wouldn’t work She said it would be easy to draw straight lines, but if a line were moved to change her SMD (east and south of the freeway) it would be okay.

Francis Campbell said that not a single line should be moved. He said that his SMD should remain intact, and that St. Colletta’s should be kept in the SMD. He said the school was not popular before it was built but it has become a great resource for the community and the community needs the school. He said that Kingman Park is also an integral part of the community; he said he had started the first Orange Hat Patrol there. He said they’ve taken Reservation 13, they’ve taken Kingman Park, leave them in 6B. He said he has a relationship with his constituents, they know who he is and rely on him, and he knows the people to deal with downtown. He said not to make drastic changes, that they have worked to get where they are.

William Phillips, the head of Friends of Garfield Park, said that the area around the park is an important part of who they are as a community, He said the freeway is a barrier and north of the freeway is identified as part of Capitol Hill. The Friends of Garfield Park are planning to build a connection between Garfield Park and Canal Park, and there’s an on-going effort in CHAMPS to bring the two areas together.

Sharon Raimo, director, St. Colletta’s School, said she was lobbying to have the school included in 6B.

She asked how to bring DC’s attention to the issue and it was suggested that she generate letters and petitions as Kingman Park did.

Rob Stephens of the Rosedale Citizen’s Association pointed out that he had prepared an alternative map, one with concrete documentation and precedents.

Floyd Brown said that he lives in the 100 block of North Carolina Ave., and is vehemently opposed to moves based on numbers. We have things more in common with Barracks Row. You have to look at more than the numbers,

Lena MWren said she has lived in the area since 1983, and I feel where we are is perfect. She said she appreciated that changes need to be made—she raised three kids on the Hill—but it’s important to leave them alone.

Jack Calhoun said that Hill East is in 6B, and the Ronneberg map cuts the neighborhood boundaries in half. Clearly he does not know how to draw boundaries. Neighborhoods have social boundaries, and map drawers don’t understand that. Leave the current boundaries intact.

Bobbi Krengel said that last time they made changes and moved lines and 6C was formerly 6A and was changed. They glopped us onto neighborhoods with issues that didn’t belong to us. There’s a difference between preservation issues and development issues. She said that East Capitol should not be considered a boundary corridor—if it’s too big it doesn’t divide anything. Being in 6C has been wrong. Nobody understands us, and we would love to rejoin with the rest of Capitol Hill.

Alaine Perry said if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Beware of a domino effect. She had two things: 1/don’t split hill East and reduce the diversity of the neighborhood. It will disempower us’ and 2/ keep St. Colletta’s in Ward 6.

Ellen Opper-Weiner said that Hill East should not be split off, and pointed out that there are joint ANCs in Wards 3 and 4. She said she knows a lot about it and Reservation 13 and they should remain in Ward 6. She feels that the Task Force has not had the will to fight to keep it all together.

Nancy Metzger read the following testimony:

For over 15 years, I have served as chair of the Historic Preservation Committee of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS). However, these comments are strictly my own and should not be construed as those of either the committee or CHRS. I want to comment on the role that the historic district might play in determining the boundaries.

· A suggestion has been floated that perhaps the entire Historic District should be in one ANC. The sheer size of the historic district probably precludes such a possibility however, practically speaking; the number of historic preservation and BZA cases alone would be overwhelming to any ANC—even before the ABC cases for all the major commercial areas were added to the mix. At the height of the “building boom” a few years ago, the HISTORIC Preservation Committee quite often had 8-12 Capitol Hill cases q month and it would take three or more hours to get through them At the present time, three ANCs split the HPRB cases; ANC 6B usually has more than the other two ANCs..

· However, it would not be a good idea to have small sections of the historic district in many ANCs. For instance, the Navy Yard Extension Area is just a few locks and it is south of the freeway. If it were separated from the rest of the historic district in the southeast, it would likely be in an ANC that has many large new buildings and therefore perhaps is represented by commissioners who are not as attuned to preservation concerns and row-house neighborhoods. Since the historic district has jagged boundaries, this caveat should be kept in mind in drawing straight lines.

· Even if practical, I’m leery of a single-focus ANC of only the historic district. Such an ANC would likely stir up some of those old “elitist” charges that have bedeviled the neighborhood and CHRS since the establishment of the district---the ‘ins’ and “outs” issue all over again. When the historic district was proposed over 35 years ago, the entire Capitol Hill neighborhood was being considered, from the Capitol to Hill East. The boundaries established have a lot to do with politics, not necessarily the value of one house over another or one neighborhood over another. The neighborhoods not within the historic district have their own history, their own architectural and development story, that is worthy of being celebrated as we are all discovering the CHRS Beyond the Boundaries project. Reinforcing the historic district boundary for a purpose not related to preservation is not necessary.

Bill Sisolak asked the question of what is Capitol Hill, and said that one thing that distinguishes the Hill is the historic district, and that makes East Capitol Street not a good boundary. The Hill area of 6C has more in common with 6B and that should be recognized.

Peter Waldron said as a 43-year resident of Capitol Hill and former ANC 6B Chair, don’t worry about so much about the size of the ANC, but focus on what is a neighborhood. It’s important that the redistricting do no harm and the ANCs are left with institutional memory in the form of commissioners who have dealt with the issues that are important to each neighborhood.

Nick Alberti said that if part of 6C moves to 6B the remainder of 6C will have to grow, either east or south, and he suggested moving south to Independence Avenue, with an east-west boundary on either 8^th or 9^th Street. H said that 8^th Street is a good boundary.

Mr. Fengler then wrapped up the meeting by saying that he’s not shocked that noone wants to change the ANC. However it’s difficult to say there will be no change—we have to deal with the reality of the numbers. He said he applauds anyone who has submitted a map; it’s a real challenge to anyone spending the hours to do it.

Ken Jarboe said that no-one is going to be happy. Mr. Merkley said that the ANC had spoken with a unified voice. Mr. Rice called attention to the blog to show the different ways the map could be drawn. Ms. Scheeder again pointed out that size doesn’t matter, but that neighborhoods do, and it is important to keep neighborhood gestalt.

Finally, Antoinette Russell pointed out to MS Opper-Weiner that the Task Force is not in a position to do anything about Reservation 13 and that is an issue for the Council Redistricting Committee and the Office of Planning.

July 28, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 6D Community Listening Meeting

DCRA Hearing Room, 1100 4^th Street SW

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn, Gene Fisher, Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Community Members Present: ANC 6D: Ron McBee, chair; Andy Litsky, Roger Moffatt, David Garber; Cara Shockley. ANC 6B Commissioner Brian Flaihaiven, Eve ?, Gangplank Marina Slipholders Assn. ,residents Mary Williams, Kay Williams, Maggie McCarty, Robin Taylor, David Sobelsohn, Jacquie Dupree,

Mr. Fengler opened the meeting with a summary of previous meetings and introduced the Task Force. He mentioned the series of questions he had prepared, including those about the future of Near Southeast and where it fir most comfortably—with Southwest or with Barracks Row and Capitol Hill. He then called on Ron McBee, chair of ANC 6D.

Mr. McBee said that the existing ANC served his community well. He said the ANC liked having Near Southeast as a part of it, and there were a lot of similarities between the two areas: transportation, the lack of retail, the kind of housing and the housing issues, parking.

He mentioned the planned construction on M Street, and the fact that K and L Streets were going to be reconnected across South Capitol Street. He mentioned the opening of I Street SE, the former home of a DC trash transfer station that will also open the community. He said the Southwest waterfront is much like The Yards, with 170 new housing units opening at the Yards to be followed by another 220 units. There are 1200 units expected at the Southwest waterfront.

He mentioned that Southwest was starved for retail and The Yards has great plans. He said that the redevelopment of South Capitol Street and the work along M Street join the two sectors and make them much the same.

Commissioner Andy Litsky said there is a great deal on the line. He said he had served on the ANC for 12 years, and finds that Southwest and Southeast have more similarities than differences. And, frankly, he said, neither neighborhood has an affinity for another neighborhood—neither has found its niche yet. What really joins the two communities, he said, are the maritime uses of both areas, and they increasingly will be joined at The Yards, the ballpark, and the waterfront,

He also said there is a paucity of retail in both areas—there’s nothing to buy here, but that too is changing and it’s a joint happening, He mentioned the redevelopment of South Capitol Street and M Street as being vital joint projects of the two areas. Finally, he said, there is more building in ANC 6D than anywhere else in the City, and the South Capitol Street redevelopment is key. Both areas should be conducting the negotiations with DDOT together.

David Garber, Commissioner for 6D07 said that e is still getting resident input, so his views are mostly in flux, but the majority of input is from people who feel they’re much more a part of Eastern Market and Barracks Row, and moved to the neighborhood to e proximate to the Hill. He said he is staying pretty neutral. He said he is working on the M Street corridor and sees Barracks Row as part of his waterfront area, and sees the Hill embracing near Southeast.

Commissioner Roger Moffatt said he would like to see the SMDs remain similar to what they are now, and most importantly, don’t put two existing commissioners in the same SMD.

Commissioner Cara Shockley said she crosses South Capitol Street often and would continue to do so. Southeast is a part of the ANC—the Yards Park, the ballpark, etc. are all affected by what happens in Southwest and they should work together. She also feels that there should be an odd number of commissioners, which would be sensible.

Mr. Fengler asked whether the absence of the Capitol in the ANC a problem? Ms. Shockley responded that the Capitol leaves “major demons” for Southwest like the amount of trash following an event on the West Lawn. Mr. McBee added that they were used to the “demons” of the Mall and the nearby Metro stops. He said though, that people work on the Hill, and live in Southwest and Near Southeast. Mr. Litsky said it should stay with Councilmember Evans. 6D does not need the Capitol. No one feels the need for the building.

Eve (Last?), vice chair of the Gangplank Marina Slipholders Association, which represents live-aboards and non-live aboards alike, said that as a boater, the continuity of the waterfront is integral to the success of their lives. She pointed out the little marinas in southeast, and mentioned as an example, that there would be garbage pick=up the next day at Diamond Teague Park in Southeast, so there is a real connection. She said they are facing a massive waterfront redevelopment plan that will draw the entire city and the entire waterfront has to be thought about as a whole.

Mary Williams, former ANC Commissioner, who lives one block west of South Capitol Street is opposed to Southwest being joined to Southwest, and 6D07 has no input whatsoever into what happens in Southwest. She also said she would like to secede from her SMD, primarily because it doesn’t represent her and her neighbors. A new 13-atory apartment house is being built a block away from her and most of the community benefits are for low income people. She would like to see the SMD redrawn so that one SMD is solely directed to low income people.

Kay Williams, who has lived in Harbor Square since 1964, and feels that redistricting should be homeowner driven. They are the drivers of the retail market, and want the neighborhood to be stable. It is neighborhood that has brought people together.

Maggie McCarty, who lives in 6D 07, says she loves Barracks Row loves Haines Point, but is concerned that the neighborhood not be divided. She said she is particularly concerned about being disconnected from having a voice in development, She did say she was agnostic about whether it was in 6D or 6B. She said that the census was at a bad time for the community—the population has already doubled since Census Day, and said she hoped there was some way to massage the numbers.

Robin Taylor said she lives on the Southwest side of South Capitol Street, but still feels part of the ballpark community. She said she shops at Safeway and hangs out at The Yards. She said she’s excited about the development and sees it all s one community.

ANC 6B Commissioner Brian Flaihaiven said that moving 6D07 would have an impact on all of Hill East, not just southeast. All Hill East would take away from Eastern Market, and the east to west orientation of the AANCs s should continue.

Former Commissioner David Sobelsohn said that the relationship between the and ward boundaries could put part of ANC in a different ward, and he urges the Task Force to keep ANC boundaries within the ward.

Discussion around the map

Mr. Fengler mentioned that 6D could have seven SMDs and he asked how people felt about going over the freeway and putting part of 6 around Garfield Park in 6D, saying it would make sense to 6D. Jacqui Dupree said that there is now lots of traffic in both directions on New Jersey Avenue. Mr. Litsky said he had worked with Dave Garrison on stadium parking and other issues.

A question was raised about the area beyond 11^th Street SE and development beyond that area, but there is a boundary at 11^th Street.

Mr. Jarboe said there are three demographics in 6D07: condos, home owners, and Capper//Carrollsburg people. Capitol Quarter was designed architecturally to fit with Capitol Hill. Ms. Dupree said, in fact, most of the housing is mixed income, and if the SMD is kept large they would all be represented.

Mr. Fengler asked how the dynamics work and was told that the SMD can be looked at in two ways - put high density building in one SMD or split them into several SMDs. However, someone asked that all the high-density buildings be put in a single SMD—try to make sure to split things up and create a mosaic of people. It was also said that the residential should not be separated from the commercial corridors.

Mr. Merkley said that 6D07 should be kept in 6D; it’s too big for a single SMC, not big enough for two. Mss. Williams said they were looking at 6D07 in a vacuum. South Capitol Street is a hard boundary, and you don’t have t look at moving each street to get the numbers.

Mr. Fengler mentioned the map tool on JDLand and suggested that people experiment with creating an SMD.

Someone said that SMDs are stronger north/south than east/west Mr. Jarboe said that while there are issues going cross the freeway, there are few people. Mr. Garber mentioned that the Marine Barracks are currently in two ANCs, and are expanding and should all in the same SMD.

July 25, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 2C Community Listening Meeting

Watha C. Daniels Public Library

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn, Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Joe Fengler began the meeting with a summary of the previous meetings, mentioning the challenges of ANC 6C, with different issues on each side of Union Station, and the focus on the historic district on the east side of the station.

Mr. Coburn mentioned other issues—how to give proper attention to natural boundaries such as East Capitol Street and the railroad tracks he mentioned size—five to nine members are preferred to larger or smaller groups with an odd number of commissioners. Mr. Fengler said those numbers would preserve neighborhood integrity and still allow the commissions to function it also would not isolate minority—Hispanic, African American—communities from the rest of their ANC.

Alex Padro, chair of ANC 2C was the first to speak: He said he has served six terms so he has been through redistricting before, when his ANC extended to North Capitol Street. He said his key issues are in the area of development and his ANC has factors that make it different from other ANCs in the area: the development in his area is further along than in other parts of the nearby neighborhoods. There are two defined commercial corridors, 7^th Street and 9^th Street. He said he also has half of the Capitol in his ANC, which extends to the Mall, and his commission has to sign off on every demonstration and march that occurs in town.

He said they are at the very far end of the ward and people are comfortable with that. He said that if they are allowed to have a compact ANC they will be able to “drill down” and focus on what still needs to be done. He said he’s afraid they’re going to be diluted d be able to do what they plan. He said there are SMDs that have to yield population and others that need to gain. That can be done with minor adjustments. He spoke in support of a five SMD commission, just over 10,000 people, which is in 2C’s interest.

Rachelle Nigro, who had spoken at the ANC 6C listening meeting, said that the only point she wanted to make now is that a five member ANC is better than a seven member commission, an within that framework it is important to maintain the Commission[‘s diversity.

Commissioner Chapple said he agreed with his colleagues, and that an odd number of commissioners is better than an even number. He expressed the hope that the commission could stay together], and if necessary, add another SMD to bring the ANC to five.

Sarah Livingston said she had difficulty envisioning whether 2C will remain 2C, and it could be extinguished.

Pleasant Mann pointed out that part of the existing commission includes the City Market (O Street Market) and Convention Center Hotel projects, and similar issues continue to comer up. He said that to start worrying about the trolley cars, for example, just as they are becoming a coherent commission would not be good. He said that on the size issue, large commissions don’t work, there are always vacancies and people don’t come to meetings—e.g. Georgetown or Dupont Circle.

Ricky Williams said he was opposed to confining all apartment buildings to a single SMD because it will lower the voices of renters, whereas if the renters are spread among the SMDs their issues will get the attention they deserve. Five to seven SMDs is not too large

Stan Burgess, who lives at City Vista, is in favor of a larger seven-member ANC. He said he went through the numbers, and found an extra 1000 people who could go to NoMa. He mentioned NoMa and Sursum Corda and 300 or 400 who are also in a contiguous neighborhood. The ANC could be wrapped around NoMa—managing the Mall is going away—and that leaves 14,000 people, which will increase the leverage of the ANC. It’s not good to keep it isolated, he said, and it should be inclusive, not Balkanized.

Mr. Padro said that seven is unworkable. MS Scheeder said that as a former Commissioner it was a distraction when there were six Commissioners trying to make a decision. Mr. Padro reiterated that development is ripening in his area and they have to keep working on the same issues.

Mr. Fengler asked about people living east of Stanton Park able to make decisions about issues west of that area, and asked if it didn’t make sense to have one ANC handle everything around Union Station. Mr. Rice agreed, saying that areas like Sursum Corda and NoMa belong somewhere else, somewhere like North Capitol Street.

Ms. Scheeder said that the status quo would not remain and it’s important to discuss how change is going to be managed over the next ten years—questions about who is going to be the most affected have to be answered. Mr. Williams said he did not see that as a huge problem if the ANC expands and becomes even more organized—it’s starting to move in a functional manner already.

Lydia Goring, a former Commissioner, said that she knows there will be thousands of people moving in and asked whether there could be an SMD of 300 people, knowing there will be 400 more next year. Mr. Fengler responded that there is a preferred target size of 2000, and the Task Force could make suggestions, and it would be logical to allow for the substantial increases taking place all over the ward. MS Scheeder said information should be appended to the redistricting plan saying that consideration should be given to areas where there’s a large amount of growth, and the issue has to be addressed. Mr. Fengler said that it’s an issue the Task Force has to work with.

Discussion at the map

Ms. Scheeder said a reasonable eastern boundary would be New Jersey Avenue; southern would be New York Avenue. To the west of the station is a “no-man’s land,” which was labeled “calorie-free”.

Mr. Padro pointed out that the Commission straddles 9^th Street NW. Tyler Merkley talked about splitting 9^th Street, in 2C east of 9^th, and 2F west of 9^th. He spoke about a seven-member commission, saying he would not want to cross North Capitol Street.

Stan Burgess spoke to incorporating City Vista into Shaw, saying there’s no reason to have five SMDs when there could be seven, including west of North Capitol Street. Mr. Williams agreed, saying three commissioners should move into the Shaw area.

Mr. Fengler said there are many ways to get to 10,000, but it’s most important that people are where they feel they’re in the right community and have an intrinsic sense of worth. These are not-so-bad answers that incorporate the rich history of Shaw.

Mr. Rice said that North Capitol is the eastern boundary, the “no calorie zone.” But that would mean five ANCs.

Mr. Mann said that the Shaw ANC plus the addition of the area to North Capitol Street means 7 to 9 Commissioners .but five is more logical an more compact.

Ms. Livingston said she wants to feel that she’s part of Ward 6, not as an annex. She said that adding a whole new set of neighborhoods would bring new energy, not just an end of the old ANC.

July 21, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 6A Listening Meeting

Miner Elementary School

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn, Gene Fisher, Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Community Members Present: ANC 6A Chair David Holmes; Commissioners Nick Alberti, Drew Ronneberg, Lisa Veenendaal-Selke, Amy Fishton, Laura Brogan, Robert Coomber

July 25, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 2C Community Listening Meeting

Watha C. Daniels Public Library

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn, Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Sarah Livingston said she had difficulty envisioning whether 2C will remain 2C, and it could be extinguished.

Discussion at the map

Mr. Rice said that North Capitol is the eastern boundary, the “no calorie zone.” But that would mean five ANCs.

Mr. Mann said that the Shaw ANC plus the addition of the area to North Capitol Street means 7 to 9 Commissioners .but five is more logical an more compact.

Ms. Livingston said she wants to feel that she’s part of Ward 6, not as an annex. She said that adding a whole new set of neighborhoods would bring new energy, not just an end of the old ANC.

Mr. Fengler introduced the Task Force, and gave brief review of its procedures. He said that because of the short timeline the City Council had put them under; he hoped to have a first draft in a couple of weeks.

Mr. Jarboe asked about, in that context, the lead time for submitting suggestions for split blocks to the Office of Planning. Mr. Fengler said that issue would be discussed at the first meeting on developing the plan, so that the blocks to be split could be identified en bloc, as it were, rather than being submitted in a piecemeal way and later possibly retracted.

Here are the views expressed by those present:

Kingman Park should be joined to ANC 6A

ANC 6A Chair David Holmes presented a letter he has submitted from the ANC requesting that Kingman Park be joined to ANC 6A. He said he is not trying to be imperialistic, but there is a community of interest with this area more than Ward 7, and they would like to do this as well.

Lia Veenendaal-Selck agreed that there was a community of interests between 6A and Kingman Park.

Lisa White, an ANC Commissioner from 7D01(Kingman Park) said that the split between Wards and ANCs has worked well in other parts of the District, and that what happens on C Street and Benning Road in 6A has an impact on the total area, She said there is already a cohesive relationship with the relevant 6A Commissioner in dealing with issues. Ward 7, she said, is mostly concerned with Kenilworth and Deanwood to its east, areas that are far away and have no relationship to Kingman Park.

Rob Stevens, a Rosedale resident, spoke strongly to bringing Kingman Park into 6A. Beyond that, he said, changes should be minimized except for compelling reasons. He said that relationships formed between Commissioners and the people they represent are important to maintain. He also warned against changing ANC borders, and said that while there is some logic in creating vertically (north-south) divided ANCs there are problems, and pointed out the community of interest among the people on C Street as a positive example of why horizontal SMD lines work.

Robert Coomber referred to the letter he has submitted supporting the move of Kingman Park, and added that people who live there don’t have cars, making Ward 7 ANC meetings, which are across a bridge and don’t have access to public transportation, inaccessible. 89% of Kingman Park residents, he said, support being part of Ward 6. He said he had, after a struggle, gotten to talk to Councilmember Alexander in the hallway at the Wilson Building. He assumes she’s not in favor of the split, but she says she is not clear on the issue.

Amy Fishton said that Kingman Park could remain in Ward 7. If they’re below the right number of people, they can pick up people from a Ward 7 SMD.

ANCs should share a community of interests

Drew Ronneberg said that while 6A is well-functioning in the way it’s divided into three SMDs on H Street, he expressed a concern that H Street could be better served by one SMD running its length, which would create a uniform approach for dealing with liquor licenses and zoning matters.

He said that there could be either four or five ANCs, with the Shaw area anchoring the fifth. He mentioned Bill Sisolak’s idea of moving the Stanton Park area into 6B, saying that East Capitol Street really doesn’t divide the ward, and that 6B and 6C could be moved further west and north, with 6D remaining as it is, and 6A incorporating Hill East and Kingman Park.

ANCs should be of similar size, compact in area and not too large or too small

Nick Alberti said that he believes that ANCs, like other boards, should not be too small or too large, and that seven to nine commissioners is a good size, below that is too small to accomplish things, and above too unwieldy. Generally, he said, the administrative cost of running an ANC is the same, no matter the size. But large ANCs are getting substantially larger sums of money from the District, which to him creates problems of equity.

He also said if an ANC is too large, you get people weighing in on things they don’t know about. The coverage of an ANC should be in the area where those who want to have input live. He also said here are plusses in having H Street divided—there’s synergy in having opposing views and different ideas of how to resolve issues. He said he supports having two SMDs covering H Street.

Elizabeth Nelson also spoke strongly in favor of compact commissions. She said it was fair and reasonable to expect to weigh in on things that are close to you and the larger the ANC, the more people you have with input who know nothing about the issue. .She said it is not a good feeling to be moved out of a cohesive group with similar problems.

SMDs should not be split lengthwise on commercial corridors

Mr. Coburn said that it is not a good idea to split commercial corridors lengthwise into different ANCs, having the north and south sides of H Street or the east and west, such as on 8^th Street in different ANCs. He said that having an SMD south of H Street and one north of H would bring nothing to the ANC.

The natural boundaries in Ward 6 have to be defined

Mr. Jarboe presented a philosophical question: where are the natural boundaries on Capitol Hill? Is East Capitol St. a natural boundary? For example, he said, at one point he lived three blocks from MedLink, but had no say in what happened there. Should Stanton Park have a say in Eastern Market? Should Independence Ave. have a say in Lincoln Park?` People talk about Rosedale--do people in Rosedale face toward 17^th and 19^th Street or do they have more affinity to the west with Eastern HS and H Street? Laura Brogan said there is a greater affinity focused three or four blocks to the west, and she feels the corridor along C Street has a separate set of issues.

Elizabeth Nelson added that East Capitol works better now as a boundary for her than it did ten years ago, but the orientation of her activity has changed, with more activity to the north, e.g.--.she has more involvement with Maury School and H Street. No matter where you put a boundary, she said, someone a block away will have a problem.

Ms. Scheeder said that when she was ANC Commissioner 20 years ago the dividing line between 6A and 6B was East Capitol Street and there was consultation on issues affecting one or the other side, and now she gets the feeling it’s like dealing with the border between Serbia and Croatia. Ms. Nelson said she doesn’t think there’s a problem working across the boundaries, it’ just that after ten years the orientation has changed.

Having multiple ANCs covering the same area doesn’t always work

Dr. Ronneberg said that 6A’s interactions have been primarily with 6C, not 6B, and while they have developed plans together—e.g. the Zoning Overlay, a vacant property task force—the implementation has been less successful. For example, 6A has a standard voluntary agreement, and 6C does not, and potential restaurant owners see 6A being more restrictive. It’s the same thing with zoning issues. He strongly recommends organizing ANCs around commercial areas.

There are good reasons for SMDs to stick to the 2000 +/- 5% suggestion by the Office of Planning

Mr. Rice reminded the participants that the only advice they’ve received from the District on how to organize ANCs is on the size of the SMDs—2000, plus or minus 5%, paying attention to the census blocks, without any advice on the size of an ANC, and the Task Force has to look at the maps and look at the populations, and look the neighboring SMDs—e.g. 6A03 is out of the range and a decision has to be made on how to bring into range. If the Task Force does not work within the framework and sends the Council SMDs that are out of range, even if they meet other criteria, it will give the Council an opportunity to tinker with the SMDs and they will do what they want, not what the Task Force wants.

Diversity should be maintained in building new ANCs

Mr. Holmes said he doesn’t like an approach that leaves behind pieces of the ward, and attempts to create “coherence over diversity.” He said he feels strongly that the ANCs should be as diverse--economically, racially, geographically—as possible, it’s very important to him and to the community at large. Kingman Park and Rosedale, for example, shouldn’t be isolated with Hill East into what appears to be an African-American ANC.

However, Mr. Stevens feels that Kingman Park, as the smallest SMD in the ward, shouldn’t be changed. Taking even a small block from Rosedale is” playing with fire.” Kingman Park has more affinity going toward the west and H Street.

Ms. Nelson said that one possible outcome if more population was added to Kingman Park, it might mean lopping off a piece somewhere else—For example, it might mean my SMD could be moved to 6B, where I don’t want to go.

Discussion at the map:

· If 6C becomes smaller, with 10,000 eliminating west of Union Station—is 8^th Street a hard and fast boundary, or could 9^th or 10^th Street NE work as well?.

· Dr. Ronneberg said that if Kingman Park is added to 6A you can make a large 6A (10) and a large 6B (10) and smaller Commissions elsewhere. He said that SW and Shaw are discreet areas, and if Stanton Park is added to 6B and it goes out Massachusetts Avenue to 15^th Street, you’d have a large number of commissioners in 6A, and it would be oriented east-west on a diagonal.

· Mr. Holmes said he is comfortable leaving the line where it is. He said it would be a mistake to combine Hill East, which is the blackest part of the ward, and Kingman Park.

· Ms. Scheeder asked of a definition of Hill East? One definition: East Capitol Street, east to the River, South to the River – 15^th Street on the west. Ms. Nelson said that the Hill East listserv includes Lincoln Park, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale—14^th to 17^th Streets, 6A07. 6A08—down to C Street.

· Most SMDs have grown to exceed 2000 in the past ten years, and boundaries are going to have to change, so there are secondary decisions about how to do that in a way that will be valid in five years or ten years from now.

· In order to prepare for the possible rejection by the Council of the inclusion of Kingman Park in 6A, plans should be drawn up for an ANC with Kingman Park and one without, so that it is not left to the Council to design the boundaries.

· Ms. Nelson said that the most important principle is that people feel they are properly represented, that people are put where they feel they belong.

July 14, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

ANC 6C Community Listening Meeting

Sherwood Recreation Center

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Chair; Skip Coburn, Marge Francese, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder

Community Members Present: ANC6C: Chair Karen Wirt, Commissioner Bill Crews. Community Former 6C Commissioner Bill Sisolak, 2C04 Commissioner Rachelle Nigro, 6C resident Theresa Green

Mr. Fengler introduced the program by outlining how the meeting would proceed: opening comments by ANC representatives and other attendees, followed by a “point and talk” session looking at the ANC maps provided by the DC Office of Planning, then a discussion of the specific questions outlined in the meeting agenda, and any other issues that haven’t been raised.

Create a new ANC 6E to incorporate Shaw

ANC 6C Chair Karen Wirt said that right now, ANC 6C has nine Single Member Districts, and with the addition of Shaw it could very well be 12, so one idea would be to break off 09--along with 01, 02 and 03—into a new ANC 6E.

Do not use New York Avenue NW as an SMD boundary

Commissioner Rachelle Nigro, ANC 2C04, is concerned about using New York Avenue as a dividing line on the north side of the ANC at the western edge of the ward. She feels there is currently great diversity in the housing in that SMD, with row houses above NY Avenue, and large apartment houses south on Massachusetts Avenue, and it should be left with that greater array of housing stock, and variety of people with varying social needs.

Make the Capitol Hill Historic District a single ANC

Former ANC Commissioner Bill Sisolak introduced himself as being a Hill resident since 1967, and a civic activist who lives in the “far corner” of 6C, He represented 6C01 and said there is now a “once in a decade opportunity “to think outside the box” and if not to “correct” a problem, then look at it in a very different way and not break up cohesive communities, as has been done in the past. He said it was an “egregious error” to split the Ward 6 ANC according to the L’Enfant Plan, and East Capitol St. should not serve as a divider for the ANCs. ANC 6C, he said, should have a cohesive core. Its area extends from the Southeast quadrant of Capitol Hill nearly to the Convention Center, he said, and expressed the view that were he living in NoMa or Mt. Vernon Square, he’d “be a little resentful if people on Massachusetts Ave. NE were voting on my issues.” He said “We’ve got a lot more in common with Eastern Market than we do with Mt. Vernon Square, and there is an area north and south of East Capitol Street that could be carved out for an ANC.”

Bill Crews agreed, saying that 6C currently has a real divergence of neighborhoods, and the ANCs should be made as compact as possible. With neighborhoods with similar needs in the same area, your boundary could go further east.

Increased business development should be taken into account

Mr. Fengler asked about the impact of redistricting on business. Ms. Nigro talked about City Center, and the enormous impact the $1 billion O Street Market development being planned on 7^th Street and 9^thStreet—it will be $1 billion development—with a flagship Giant, hotels, offices residences, etc. Ms. Scheeder raised the fact that that part of the ward will explode.

Mr. Sisolak said that that cost of the O Street Market and Center City projects pale in comparison to the $1.5 billion air rights project being panned over I-395. Mr. Fengler and others asked whether that remains in the new 6, as the boundary line seems to go straight down the middle of 395. The Task Force will have to get accurate information on that. It was pointed out that there are two air rights projects--the one over I-395 and the project over the rail yards behind Union Station, totally in Ward 6.

Looking at the Maps

Mr. Fengler then took out the maps that have been prepared by the Office of Planning with the census blocks marked with their population, and asked the meeting participants to explain, with the Task Force members looking on, what their ideas are.

New York Avenue is not a good boundary line for an SMD

Rachelle Nigro pointed out that in going across New York Avenue; try to avoid splitting a census block. Try to create SMDs with about 2000 people while avoiding splitting one. ANC 2C currently has four SMDs, but some constituents think five would be better. The majority of residents north of New York are African American, below NY, they are more Caucasian—it should be kept the perfect little mix it currently is—she said she lives in a condo, three blocks away, there is Section 8, if border is changed, the character will change. Don’t use New York Avenue as a natural boundary, the SMDs will change, whether it’s five SMDs or 13

The size of the SMDs and ANCs is important

Mr. Fengler asked for ideas on dividing the ANCs, Ms. Nigro said that if some are super small it can still maintain the diversity. Ideally, she said, five is a really good number. Ms. Wirt noted that if you added 6C09 to the Shaw block there are 64 people left over, so it doesn’t work. Ms. Scheeder pointed out that the boundaries of 01, 02, 03 and 09 plus Shaw can be put together logically. Ms. Wirt said the section going up to North Capitol can be added in there. Four SMDs is too small. Ms. Nigro would prefer five. Mr. Coburn said the more people you have the worse it is for decision making. Ms. Wirt said 6C had nine, and Mr. Coburn said that seven is a logical number in terms of operations, etc., that seven provides more people to pitch in and get things done. Having a lot of development in one ANC area would lead to the development of consistent policy and process, which would be ideal.

There are many ways to construct ANCs

Ms. Scheeder pointed out that there’s a lot of development happening within the Ward and there should be consistency in developing the policy for the ANCs. The Task Force should develop procedures that will equalize the workload among the Commissions.

Mr. Rice pointed out, for one example, that 6C04 is on both sides of the railroad tracks, but the people are all on one—the east--side. He said that If you're thinking about expanding an area, NoMa is the growth engine. Union Station and the railroad tracks provide an example of thinking about ANC boundaries in ways that will make sense.

Mr. Sisolak said that the Task Force shouldn’t use hard and fast dividing lines, but look at various quadrants south of H Street--East Capitol Street, Maryland Avenue, and Massachusetts Avenue—however, there are probably too many people, he said. An ANC that’s split north and south, could probably go to Lincoln Park, and would actually go to Pennsylvania Avenue-- pretty much the Capitol Hill Historic District—it could be about 18,000 people—a nine member ANC.

Mr. Crews added that there are a lot of ANC Commissioners who have no concept of historic preservation or zoning regulations. He said that the Hine site is more important to 6C than Mt. Vernon Square or North Capitol, or totally H Street—which is too big for one ANC—and suggested drawing lines where communities have similar interests. Union Station and NoMa are a good example. Does it make sense to have it all in one SMD or break it up into more than one.

Mr. Fengler said there are a lot of different opportunities—there are areas without people that can be left in one place or can be split. He said that ten years go no one envisioned the growth in this area. And now there are places with nothing, but three years from now they’ll be populated. Lines should be drawn that respect the integrity of neighborhoods.

Mr. Jarboe added that the empty blocks can go wherever you want them, because ANCs act as a whole Commission, not as individual commissioners, and they will join together as their areas grow. He asked that if a division was created with Shaw plus NorthWest One plus NoMa, with the tracks being the dividing line on the east, where would the southern boundary be—two blocks away is the homeless shelter and an old apartment building, which make up a quarter of an SMD—should it be in 2C or 6C. Should Massachusetts Ave be the southern boundary?

Mr. Crews suggested that because the air rights project over the freeway will have residential population, it could eventually be four or five SMDs. And whoever takes over the Ward 2 ANC is going to have to deal with that.

Mr. Rice pointed out that ten years ago they ran an experiment on H Street, on the east end three commissioners were appointed to share the responsibility and west of 8th Street there is a single commissioner. He said it has been very helpful to have them working together, and it kept commissioners interested in the street. He said it’s not a bad thing to have areas bounded by several SMDs. Ms. Wirt reminded the group about the bad old days when H Street was the dividing line of the ANCs and there was lots of animosity, and how much better things are now with several SMDs.

Bill Crews asked how you determine whether you have common interests in adjoining SMDs. For example, do 6A people have more in common with Rosedale and swinging around to Kingman Park, ending up with a horseshoe, or maybe an L shape. Mr. Fengler said that it’s wrong to focus solely on H Street and assume that Kingman Park is not part of the redistricting. Whether it’s a horseshoe or an L shape, there’s an affinity of communities that should be taken into account. There’s a starting point to tinker with.

There are issues other than development that will affect the shape and size of ANCs

These are some of the issues that Task Force and community members felt were important:

· Historic preservation

· Restaurants, taverns, bars—H Street, Barracks Row, licenses, protests

· Transportation bottlenecks—development, commuter traffic. Mr. Sisolak said that in his area there are parking issues, whereas in NoMa its traffic congestion that’s the issue. It’s not an ANC border issue, but some of the traffic issues shouldn’t be divided into more than one ANC.

· Mr. Jarboe reiterated that there are very special cases where there is a precedent for small SMDs, but they are very special and very rare. Mr. Fengler said the Task Force can approve whatever it chooses, but the Council will have the final say, and neighborhood cohesiveness is the important thing.

· Marge Francese said that St. Colletta’s School—now in Hill East—should be included in Ward 6

· Mr. Coburn said that it is important to take into account e the new PSA boundaries, and the new PSA maps need should be available to the Task Force.

· Ms. Wirt reiterated that more than eight or nine people on an ANC is difficult to work with. The size and number of SMDs is dependent on the surrounding area. Mr. Jarboe said that if you have more commissioners, you get a larger aggregation of city funds, and can afford to hire office staff, so it works out if you have 11 or 12.

· Mr. Fengler asked how hard and fast is 8^th Street, NE as a dividing line. Mr. Rice said there was not a lot of difference between East and West of 8^th Street, NE, and that community should trump geography. 10^th Street or even 12^th Street would be acceptable.

Final comments

Mr. Fengler asked if people had any final questions or comments:

· Ms. Scheeder wanted to know if there had been problems getting people to run for Commissioner in any area, and whether there is there any flaw in the design of the ANCs that would cause that. Ms. Wirt mentioned that half and SMD had been demolished and it was not possible to find someone to run too replace the person who lost her seat.

· Mr. Crews said he is in a quadrant separated from another neighborhood—Stanton Park and Eastern Market should be my neighborhood, not NoMa

· Teresa Green, a resident of 6C, said she likes the idea of including the PSAs in the consideration of SMDs

· Ms. Wirt re-iterated the importance of keeping SMDs 01,02,and 03 together

· Mr. Sisolak again stressed the notion of placing the Capitol Hill Historic District in one ANC, saying it gives people a very strong sense of community and shouldn’t be split.

· Ms. Nigro reiterated that Shaw should not be split

· Antoinette Russell suggested that Hill East and Barracks Row might be considered a cohesive neighborhood.

· Finally, questions were asked about the location of various Ward 6 boundaries: the eastern boundary of Capitol Hill; NoMa; Mt. Vernon Square Historic District.

July 11, 2011

Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force

Process Meeting with Office of Planning and Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

Miner Elementary School

Task Force Members Present: Joe Fengler, Skip Coburn, Ken Jarboe, Rafael Marshall; Tyler Merkley, Cody Rice, Antoinette Russell, Donna Scheeder. Absent (due to illness): Marge Francese

Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells opened the meeting by introducing the members of the Task Force and Chair Joe Fengler, mentioning the qualifications of many of them as former Ward 6 ANC Commissioners and others as active community members who are knowledgeable about the Ward. He pointed out that, in order to engender trust in the process, there is no current Commissioner serving, and aid that his main charge to Chair Joe Fengler was to develop and implement a work plan to meet the short deadlines established by the Council Redistricting Subcommittee.

Mr. Fengler briefly described the process, including five listening meetings, one for each Ward 6 ANC and one for the Ward 2 ANC that will become a part of Ward 6. After the listening meetings, there will be two Task Force meetings to develop an ANC plan, which will be 95% completed by August 18^th so that it can be distributed and shared by the September ANC meetings, be discussed, gather more information and be prepared to submit it by September 30^th. All he information being collected and discussed will be disseminated for public consumption, including meeting summaries.

He introduced Dr. Charles Richmond of the Office of Planning, who has created the maps being used for the redistricting, and Dr. Joy Phillips, who manages the data center for the District. Dr. Richmond said that Ward 6 is the first to receive this briefing. He said he manages map making for the District, and arrived after this process had taken place ten years ago and there are steps that have been taken this time to avoid the problems he had then.

There are, he said, 76,000 people in the new Ward 6, 35½ SMDs, each of which, according to the legislation, should have 2000 people, plus or minus 5%. The legislation also says that the ANCs should try to respect neighborhood borders, and it is up to the Task Force to place the boundaries where it thinks they belong. It is up to the Task Force, he said to tell the Councilmember how ANCs get put together—there is not guidance in the law as to whether they should be larger or smaller or the same size. Dr. Richmond suggested three possibilities: leave the ANCs as they are, reassign census blocks to new SMDs or, his recommendation, keep census blocks together. The data comes by census block and if they’re divided, decisions have to be made by Dr. Phillips as to how the split is made.

The process for splitting census blocks is fairly rigid—an on-line form has to be filled out and then tracked.

Mr. Coburn asked whether census blocks could be split down the middle of a street, and was told that the Census Bureau figures are usually bound by streets because they don’t have enough information to divide the streets.

Dir. Phillips said there are three sets of numbers, and they’re important because they outline the demographics. One set has 2000 and 2010 population figures by ANC boundaries. Another is arranged by SMD, with total population by SMD and population by race by census tract. The third set has population by ANC, with the target population for 2010 and the deviation by percent, which gives an idea of how the SMDs meet the required range and whether they can be split. Mr. Jarboe pointed out that the new numbers are different enough from the old ones that they have to be dealt with. He asked if there were criteria for violating the 5% variance and was told that the only guidance is to respect census blocks, but there’s no specific threshold.

Ms. Scheeder asked Mr. Gottlieb Simon (Office of ANC) about the number of people per SMD and the number of SMDs per ward. He said there were 236 SMDs called for ten years ago and that’s how many there are now. That includes one ANC with two people and the next smallest, which is four.

Dr. Richmond said there is one map that shows numbers for every census block, and they all have population data, including buildings, and you can recognize where things are if you know the area, and it makes it easier to do if you have to split a census block because there are property lines. He said that the technical memo has suggestions on how to say what needs to be said because there’s very special language—e.g. starting at this intersection and going to etc.—very formalized legal language.

Mr. Fengler raised the point that it will be a challenge for a volunteer task force, without the necessary experience, to turn the redistricting plan it into a “lawyerly” document. The mechanics of writing such a document appear to be difficult. Mr. Simon said that Ward 6 did it well ten years ago. Dr. Richmond said that the more you give Office of Planning, the less chance there is of error. Councilmember Wells said his office could provide some assistance.

Dr. Richmond then said that it was not unlikely that the Task Force would find Census Bureau errors—e.g. that hundreds of people were living in a triangle park. He said there’s nothing that can be done about that, the people put there by the census cannot be removed. The same thing is true if something has changed since Census Day—April 1, 2010—e.g. several hundred people have moved into new apartment building—nothing to be done about that!

Census blocks that are already split through the ten year old redistricting can remain the same if the form I filled out.

The Board of Elections lines will not be changed in a year. It is expected that these new ANC/SMD boundaries will be in place for the 2012 elections.

There is software for this process, but the contracts were delayed and it wasn’t ready for the current timeline. It’s technically possible to do a “mash-up” map with a regular map overlaid with the redistricting map, but it won’t be reliable—they’re good with streets, but get unreliable with borders such as St. Elizabeth’s. There is a possibility the software will be available next month.

Mr. Fengler asked about the possibility of a community in one ward fitting into the community of another ward, and asked whether that would be a separate process. Mr. Simon said that he would assume there would be outreach to the other ward, but there is no other prohibition. In answer to a question Mr. Simon said there is an ANC—3G—that encompasses two wards. He also mentioned 6D 01 and 02, parts of which are part of Ward 2.

Mr. Fengler then opened the meeting to questions and comments.

Mr. Bobby Pittman asked about transients living in group homes and was told that the Task Force is reliant on the census numbers for their inclusion.

Mr. Nick Alberti asked whether there was a way of getting the data on an Excel spreadsheet and Dr. Richmond said it could be done. Mr. Fengler suggested a sheet that has the census block, the number of people, the racial breakout, the new SMD listing and what was there before.

Mr. Matt Pleasant from ANC2D raised the issue of splitting census blocks in 2D. Kirsten Oldenburg wanted to make certain that the information was readily available—and where—and was assured that it was, at Councilmember Wells/ web site and the Office of Planning website.

Ms. Saundra Gilbert wanted assurance that public opinion would be heard and that minority views would be herd, and Mr. Fengler said that minority views would be included in the Task Force Report. It was pointed out that the Task Force reports will be treated as any other legislation and will be subject to hearings and input from residents. She said that if it’s not broke don’t fix it.

Mr. Pittman questioned the accuracy of the numbers in the OP reports. It was pointed out that he was considering registered voters when in fact the census figures included children and other non-voters.

Dr. Richmond urged that all questions to op be filtered through Mr. Fengler.

It was pointed out that ANC will have great weight during the hearing and City Council voting process, and that citizens’ input will be very important.

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Meeting Notes