Northwest Georgetown October ANC Update

Hello and welcome to the Northwest Georgetown ANC update! I hope you’re having a great early fall and get plenty of chances to head out to pumpkin patches and apple orchards this month! Here’s what’s happening around our neighborhood:

Tavern on 33rd St.

As I mentioned in my last update, I spent a lot of time over the summer negotiating a possible settlement agreement for a tavern that was seeking to open at 1660 33rd St. I’m happy to report that over the last month, we reached an agreement between the parties. The protests were dropped and the license was issued.

I certainly understand that many neighbors still have anxiety about this establishment opening. It is a new, and higher intensity use for a building that backs up to a lot of residential properties. But the property is zoned commercial and the ABC Board has developed a permissive reputation in recent years. So having this establishment open with a long list of conditions designed to make them be good neighbors is the best we could hope for.

The conditions in the settlement agreement (link here) address a wide variety of activities. These include hours (both for the inside and the summer garden), noise, trash and smoking. I am hopeful that with these conditions applied that this new establishment (named Creme) will substantially reduce any negative impacts its opening could have.

I do not know yet when Creme will open. I hope it is a success and becomes a valuable part of our corner of Georgetown. Once it opens, please let me know if you have any issues or complaints about it!

Volta Park Fall Fest Next Week

The Friends of Volta Park are holding their annual Fall Festival next Saturday, October 5th. It runs from 11AM - 2 PM. Come on out!

Speaking of Volta Park festivals, the Citizens Association of Georgetown will hold their fall Concert in the Parks at Volta the next day, October 6th. It will take place from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

As for the field renovation, the last I heard was that it would move forward in early November. But that was not a commitment, and I’ve been burned by these non-committal dates many times already. So take it with a big sack of salt.

ANC Meeting

The ANC will be holding its October meeting next Monday night at 6:30 pm at Visitation (virtual option here). The draft agenda is here. I want to highlight one issue that ANC is addressing: the proximity rules for medical cannabis shops.

The rules and regulations for the newly licensed medical cannabis shops include provisions concerning the retail shops’ proximity to schools, rec centers, and other licensed shops. Specifically, no shop may open with 300 feet of a school or rec center or 400 feet from another licensed shop.

When the city first started the process to issue these licenses last year, I reached out to the lawyers at ABCA to get clarity as to how the distance was supposed to be measured because there are lots of ways they could be measured. I was told that they would use the method whereby they would look to the shortest line drawn directly between the two lots. This would provide the broadest protection against having the shops too close to schools, rec centers or other shops.

I was under the impression that this is the standard ABCA used, however a recent applicant appears to have obtained a different approach. The applicant is seeking to open at 3120 Grace St. This is a space in the larger Grace Street Collective group of businesses. And, importantly, it is a shop that is in a lot that is much bigger than the shop itself:

The large lot on the bottom right of the image above is the lot for Grace Episcopal, which houses Georgetown Montessori. If you draw the shortest line between the Grace St. lot and the church’s lot, it is well below 300 feet. And as such, it should mean that the application should not got forward.

However, the ANC has learned that ABCA has used a different approach to measuring proximity in this case. We understand that they measured from the proposed shop’s actual location within the lot to the actual location of the Montessori School in the other lot. This puts the distance just over 300 feet.

The ANC discussed this issue in our meeting last month and we are in agreement that a more restrictive measuring approach should be used. It has less to do with this particular applicant as it does with the fact that the neighborhood is already inundated with licensed and unlicensed pot shops. Interpreting the proximity rules in this fashion would blunt the protections that the proximity rule provides.

The ANC has sought clarity from ABCA on what standard applies, but have not yet received an answer. We will be considering a resolution calling for clarity from ABCA on this issue at the meeting.

And with that, have a happy October!