Northwest Georgetown September ANC Update
This is your Northwest Georgetown ANC Update for September! I hope you had a wonderful summer! While it was quiet in terms of official ANC news, things continued to percolate all summer long. Here’s what new and coming our way:
Streateries Progress
As I wrote back in June, the future of streateries and expanded sidewalks in Georgetown is in doubt. The BID’s permit covering them expires at the end of this calendar year, and as of this spring it was unclear whether the BID would be able to extend it. At that time, I queried the public about how they feel about the program and I received overwhelming support for it. Similarly the BID surveyed an even wider group and received the same message1: While improvements and modifications are certainly necessary, the core of the plan is worth keeping.
Over the summer, the BID staff and members of the ANC have been in discussion about how to proceed with the program. Our goal is to keep the best parts of the program and search for solutions for concerns that we’ve heard. First on that list is aesthetics. Namely, can we do better than Jersey barriers and plastic decking? Additionally, looking for a way to better accommodate commercial deliveries without double-parking is crucial. Other concerns include evaluating underused extensions and incorporating the recommendations of the Circulation and Access Study currently underway. (More on that below).
In order to support the BID’s approach to the city for an extension, I plan on proposing a resolution at this week’s ANC meeting stating as much. If, as expected, the BID does submit an application for an extension, the ANC will then engage more specifically on the elements of that application, which will take place at a subsequent meeting. I am optimistic that this process will result in a preservation of the program with a clear goal of making tangible improvements moving forward.
Transportation Study
As mentioned above, the city is current conducting a wide-ranging circulation and access study for Georgetown. This will look at nearly all elements of transportation in Georgetown with the aim of increasing accessibility and safety for all.
The study has established a website with important information. We are current in the community outreach and engagement phase. A crucial component of this outreach is hearing from you about what is wrong in the neighborhood right now. And a way to communicate that is to go to this map and add a pin at the exact location of the problem with a description. This is what the map looks like now:
You can also just write your concerns at the same page. I took a walk through our corner of Georgetown with the study’s leaders to alert them to the problems that impact us specifically. For example, I had them meet me at the intersection of 33rd, Wisconsin and Reservoir. Just standing there for about five minutes let them see just how dangerous the current situation is. I hope the message stuck with them, but hearing the same message from a wider population will surely help, so please submit comments and take the survey!
There will be a public meeting in November to present the initial recommendations of the study, so stay tuned for more details!
Commercial Census
In connection with my writing the Georgetown Metropolitan2, I have for many years conducted an annual(ish) census of every store, restaurant, salon, etc., in Georgetown. It gives a fascinating picture of the state of Georgetown’s commercial district and how it has evolved over the years. I was a bit late to the count this year, but I finally got around to it over the weekend. Here are the highlights:
There are 464 business3 in Georgetown. That’s up from last year, when I counted 451, but still below the pre-pandemic total of 509.
The overall gain came from 62 business opening and only 45 closing.
The largest single category of businesses remains restaurants, which total 120 (up five from last year). Clothing stores come in second with 92 shops (up three from last year). Salons come in third at 45 (down three from last year).
Despite the perception that Georgetown is just a bunch of national chain stores, independent or local shops represent the solid majority of establishments, with 301 (64%). Restaurants are, not surprisingly, quite skewed towards non-chain, with 98 of the 120 being independent (82%). But even pulling restaurants out from the the total numbers, independent shops represent 59% of the count.
I started counting pot shops separately this year and reached a total of 15 (although I suspect I may have missed a couple…)
Here is a breakdown of business type for this year:
Cannabis
Speaking of pot, as I described back in May, there are big changes coming to how the city regulates cannabis. In short, the city aims to expand the number of medical marijuana shops and essentially let them sell recreational pot. They will be regulated like liquor stores and, crucially, all the unlicensed pot shops will be forced to close.
The new licenses will be made available on a first come, first served basis in November. Strict proximity rules will apply, with no licenses to be issued to a location within 300 feet of a school or recreation center or 400 feet of another licensed pot shop. I will push the city to enforce these proximity rules strictly. Moreover, I will push the city to follow through on its promise to shut down the unlicensed shops. It will take time, but I hope to get that 15 number, mentioned above, down to just a handful of clean and well-regulated dispensaries.
Upcoming ANC Meetings
Our September ANC meeting will be held Tuesday night via Zoom, starting at 6:30 pm. The meeting will cover a lot of ground including:
Electing our new chair (and welcoming Daniel Chao, who took over Elizabeth Miller’s seat)
Receiving an update on the Circulation and Access Study
Discussing the status of the planned Jelleff Rec Center renovations
I am hopeful that we will be able to schedule more in-person ANC meetings soon, (with a hybrid option), so stay tuned on that!
Students Back!
With the arrival of September, Georgetown students have returned for the year. That may mean you have new neighbors on your block. This sometimes leads to conflict, but I find reaching out directly to the students first is a good approach. Many of these students are living independently for the first time in their lives, so there’s bound to be some growing pains. That said, remember to reach out to SNAP at (202) 687-5138 if there is a problem.
And, as always, if you have an issue you’d like my assistance with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at 2e02@anc.dc.gov.
The BID staff recently appeared on CityCast DC to discuss the streateries and the results of their survey. Give it a listen!
If you’re not familiar, the Georgetown Metropolitan is a Georgetown blog I started in 2008 to cover the neighborhood. Surprisingly I’ve kept it going now for nearly 15 years despite it being essentially just an extremely unpaid hobby.
For my purposes that includes every shop, restaurant, salon, gym, bar, market, bank, etc. So long as it’s a public-serving business with a storefront presence, I generally count it.