Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Vol. VIV, No. 13
The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Walls students head to U.S. Ethics Bowl
Property assessments rise throughout D.C.
DyNAMIC DuO
■ Taxation: Home values
climb 6.06 percent citywide
By DEIRDRE BANNON Current Correspondent
After winning the D.C. Ethics Bowl for the third year in a row, the School Without Walls team will head to the University of North Carolina next month for the national competition. Held Jan. 31 at American University, the D.C. event featured 12 teams from 10 local high schools discussing topics including violence in schools, medical ethics and government policy — all within an ethical theory framework. While ethics bowls are similar to debate competitions, there are key differences. In debate, “students are given a position they have to defend; they’ve already figured out what the answer has to be,” said Ellen Feder, philosophy professor at American University and co-organizer of the D.C. Ethics Bowl. “But that’s not what philosophy is. We’re not supposed to be rhetoricians; we’re supposed to be getting at the truth.” In an ethics bowl, “students are given a problem that doesn’t necesSee Ethics/Page 10
By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
The seemingly inexorable — but uneven — increase in single-family home values in the District continues. New 2016 assessments from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue show modest jumps in already pricey neighborhoods in Upper Northwest — and the biggest boost in newly trendy areas like LeDroit Park, Eckington and Riggs Park. The biggest change, in fact, is an
Residents question ruling for River Inn sidewalk cafe Brian Kapur/The Current
Senior guard Brian Crawford, left, and sophomore guard Chris Lykes led Gonzaga’s basketball team past DeMatha 77-68 in a double overtime thriller to capture the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship on Thursday. The Eagles won their first league hoops title since 2008.
City orders halt to events at Kalorama house By KATIE PEARCE Current Staff Writer
On the Airbnb website, the property at 2220 Q St. is advertised as a “Celebrity House Hunter Mansion,” available for private events for $1,500 and up per night. Guests on the site have chimed in with praise of the six-bedroom house, which has hosted wedding receptions, a New Year’s Eve celebration and birthday parties. But neighbors of the SheridanKalorama mansion have also been chiming in, expressing increasing concerns about noise, crowds and parking woes. And last week, the D.C. government intervened to shut down the
NEWS
Brian Kapur/The Current
The owner of the Q Street home says he will now cater to guests rather than rent it for events.
party. On Friday, the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory
Affairs issued a cease-and-desist order to property owner Doug Jefferies, who also owns Results the Gym in Capitol Hill and Stroga gym in Adams Morgan. The order directs Jefferies “to discontinue any and all unlicensed business activity there, which includes short-term rentals of the residence,” according to an email from Christopher Shorter of the Office of the City Administrator, which was forwarded to The Current. “The agency will also send a letter to AirBnb, alerting the company to the fact that the listing for 2220 Q St. NW is offering the property for an unlicensed — and consequently See Kalorama/Page 2
EVENTS
ANC seeks input on West Dupont liquor license moratorium — Page 7
18.95 percent jump in assessments from 2015 to 2016 in Eckington. That compares with mild inflation in home prices in Ward 3: 9.23 percent in Cleveland Park, for example, but only 3.3 percent in American University Park, 5.28 percent in Chevy Chase, 3.97 percent in Forest Hills, and 2.06 percent in Spring Valley. In Ward 2, established neighborhoods with already sky-high home prices also saw modest gains: up 6.56 percent in Georgetown, and 5.45 percent in Burleith. But farther east in the ward, Foggy Bottom saw a 13.86 percent hike, and Old City II (which includes parts of Dupont See Assessments/Page 7
Kennedy Center to host Wagner’s ‘Flying Dutchman’ — Page 25
■ Foggy Bottom: ANC
faults city over transparency
By DEIRDRE BANNON Current Correspondent
The Foggy Bottom advisory neighborhood commission is seeking legal advice on a November 2014 zoning administrator ruling that makes The River Inn eligible to open a sidewalk cafe for its restaurant, Dish+drink. Commissioners are concerned that the community was not given an opportunity to weigh in on the decision, and they question whether rules regarding public notice were followed. The zoning decision overturns a 2002 ruling made by the same office when the hotel at 924 25th St. applied for a sidewalk cafe permit. At that time, officials determined that the operation could not expand into public space because zoning regulations prohibited any part of the hotel restaurant to “be visible from a sidewalk.” The ruling also noted that such restaurants “may not be increased.” But in his November 2014 rul-
SHERWOOD
An arrival and a departure from key public roles — Page 9
Brian Kapur/The Current
The River Inn is seeking to add outdoor seating at 924 25th St., but neighbors are concerned about noise and other issues.
ing, zoning administrator Matthew LeGrant took a different interpretation. Because the restaurant, which is contained within the building, is not changing its visibility from the sidewalk, an outdoor cafe would be allowable, explained Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs spokesperson Matt Orlins. Further, since the sidewalk cafe would be on public space, it would not considered to be part of the restaurant, he See Cafe/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/22 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Exhibits/23 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/18
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/17 School Dispatches/15 Service Directory/27 Theater/25
Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com