Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Vol. XXIV, No. 10
The GeorGeTown CurrenT
Hopefuls spar in attorney general race
Firm seeks bidders for Palisades Safeway site
FILLMORE FuN
■ Development: Prospect of
losing store worries neighbors
By GRAHAM VYSE Current Staff Writer
With less than five weeks until Election Day, nearly 60 percent of Washingtonians remain undecided about one of the year’s most highprofile contests: D.C.’s first-ever race for an elected attorney general. That was the striking bit of Washington Post polling relayed by Washington City Paper reporter Will Sommer this past Sunday at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, where he moderated a forum between all five Democrats vying to be the District’s top lawyer. The forum was brief — each hopeful gave an opening statement, answered a single question and delivered closing remarks. But the event nonetheless offered insight about the experience and priorities of Paul Zukerberg, Karl Racine, Edward “Smitty” Smith, Lorie Masters and Lateefah Williams. Zukerberg, the apparent frontrunner among voters who have picked a horse in the race, touted his work fighting to ensure that the attorney general election would take place See Forum/Page 9
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
The Palisades Safeway may be closing in the near future, as its 4865 MacArthur Blvd. property appears to have been listed for sale. An offering memorandum from KLNB Retail says the firm is seeking bids for the site by Monday. “Situated on 64,815 [square feet] with frontage on MacArthur Boulevard and in the heart of the Palisades’ commercial corridor, 4865
Georgetown ANC votes to restrict curbside dumpsters Brian Kapur/The Current
These Stoddert Elementary students enjoyed an afternoon at Fillmore Arts Center’s 40th-anniversary celebration Saturday afternoon at the Hardy Middle School turf field. The event featured activities such as face painting, a puppet show and a moon bounce.
By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
NEWS
Brian Kapur/The Current
Owners of adjacent 44th Street homes are disputing access to their shared driveway.
easement” to use a driveway that, beginning in 2012, was blocked by his neighbor’s car. But let’s back up — if the narrow driveway shared by 1521 and 1523 44th St. has enough room to do so.
By GRAHAM VYSE Current Staff Writer
Both Martin, who lives at 1521, and Noel Bicknell, of 1523, declined to comment, at least until the litigation is resolved. They also declined to say where they’ve been parking their cars during what is now a nearly two-year-old legal dispute. But the Appeals Court ruling tells the tale. The adjoining town homes were built by a single developer in the 1930s, with a 12-foot-wide driveway straddling the property line, connecting two separate garages to a rear alleyway. The Martins bought their house at 1521 in 1969, and for three decades used the common driveway “without incident” to access their garage, the judges wrote. But in See Court/Page 7
SPOR TS
Council bill seeks to boost transparency of District’s ANCs — Page 2
National Cathedral soccer holds off Georgetown Day — Page 13
■ Public space: City asked
to ban use or increase fees
Shared driveway use ends up in Appeals Court A dispute over a narrow driveway in Foxhall Village has spurred bitter litigation, bouncing from D.C. Superior Court to the D.C. Court of Appeals and, now, back to Superior Court again. A three-judge appeals panel ruled last month that the lower court erred in dismissing the case, and ordered it to reconsider. At issue is an arcane discussion of differing kinds of easements, which give property owners the right to use or pass over another property. The plaintiff, James Martin, argues in legal papers that he had an “implied grant of an easement” or, “in the alternative … a prescriptive
MacArthur Boulevard is a one-of-akind investment opportunity,” the short memorandum states, pitching the site as ideal for mixed-use development. “Rarely does an investment opportunity such as this exist in the Palisades.” The memo also notes that “Safeway will consider a short term leaseback” after the deal is closed, likely in December or January, but it does not otherwise address the grocery. The sale would be the second in Northwest as Safeway merges with Albertsons under the ownership of investment firm Cerberus Capital. In June, Georgetown Day School See Safeway/Page 7
Georgetown’s advisory neighborhood commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to request that curbside dumpsters be banned — or at least severely restricted — on residential streets in their community. Commissioner Tom Birch said he and his colleagues still need to take their proposal to D.C. officials, but they said the time had come to prevent dumpsters used during home renovations from taking up so much space in Georgetown. “We’re all familiar with the use and the proliferation of dumpsters in our neighborhood,” he said. “They’re available for long periods of time. The permits are cheap. They’re easily renewable.” As a result, Birch said, they are taking up an increasing number of parking spaces and jutting out onto narrow residential streets, frustrating residents. Moreover, most dumpsters
SHERWOOD
As election nears, mayoral debates still in short supply — Page 10
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
One complaint from residents is that dumpsters take up parking spots on already-crowded roads.
may be unnecessary because contractors working on home renovation projects in the area usually have access to waste removal trucks, he said. One resident told Birch her family had renovated four different houses in Georgetown without ever using a dumpster. As of now, it costs a contractor only $75 for a permit to keep a dumpster on a D.C. street for a month. Birch said the District should consider emulating Old Town Alexandria, where a contractor would have to pay $1,900 to keep a dumpster out for that amount of time. Commissioner Dennis Quinn See Dumpsters/Page 5 s a i d
INDEX Calendar/16 Classifieds/25 District Digest/4 Exhibits/17 In Your Neighborhood/8 Opinion/10
Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/21 Service Directory/23 Sports/13 Theater/19
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