Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Vol. XXV, No. 11
The Georgetown Current
Nightlife bill sees revisions after feedback
Mayor finds funding for variety of projects
c z ech it out
■ Budget: Ellington School,
Lafayette Rec make the list
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
A bill intended to address noise from the city’s exploding nightlife scene is still inching through the legislative process, even as many within the business community oppose it. At a committee meeting late last month, at-large D.C. Council member Vincent Orange announced plans for a second public hearing on Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. to discuss the particulars of the measure now that it has been revised from its July incarnation. The updated bill reflects changes suggested by Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration director Fred Moosally during the July hearing. Under the revised proposal, amplified noise like live music that can be heard from 100 feet away during the day (9 a.m. to 9:59 p.m.) and 50 feet away at night (10 p.m. to 8:59 a.m.) will violate the District’s noise ordinance. This represents what Orange’s committee argues is a more suitable policy that the current See Noise/Page 16
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
An unexpected $47 million windfall in city funds will go toward a series of projects across the District, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office announced Friday evening. The projects selected by the mayor span all eight wards and in Northwest include $9.8 million to ensure timely completion of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts modernization in Burleith, $4.6 mil-
Starbucks seeks beer, wine sales at five D.C. locations Brian Kapur/The Current
Professor Natsu Onoda Power and her Georgetown University theater students performed scenes from Power’s stage adaptation of Karel Capek’s “War With the Newts” at the Embassy of the Czech Republic on Thursday night. The play will premiere Nov. 12 at the university’s Gonda Theatre.
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
NEWS
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
An investor purchased the alley and says he plans to build there.
son and Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans supported the bill during Thursday’s hearing at the council’s Committee of the Whole. Evans also expressed frustration that this matter continues to take up his and the council’s time.
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
“I’m very annoyed that we’re here at all today,” Evans said. “This is a ridiculous issue.” Evans said that he wishes eminent domain weren’t necessary but that the property owner wasn’t negotiating in good faith with neighbors or the city. If the bill passes and the city seizes the lot, a judge will determine an amount of money proportional to property owner Kebreab Zere’s loss, according to Evans. At the hearing, Zere argued that he should be allowed to let the market determine the value of the property, which city records say he purchased for $25,204.67. “If the neighbors want to buy the lots, they need to pay the fair market See Alley/Page 7
SPOR TS
Developer considers building single home on Dent Place site — Page 3
Georgetown Day soccer throttles Saints in 5-0 romp — Page 13
■ ABC: Company’s ‘Evenings’
program eyed for Northwest
Council weighs eminent domain for alley A bill to seize a Georgetown alley using eminent domain received a favorable response from D.C. Council members at a committee hearing last Thursday. Residents and city agencies have always treated the paved open space behind homes on N and O streets NW between Potomac and 33rd streets NW as public property, a way to access garages and backyards. But several years ago, the city sold off the area as five lots in a tax auction — evidently in error — and their new owner says he’d like to construct a home there. Council Chairman Phil Mendel-
lion to renovate the Lafayette Recreation Center in Chevy Chase, $3 million to repair and improve the playground and field at Garrison Elementary School in Logan Circle, and $1.9 million to purchase vacant and blighted properties in Ward 4. The money came both from unspent funds from the 2015 fiscal year and from a $25 million agreement with Pepco that grants the firm naming rights to a yet-undecided street, park or other public facility. The deal emerged while the District arranged to buy land from Pepco for the planned Southwest soccer stadium. See Budget/Page 16
A Starbucks program that brings nighttime food and alcohol service to its coffee shops is on tap for five D.C. locations. The Seattle-based chain launched “Starbucks Evenings” in 2010 and it’s since spread to about 100 locations nationwide, according to a company spokesperson. The program’s menu varies by location but generally includes small appetizertype foods and a selection of wines and craft beer purchased at the counter. Starbucks posted notice of its plans at the five locations on Friday as part of the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration process. They are 443 7th St. NW, in Penn Quarter; 1301 Connecticut Ave. NW and 1700 Connecticut Ave. NW, in Dupont Circle; 5500 Connecticut Ave. NW, in Chevy Chase; and 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW, in Georgetown. The plans were first reported by the Washington Business Journal.
BUSINESS
SunTrust highlights new technology at Georgetown branch — Page 5
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Starbucks at 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW is among the five D.C. shops seeking an alcohol license.
The applications seek operating hours that extend to 11 p.m. for both interior and outdoor seating areas in most cases; in some locations, Starbucks has proposed instead capping the sidewalk cafe hours at 10 p.m. some nights. The applications describe each of the planned operations as “a restaurant serving savory small plates and desserts meant for sharing, in addition to its coffee and breakfast offerings served all day, and offering wine & beer selections to its guest in a relaxing and comfortable environment.” The Starbucks spokesperson declined to say how the company See Starbucks/Page 16
INDEX Calendar/22 Classifieds/29 District Digest/2 Exhibits/23 In Your Neighborhood/18 Opinion/10
Police Report/4 Real Estate/17 School Dispatches/8 Service Directory/27 Sports/13 Week Ahead/3
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