Is there anyone, other than the people on the Task Force, who are happy with what has transpired or how it has come into being?

The following letter was sent to Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh concerning a proposal by the Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force that would assign the AU Main Campus and Wesley Seminary to an ANC that does not include the Spring Valley or Wesley Heights residents that are directly abutting and impacted by the two institutions.

Neighbors for a Livable Community (NLC) -- established in 1987 -- and the Spring Valley-Wesley Heights Citizens Association (SVWHCA) -- established in 1952 -- are strongly opposed to the proposed Ward 3 ANC Redistricting Task Force Map that needlessly splits neighborhoods between multiple ANCs, ignores natural geographic boundaries, and splits neighborhoods from the neighboring institutions that impact the quality of life in those neighborhoods.

Dear Councilmember Cheh:

Neighbors for a Livable Community (NLC) and the Spring Valley – Wesley Heights Citizens Association (SVWHCA) are strongly opposed to the Ward 3 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) Redistricting Map that has been proposed by the Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force; and NLC and SVWHCA are extremely concerned by the lack of transparency in the process that has led to its creation. What makes this draft map both surprising and disappointing is that the overall population of Ward 3 has been stable over the last ten years and did not result in any changes in the ward’s boundaries. There is little reason for a wholesale redrawing of the ANC boundaries, especially boundaries that ignore nearly 40 years of ANC map drawing that ensured adequate representation for residents on issues that affect their neighborhoods and that come before their ANC.

The task force appears to have focused its work along commercial/institutional corridors rather than neighborhoods. The proposed map demonstrates precisely why this commercial/institutional corridor focus is flawed. The ANC map proposed by the Redistricting Task Force needlessly splits neighborhoods between multiple ANCs, ignores natural geographic boundaries, and splits neighborhoods from the neighboring institutions that impact the quality of life in those neighborhoods.

The proposed task force, in effects, strips the “Neighborhood” out of Ward 3 ANCs.

Neighbors for a Livable Community (NLC) is a registered District of Columbia non-profit organization established in 1987 by concerned neighbors of American University (AU) to protect the quiet, long-established residential neighborhoods surrounding the University. Although University-related issues have been the primary concern of the NLC over the years, NLC’s neighborhood-oriented mission is broader and focuses on preserving the character of the neighborhoods impacted by AU, particularly Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, American University Park, Fort Gaines, and Westover Place.

The Spring Valley-Wesley Heights Citizens Association (SVWHCA) was established as a neighborhood association in 1952 and incorporated in the District of Columbia with the Corporations Division of the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). The SVWHCA is the longest continuous citizens group representing the interests of the Spring Valley and Wesley Heights sister-neighborhoods. SVWHCA has been recognized as a party in many zoning cases impacting the Spring Valley and Wesley Heights neighborhoods, including all previous AU Campus Plan cases. The Association has continued throughout the years to be involved in a wide range of land use issues as advocates for neighborhood interests, including historic designation, campus planning, and other zoning issues.

Our major concern is that the proposed map appears to play games with the Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, and AU Park neighborhoods with the boundaries zigging to and fro across Massachusetts Avenue in a way that simply makes no sense if the goal is to respect neighborhood integrity. Specifically,

1. The proposed map would place the American University Main Campus and the Wesley Seminary Campus into an ANC designated as Upper Wisconsin. But, the Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, and Westover Place neighborhoods, which are most impacted, contiguous, immediately adjacent, and surround the two institutions –– will be in a different ANC labeled as MacArthur and Massachusetts.

2. The proposed map needlessly splits the AU Park neighborhood between two ANCs – the MacArthur and Massachusetts ANC and the Upper Wisconsin ANC. The majority of the AU Park neighborhood is located in the Upper Wisconsin ANC. Residents of AU Park are more oriented to Wisconsin Avenue issues than issues that may arise along MacArthur Boulevard in the Palisades.

3. The proposed map also appears to play games along New Mexico Avenue. It would split residents of Wesley Heights from the adjacent commercial corridor along New Mexico Avenue and appears to split the commercial corridor, itself, between two ANCs – the MacArthur and Massachusetts ANC and the Lower Wisconsin ANC. Some residents living on New Mexico Avenue immediately adjacent to the New Mexico commercial corridor – between Westover Place/Embassy Park and Cathedral Avenue – a short three-block area – would be split among two ANCs.

4. The proposed map ignores the natural boundary from Massachusetts Avenue to Foxhall Road which encompasses the Glover Archbold Park and the Foundry Branch Valley Park. The task force proposes to relocate the Foxhall Village neighborhood to the Lower Wisconsin ANC despite the fact the neighborhood has common issues and interests with the Palisades neighborhood which will be located in the MacArthur and Massachusetts Avenue ANC. This is inconsistent with respecting the natural boundary of the Park that is critical in the redistricting process. It even appears that the Field School, Kreeger Museum, and the Saint Patrick fields and new location for St Patrick’s Upper School have been designated for the Lower Wisconsin ANC when the residents impacted by these institutions would be located in the MacArthur and Massachusetts Avenue ANC.

5. We also are deeply troubled by the proposal to unnecessarily split the Cleveland Park neighborhood into two separate ANCs. Again, this makes no sense; it is so egregious as to suggest some hidden agenda on the part of the task force that is being shielded from public discourse and debate.

The process for drawing these ANC maps has lacked the type of transparency and neighborhood engagement that has characterized previous Ward 3 ANC redistricting efforts with which our organizations have been engaged since our establishment. The membership of the task force has been severely limited and is not representative of the broad range of neighborhood interests or neighborhood/civic associations within Ward 3. There has been minimal outreach to neighborhood groups or residents in this process. We learned of the proposed map by attending the March 2 meeting of ANC 3D in which neighbors were not even provided an opportunity by the ANC to comment on the proposed task force map. Moreover, the proposed maps, themselves, lack the kind of detail that is required to understand the ward-wide implications of the task force’s product. There is no written narrative of the specific changes that are being proposed and the maps lack the street information that is required to facilitate careful analysis.

Transparency is about more than setting up a website and saying that meetings are open to the public. It is critical to engage neighbors in this process and that has not been done by the 11-member task force – and may have been beyond the reach of such a small task force with few ties to neighborhood/civic groups. We know of others who sought to participate on the task force and were turned down.

Most significantly, the objective of any ANC redistricting initiative should be to respect neighborhoods. This proposal fails to meet that most basic objective.

Thank you for providing another week for residents to learn more about the product of the task force’s work. It is our understanding the task force will vote on its proposed map for a second time on Tuesday, March 8. We encourage you to send the task force back to the drawing board instead; engage more thoughtfully with the ward’s citizens and civic associations (not just a select few); and ask that the Task Force adhere to the basic principles of redistricting to respect natural boundaries and to preserve the integrity of the long-established neighborhoods of Ward 3.

Neighbors for a Livable Community
The Spring Valley-Wesley Heights Citizens Association

Anonymous wrote:To the PP...they introduced a NEW map last week and voted on it.

If it were a transparent process, that map would have been public for at least a week, if not more, prior to taking action.

People in lower Foxhall are PISSED to be paired with Glover Park.

People in "Middle Wisconsin" are being cut off from both the historic district AND the coming City Ridge site.

People who live a block off Wisconsin Ave in Friendship Heights are in an ANC that is oriented to Connecticut Avenue.

These are just three examples of how the Task Force is shaking things up contrary to the stated goal of having corridors as the focus and the people who live near tham in those ANCs.

It is a horrible new map and the process was opaque getting to it.

Sorry, truth hurts.

If this is what Tricia Duncan thinks is acceptable as a prospective Councilmember, then she will not be getting my vote.

She needs to speak up on this pronto.

Valid points. You need to cross post your Tricia Duncan concerns to threads on city council seats, and share them with the CP list serve as well.

To the PP...they introduced a NEW map last week and voted on it.

If it were a transparent process, that map would have been public for at least a week, if not more, prior to taking action.

People in lower Foxhall are PISSED to be paired with Glover Park.

People in "Middle Wisconsin" are being cut off from both the historic district AND the coming City Ridge site.

People who live a block off Wisconsin Ave in Friendship Heights are in an ANC that is oriented to Connecticut Avenue.

These are just three examples of how the Task Force is shaking things up contrary to the stated goal of having corridors as the focus and the people who live near tham in those ANCs.

It is a horrible new map and the process was opaque getting to it.

Sorry, truth hurts.

If this is what Tricia Duncan thinks is acceptable as a prospective Councilmember, then she will not be getting my vote.

She needs to speak up on this pronto.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or...people believe that continuing to pave over farms for single family housing as has been done for the last 80 years is a bad idea and as such, we should have more density in our center city area, taking advantage of existing infrastrucutre and affording the opportunity for people to live car-free or car light.

And then they undermine the public’s trust with a task force that ignores input from residents, gerrymanders, and operates with no transparency? It gives smart growth a bad name.

Operates with no transparency? They've been having weekly public meetings for seven weeks. It's all out in the open.

As to the claim of ignoring public input, they have received a lot of input, much of it was acted on. If your suggestion wasn't taken up I can assure you it was because it wasn't persuasive, not because it was ignored.

Anonymous wrote:Or...people believe that continuing to pave over farms for single family housing as has been done for the last 80 years is a bad idea and as such, we should have more density in our center city area, taking advantage of existing infrastrucutre and affording the opportunity for people to live car-free or car light.

And then they undermine the public’s trust with a task force that ignores input from residents, gerrymanders, and operates with no transparency? It gives smart growth a bad name.

How to explain the fact that all three appointed members from one Advisory Neighborhood Commission on the official Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force are connected to a single group, “Cleveland Park Smart Growth”?

Task force member Bob Ward identifies himself as CP Smart Growth's chairman. Mr. Ward's group backed task force member Jimmy Dubois when he was elected to the ANC, and Mr. Dubois’ spouse is on CP Smart Growth’s steering committee. The third task force member, Kamolika Das, has ties to CP Smart Growth as well. Mr. Ward and Ms. Das unsuccessfully ran for ANC commissioner in the past. Mr. Ward, who has authored the gerrymandering plan to break up ANC 3C, is a veteran political consultant whose business, Fabrizio Ward, uses data to advise campaigns and private clients on issue strategies, tests messaging and creates advocacy groups for its clients. The plan pushed by Mr. Ward and his partners violates one of the basic guiding principles of ANC redistricting set by the DC Council, that identifiable neighborhoods should stay intact and not be divided among ANC districts. Instead, he and his Smart Growth members on the task force advocate that ANCs should be redistricted around commercial corridors and artificial planning areas. Why bring aggressive national gerrymandering strategies down even to the neighborhood level of volunteer ANCs? Because ANC views are given “great weight” in decisions reached by DC agencies like the Zoning Commission, the BZA and the DC historic preservation board that affect zoning, density, and mega-development projects. Carving out large parts of neighborhoods from ANCs that consider the critical issues that impact those neighborhoods can result in single member districts that are more likely to elect pro-Smart Growth commissioners. Whose client interests is Mr. Ward advancing with his ANC gerrymandering plan? Per public records, Fabrizio Ward has worked with corporations, campaigns and interest groups, but also for Donald Trump, JUUL, and Paul Manafort (even polling on behalf of ousted Ukraine president and Putin ally V. Yanukovych to stage a political comeback in Ukraine). Who are the clients now who stand to benefit from the ANC gerrymandering plan?

Or...people believe that continuing to pave over farms for single family housing as has been done for the last 80 years is a bad idea and as such, we should have more density in our center city area, taking advantage of existing infrastrucutre and affording the opportunity for people to live car-free or car light.

Anonymous wrote:Having known a lot of "smart growth" ANC commissioners over the past decade, all I can say is, you need serious help.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. It is fact that many of the 'smart growth' ANC commissioners have ties to GGW or SmartGrowth, in fact one could say were pretty much planted to pave the way for development. The Ward 3 ANC has been packed and stacked with SmartGrowthers. Fact.

Are “smart growth” principles even being followed when Cheh’s office, ANC reps or task force members act in ways that fail to respond to the community, discourage collaboration, fail to look outside their own echo chamber for solutions, lack transparency and create adversarial situations?

Is it consistent with “smart growth” to support or fail to weigh in on development of green spaces?

Having known a lot of "smart growth" ANC commissioners over the past decade, all I can say is, you need serious help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Join your neighborhood citizens association, list serve, historical society and similar groups to stay informed. Get to know your ANC Commissioners, attend ANC, task force, BZA, and other similar meetings (they are supposed to be public), engage with ANC Commissioners to judge for yourself if they seem informed, knowledgeable, balanced, helpful. What do they stand for? What are they saying on the listserve, in local press or elsewhere online. Encourage neighbors to get more informed too and if competent to run for ANC positions or for Mary Cheh’s seat or take on citizens association positions or positions in other local groups. Email your local representatives when you support or don’t support measures. Follow Greater Greater Washington and local Smart Growth sites to better understand who is involved and what they are about.

Pur family does all this except for run for a position. Unless you actually hold office the GGW and SmartGrowth people who now hold all the seats will have their day. You can register all the public comments you like, but they already have their agenda planned.

Can you think of any neighbors you could encourage who would be interested in holding local office who aren’t developers, lobbyists for developers, or their spouses or others who stand to gain $$$ from more high end development claimed to be affordable housing? Would you consider holding positions, if not ANC, in your neighborhood citizens association?

I would. Maybe the ANCs should be required to educate the community about how to run for these positions before each election-as part of democracy in action. Maybe a meeting/meetings should be dedicated to 'meet the candidates' and Q+A? My sense is the folks motivated to seek these positions do so because they basically have huge, developer ulterior motives. I think a lot of folks figure its just public service minded folks in these seats, like it used to be. They don't realize that GGW actively recruited and seeded folks that are basically their lobbyists to hold these 'local' positions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Join your neighborhood citizens association, list serve, historical society and similar groups to stay informed. Get to know your ANC Commissioners, attend ANC, task force, BZA, and other similar meetings (they are supposed to be public), engage with ANC Commissioners to judge for yourself if they seem informed, knowledgeable, balanced, helpful. What do they stand for? What are they saying on the listserve, in local press or elsewhere online. Encourage neighbors to get more informed too and if competent to run for ANC positions or for Mary Cheh’s seat or take on citizens association positions or positions in other local groups. Email your local representatives when you support or don’t support measures. Follow Greater Greater Washington and local Smart Growth sites to better understand who is involved and what they are about.

Pur family does all this except for run for a position. Unless you actually hold office the GGW and SmartGrowth people who now hold all the seats will have their day. You can register all the public comments you like, but they already have their agenda planned.

Can you think of any neighbors you could encourage who would be interested in holding local office who aren’t developers, lobbyists for developers, or their spouses or others who stand to gain $$$ from more high end development claimed to be affordable housing? Would you consider holding positions, if not ANC, in your neighborhood citizens association?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. The ANC rep for the part of the neighborhood between Reno/34th and Wisconsin - the only ANC rep we get to vote for - will be cut out of having any day on the many issues arising from the area between Reno/34th St and Connecticut Ave.

If you live between CT and Reno, you will have a commissioner who represents your issues. If you live between Reno and Wisconsin, you will have a commissioner who represents your issues. Why should someone who lives a block from Wisconsin have sway over what happens on Connecticut Ave?

Your agenda to dilute the vote if homeowners is so transparent. Look at a map. These ANC redistricting changes impact the entire area between Connecticut and Wisconsin. As someone who is about to be disenfranchised I’ll tell you I care about having a vote in matters relating to things happening a few blocks from me between Connecticut and Reno/34th- our public school, all the traffic that flows through both parts of our neighborhood, the fire station, the bike lanes, the green spaces, the restaurants, stores, and many more things. The public school, for example, sits in the middle, on the eastern side of Reno Road/34th Street, but neighbors whose kids go there or who are impacted by construction plans, rodents, traffic patterns, parking issues, etc. will no longer have a representative who can formally weigh in and be responsible for these matters. That is just one example.

I live in that area, can you give me a link to what they are proposing. First I'm hearing of this. We used to have reps who sent weekly emails for about a decade, but after the last election, I've heard nothing at all from the ANC.

The current boundaries are available here:
http://www.ancdc.us/Ward3%202013%20ANCs%20and%20SMDs.pdf
and the proposed boundaries are available here:
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/1868db7b-2819-4c3e-b1fa-93a21df431db/downloads/Ward%203%20ANC%20Proposed%20Boundary%20Map.pdf?ver=1646249334089.

Anonymous wrote:Join your neighborhood citizens association, list serve, historical society and similar groups to stay informed. Get to know your ANC Commissioners, attend ANC, task force, BZA, and other similar meetings (they are supposed to be public), engage with ANC Commissioners to judge for yourself if they seem informed, knowledgeable, balanced, helpful. What do they stand for? What are they saying on the listserve, in local press or elsewhere online. Encourage neighbors to get more informed too and if competent to run for ANC positions or for Mary Cheh’s seat or take on citizens association positions or positions in other local groups. Email your local representatives when you support or don’t support measures. Follow Greater Greater Washington and local Smart Growth sites to better understand who is involved and what they are about.

Pur family does all this except for run for a position. Unless you actually hold office the GGW and SmartGrowth people who now hold all the seats will have their day. You can register all the public comments you like, but they already have their agenda planned.