ABL ANC 6A meeting

Meeting Minutes

June 21, 2005

I. The meeting minutes of May 17th, 2005 were accepted, as was the agenda for the June 21st meeting by the ABL Committee

  1. The meeting was then opened up for general community comments not pertaining to the four new liquor license applications. A separate community comment period is scheduled for this subject later in the evening.

Chester Wilson of the 900 block of 12th St, NE commented that the Five Point club near his home has been closed and he hopes it stays closed. Mr. Wilson observed that peace, order and quiet in the neighborhood has improved dramatically since the closing of this establishment.

III. New Business: Four new applications for H Street, NE

Joe Englert presented to the community audience (approximately 75 members in attendance) a description of the four establishments that are applying for licenses. The four venues include:

  • The Argonaut- A restaurant, licensed as a CR that will be open in approximately six weeks
  • The Beehive: A restaurant with southwest cuisine that will also be licensed as a CR
  • The Rock and Roll Tavern: a tavern that will serve food, but will not be a full restaurant; licensed as a CT. The décor will be 50’s décor.
  • The Red and Black Tavern- a tavern that will serve food, but primarily a tavern; also licensed as a CT. The restaurant will have a New Orleans-style décor and menu.

Mr. Englert discussed four areas of concern he has heard from the community that he is working to mitigate:

1)Vacancy of the properties for the past 20-30 years as a negative sight for the neighborhood. By developing these properties the hope is crime will dissipate in the area.

2)Residents of Wylie Avenue/soundproofing: Mr. Englert acknowledged that the residents of Wylie Avenue will be the most immediately affected by the noise of the establishments. In designing the facilities, construction will include sufficient soundproofing to ensure that the noise levels for residents are mitigated.

3)Trash pickup: To mitigate the risk of trash piles and the rodent infestation that can come with shoddy trash pickup, Mr. Englert has started negotiations with a private trash removal firm to pick up trash daily from the establishments at a time during the morning that will not awake the neighbors (he specifically mentioned 10AM when people tend to be at work; children are in school).

4)Parking: Mr. Englert discussed mitigation plans with local churches and vacant parking lots to accommodate parking at night for the establishments. These plans are in process and are not solidified, but he is working the issue and recognizes that parking is a major concern for the community who relies on street parking for their own cars.

Mr. Englert advised that all four establishments would be open within the next two years.

He recommended to the audience that they visit one of his other establishments to get an idea of the type of business/venue he runs. The venues he listed include: The Capitol Lounge at 229 Pennsylvania Ave, SE; and B. Murphy’s in the 1300 block of F St, SE.

Community Discussion

At this point in the meeting, the floor was open for input/questions from the community to the committee and Mr. Englert regarding the four license applications.

  • One member of the community admitted that she came to the meeting skeptical but now feels better about the venues and efforts being made by the owner; recognized that H St used to be a bustling thriving area and its current state needs to be improved. Recommended the market focus of a restaurant venue for people leaving church on Sundays.
  • Ms. Tolu Tolu urged the audience to recall how nice H St, NE used to be prior to the riots and the prospect of it being revived with restaurants and taverns as a positive thing. Ms. Tolu Tolu endorsed the new development proposed by Mr. Englert
  • Several community members raised concerns about parking issues once these establishments are open; parking is already extremely sparse and these establishments will only exacerbate the problem; want to see that the owner is doing something about that. Mr Englert reiterated his plans to work with local lots of churches; possibly a shuttle from Union Station; and lastly an observation that the hope is that many customers will be local foot traffic at the establishments.
  • A community member acknowledged the desire to see change on H Street and is pro-growth/pro-change. But her concern arises from possible crime/security issues that may arise with several bars being open near her home. What type of crowd will be coming to these bars? Will this pose a safety hazard to her children, etc. Mr. Englert stated that the type of venues he operates to not tolerate the type of clientele that would engage in crime; he’s looking to bring in safe, family-friendly establishments to be enjoyed by the local community; encourage people to see his other establishments to get a feel for the nature of his establishments. Mr. Englert also reiterated a strong policy against serving intoxicated people; allowing illegal behavior to take place at his venue and the importance of having tough management in place at the establishments. He also discussed a possible police sub-station above one of the restaurants. He has been in discussions with the Police Department; nothing has been finalized but he is aware of the concern and continues to work the issue with the police.
  • A community member spoke twice reiterating his endorsement of Mr. Englert’s establishments; the member stated that he is a patron of several of his current establishments: he feels that safety is a high priority of Joe’s establishments and he advised the community that Mr. Englert is a responsible owner who would be a very positive asset to H St, NE.
  • Commissioner Holden asked Mr. Englert to clarify the applications as CT’s or CR’s. She said that there was a discrepancy between what was filed and what Mr. Englert said. Mr. Englert stated that his intentions are to have the 4 establishments licensed as stated above; if there is a discrepancy on paper now it will be remedied.
  • A community member, also a partner in the venues’ development, stated his endorsement of Mr. Englert as a developer in the community based on his personal due diligence efforts to research Mr. Englert and his establishments prior to engaging in a partnership relationship with him.
  • Joe Fengler, commissioner, stated that the city has been extremely focused with a specific task team working the H-Street Development; that the city recognized that to be successful and entice developers and customers, the neighborhood must be safe, clean and foster a hospitable environment; the HSt Development Corp. has been working in concert with the police and utility crews, with H-Street issues receiving top priority to ensure that the development continues smoothly and crime or other problems do not derail success.
  • ABL Committee ChairBeatty closed the community discussion and asked for committee member input on the matter at hand. The committee generally observed that Mr. Englert has been a responsible developer in past restaurant dealings and has shown a good faith effort to this community by sharing his time and plans for the establishments on H St, NE, working with the police and trash removal services and various lots to mitigate parking. The observation was made that in the future, it is likely that the community will not have this kind of voice, once H Street, NE becomes a success, and it is nice that there is this amount of openness and access now. The Committee thanked the community for taking the time and being so involved in the process.

CommitteeChair Beatty then moved to present the standard voluntary agreement to Mr. Englert for each establishment, with one additional stipulation, that is, that the Beehive be modified from a CTto a CR. The Committee adopted this motion unanimously.

The meeting concluded at 8:50pm.