COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SURVEY HAS CLOSED, DRAFT REPORT AVAILABLE , FINAL MEETING JANUARY 23

This survey which sought out opinions from local residents closed on December 20th. 682 people completed the survey and the responses were used to help inform the final draft report and recommendations that the Task Force will deliver to DC's Office of Planning. The proposed Comprehensive Plan  (see full plan), as it impacts Rock Creek West within whose boundaries Chevy Chase DC is located, is currently open for comments from ANC's city-wide. This topic was discussed at the October 28th ANC3/4G meeting as well as at two recent Task Force meetings. The Comprehensive Plan is DC's master plan for development, first created in 2006 and under amendment now. It addresses land use, economic development, housing, transportation, infrastructure, environmental protection, and more. Land use changes have been proposed that would affect many areas of DC including Chevy Chase. Essential to understanding the process is the redline version of the proposed elements which displays the language that was stricken out and accepted by the DC City Council. This survey conducted presented considerations and scenarios for resident input. And as stated earlier the results will be used to help inform Task Force recommendations as they relate to the planning process. For those of you who participated in the survey process thank you for your help. Responses will only be reported in the aggregate; all individual responses are strictly confidential. The final Task Force meeting will take place on Thursday January 23 from 7-9pm at the Community Center. Following that meeting  ANC3/4G will discuss the Task Force report and recommendations at its January 27th meetings for final adoption by its February 10th meeting. 

VIDEO POSTED OF DECEMBER 16TH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TASK FORCE 

The December 16th meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Task Force is now available on ANC3/4G's YouTube channel. The video of the meeting, attended by 70 people, includes a summary of recent activities; an update on the status of the Task Force’s Comprehensive Plan survey; a discussion of the scope of the Task Force’s Report; views on the ongoing process and engagement tactics; a discussion of additional comments that should be addressed in the final report; and, a discussion of next steps. The final Task Force meeting will be Tuesday January 7 at 7pm at the Community Center.

CIRCLE WINE & SPIRITS LOSES LEASE AND IS NOW CLOSED

Longtime neighbor (since at least 1959) in Chevy Chase DC, Circle Wine & Liquors,  with great regret was forced to close their 5501 Connecticut Ave. location at the end of December. Their 11 year lease was not renewed and instead the new tenant will be yet another bank (our 7th bank or ATM branch kiosk) in a 4 block stretch in our neighborhood, this time it is Chase Bank. Reportedly, Willco the property owner, negotiated the new lease with Chase for double the rent that Circle was paying thus pricing them out of the market. Circle, which has been in existence as a small business enterprise under different owners, has been a welcome mainstay in the area, and under their current ownership they also donated thousands of dollars every year to neighboring schools.  Circle has been an anchor for the 5501 Conn. Ave, strip which includes: Blue 44, Fishery Seafood Market, Relaxed Nails & Spa, and C&C Custom Cleaners. These properties are also owned by Willco. One wonders if expiring leases for these establishments might also be in jeopardy when their time runs out resulting in the loss of more small businesses.

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

My January newsletter is filled with news from around the neighborhood. Topics in this issue include: a Comprehensive Plan update including the final respondent counts from the ANC Task Force survey; draft design concepts for the Community Center Modernization project; OurStreets reporting violations app info; holiday tree collection procedures; and many other news items. If you are not a current subscriber please subscribe to receive it direct via email, and be assured your email address is never shared or used for any other purpose.

VIDEO POSTED OF JANUARY 13TH ANC3/4G PUBLIC MEETING

The January 13th meeting of ANC3/4G is now available to view through ANC3/4G’s YouTube Channel. Highlights include: A discussion of the survey and draft report from the ANC’s Comprehensive Plan Task Force on the Office of Planning’s proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan; an update on the Oregon Avenue reconstruction project; and, an update on the Chevy Chase Community Center modernization design process.

VIDEO POSTED OF DEC. 18TH COMMUNITY CENTER REDESIGN MEETING

The video along with presentation slides of design concepts of this December 18th meeting is now available on YouTube.  It will be helpful when watching this video to also open/download the presentation, complete with associated diagrams, that Bell Architects used at the meeting.  At this meeting Bell Architects discussed progress of the project. This includes: Zoning update, Field work completed to date, Feedback on program survey, Project schedule and historic preservation update, and Concept design discussion.

ANC3/4G on FACEBOOK  

Based on a community-wide survey that ANC3/4G (aka ANC3G) conducted this past June people were asked which social media platforms they preferred to get information from regarding activities involving the ANC. Facebook received more votes than did Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram combined. As such, the ANC worked to revive a long dormant Facebook account in response to this community input. So now in addition to our website and Twitter account we post frequently to our @ANC3G Facebook page. 

To get the ANC3G posts to show up on your newsfeed here are some easy steps to follow to make sure that happens:

First, Like/Follow the ANC3G page. Once you have done that do the following:

· On Facebook's menu in the upper right hand corner select the down arrow.

· Then select News Feed Preferences (near bottom of list)

· Once that box opens select Prioritize who to see first (top item)

· In the top left corner of the box that opens there will be a dropdown box that by default says All. Click on the arrow and select Pages Only

· Then select Chevy Chase Advisory... and a star will appear in that box’ upper right hand corner

After that posts from the ANC page will appear in your news feed when they come out. Of course you can always search for ANC3G news simply by entering ANC3G in the search box on your Facebook page. Hopefully this will provide an added community service to receive up-to-date ANC3/4G information.