Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown President John DeGioia suffers stroke.
• Write up of the always fun Volta Park cocktail fundraiser.

Call Your Mother, the hugely popular bagel shop, may have to close its Georgetown location in the near future. “What!?” you may be asking. Yes, indeed. Depending on the outcome of the decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, Call Your Mother may no longer be able to operate as it has been doing at its Georgetown location since 2020.

How did we get here?

It’s a long story, so settle in.

Let’s start way back in the 1850s. (I wasn’t kidding about it being a long story). Sometime around 1859, a building was constructed at the southeast corner of Fayette and Second Streets. It was constructed to have a grocery store on the first floor, with a residence on the second floor. This was a common sight in Georgetown in the century before supermarkets were invented. Back then most people bought their food from small corner grocery stores, which themselves obtained their supplies wholesale from the large city markets, like Central or Eastern Markets.

A grocery store stood at this location well into the 20th century. For a long time it was a location of the chain of small grocery stores operating under the name “Sanitary Grocery Co.” Here’s an ad from 1926 listing the address (by then Fayette Street had become 35th and Second Street became O St., and so the address was, and is, 3428 O St.):

But the arrival of the supermarket model in the mid-20th century brought the days of the ubiquitous corner grocery store in DC to an end. For this location that end was in 1970, when a health foods store opened up in its place. It only lasted about a year and was then replaced with an antiques store. This lasted for many years and was ultimately replaced by a flower shop. The flower shop closed in 2019 at which point Call Your Mother signed its lease to operate here.

In the background of this story is another, deeply consequential story: the history of zoning.

The District of Columbia adopted its first significant zoning code in 1920. Modeled on the relatively new zoning laws in New York City, the zoning code, not surprisingly, required a zoning map. The map delineated which blocks had which zoning. The first zoning map for Georgetown acknowledged what had always been true: that there were commercial blocks tucked away in the neighborhood. As you can see in this map, the dark blocks were commercially zoned blocks:

Notably, despite the fact that the grocery store at 35th and O St. had already existed for well over a half century at this point and several other buildings on the block were also built and used for commercial purposes, this particular block does not appear to have been zoned commercial. (Similarly, all the other corner store lots that were all over Georgetown were also not zoned commercial.) But notably, all of 36th St. south of P St. was zoned commercial (this will become important later).

By 1936, the city bowed to pressure from groups like the Citizens Association of Georgetown, which took a hostile view on mixing commercial uses in primarily residential blocks. So the commercial zoning was limited in the 1936 map:

(But again, note that 36th St. remained zoned for commercial despite the fact that it only had about as many commercial establishments as 35th St. did.)

Finally in 1958, the city adopted this map, which remained in place until last decade:

By this point, only a few pockets of commercial zoned blocks remained tucked away off of M and Wisconsin.

But a handful of the corner stores remained, despite the pressure from the regulations and the challenges from the supermarkets. Neighborhood gems like Sara’s and Scheele’s remained. That’s because the zoning regulations allow “non-conforming” uses (i.e. otherwise illegal uses) to continue under grandfathering. So long as the non-conforming use continues the zoning regulations will permit it. But if the use is interrupted for three years, the grandfathering evaporates and the store must close. So, for instance, if Sara’s, which recently was closed for an extended period, had remained closed for three years, it could not reopen at that location, with one big exception (which I will get to, I promise).

So the Sanitary Grocery store that existed at 35th and O Street for many decades was operating as a non-conforming use due to it operating before the regulations were adopted. (Hell, it was operating before most of the people who wrote the regulations were even born.)

Continue reading →

Hello, and welcome to your June Northwest Georgetown ANC update!

This month I wanted to focus on a single issue that will likely affect us in the near future: dramatic changes to the Metrobus.

WMATA is in the process of completely restructuring the entire Metrobus network. Literally ever single bus line is being revamp, replanned and renamed. The end result, dubbed the “Better Bus Network”, will completely alter how people in our city and region get around by bus.

Here is a video put out by WMATA explaining the project:

These changes would substantially impact Georgetown’s bus service. Each of the bus routes that travel through Georgetown is being redesigned (and renamed). These changes, if they got through, would start taking effect as soon as next year. So get ready!

WMATA has released the details for the proposed changes. The changes may be hard to grasp at first, since the network is so complicated. So the best way to analyze them is to consider each existing line and compare it with the line WMATA is suggesting will replace it.

There are six Metrobus routes that service Georgetown (not including the Circulator, which I’ll get to later). They include: the D2, D6, G2, 31, 33, and the 38B. Each of these routes would be replaced with new routes. I’ll discuss each below with a map:

The D2 would be replaced with the D96:

The first thing you will notice with this proposed route is that it doesn’t particularly resemble the D2. But the parts of it that traverse between Burleith and Dupont, it is basically identical to the D2 (its eastbound route through Dupont appears to be slightly different). It’s just that north of Burleith it takes a long journey through Wesley Heights all the way to Bethesda. And after Dupont it goes down through Foggy Bottom. That is because this route is expected to replace more than the D2. It’s also replacing parts of the N2, N4, N6, 42, and the 43.

Next, the D6 replacement, the D94:

Unlike the D96, the D94 is not an amalgam of multiple routes. It’s just the D6, shortened and renamed. It will still travel the same route from Sibley, through Georgetown to downtown. But rather than continuing on to RFK, it will stop and turn around at Chinatown. (The proposed D24 would provide service on the former D6’s eastern half).

Next up, the G2 replacement, the D92:

When the first sketches of the Better Bus Network were released last year, the route to replace the G2 did not include service directly to Georgetown University. So it is progress that this new route would go all the way to 37th St.

However, it would not travel the G2’s current east-west routes through Georgetown, which look like this now:

Continue reading →

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown would be most hit by proposed mansion tax.
• Might Foxtrot return for another dance?

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown’s existence as a separate municipality came to an end 153 years ago, Saturday.
• How Georgetown is especially lucky in the public pool department.

The Friends of Rose Park issued this call to action on behalf of a huge stalwart of our community, Christi Cline. Please consider contributing to help her out!

To the Rose Park Community

One of our quiet but stalwart supporters needs our help. Most of you have met Christi and Andy Cline at market events, during a visit from Santa Claus, or just walking your dog through the park. Christi suffered a stroke a month ago, which came out of nowhere, especially given her relatively young age.  She ended up partially (and hopefully temporarily) paralyzed on one side.  A lack of sufficient insurance meant finding a rehab facility was extremely difficult, but Andy finally managed to get her admitted last week.  She’s already making progress, which is great news.  However, their insurance will not cover this essential rehabilitation.  Combined with the initial hospital charges, which insurance is also not covering, their medical costs will be catastrophic.
 
Christi and Andy have graced us with their kindness and in return many people have expressed a wish to help.  One of their friends/clients, put together a Go Fund Me fundraiser to help Andy & Christi weather this challenge.  We are helping by sharing this information with people from the Rose Park community.
Thank you for any support you’re able to offer. All funds will go directly to payment of Christi’s medical expenses.  The site creator included a breakdown of actual and projected medical costs to date in the Go Fund Me document. The report from a visit with Christi Sunday is that she looks great and is working hard to get out of rehab by June 7th so she can continue her recovery at home.   Please keep Christi and Andy in your thoughts and prayers!

Here is a link to the Go Fund Me page for Christi and Andy

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Correction to yesterday’s article: the ANC meeting will be at Georgetown Village at 1801 35th St., not Georgetown Visitation.
• Speaking of Georgetown Village, they recently honored Sachiko Kuno.

The ANC will meet for its June session next Monday night. The meeting will kick off at its usual time of 6:30 pm at Visitation Georgetown Village at 1801 35th St. (zoom link here).

The full agenda is below, but I wanted to highlight one particularly notable item.

And that is the new zoning relief application that was recently filed by Call Your Mother. The shop was operating under a zoning order that was issued in 2020. But some of the nearby neighbors objected to the order and appealed to the courts. The court rejected a chunk of their arguments but remanded the case back to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to reconsider two particular issues.

When the BZA finally met earlier this year to reconsider the case it concluded that the original zoning relief that was sought was fundamentally in error. (It gets rather legalistic, so I won’t bore you with the details). They dismissed the original zoning application that was first applied for in 2019. So the store is back to the drawing board. Theoretically, since the case was dismissed the store has been operating outside of compliance with the zoning code. The city, however, allowed the store to continue operating in recognition that, while incorrect on the law, the original zoning order was nonetheless legally issued and the store has relied on that ever since.

The store, however, can’t rely on this forbearance forever. It needs to reapply for the correct zoning relief. And the ANC will decide next week what position it will take on the application. The nub of the matter is whether the store can receive a special exception to operate as a prepared food store. It’s not really an exaggeration to state that the store’s continued existence at 35th and O is very much at risk. So, if you’re excited at that prospect or livid, come out Tuesday to see how it goes down!

Here’s the full agenda:

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Celebrate Juneteenth at Mt. Zion Cemetery.
• Business ins and outs.

With a spa dedicated to stretching out your ligaments already up the block, I guess it’s only natural that we are now getting a spa dedicated to another para-medical procedure. In this case, the services promised involve “an IV vitamin drip experience”. The purveyor, called the Dripbar, is opening at 1720 Wisconsin Ave.

Contrary to the photos splashed on the door of the location, the procedure does not involve (as far as I can tell) pouring pureed fruits directly into you arteries. I imagine that would be counterproductive to your health. Rather the spa’s services are as follow:

At The DRIPBaR D.C. we offer a convenient way to receive IV vitamin therapy. A licensed medical professional, typically a Registered Nurse, administers a customized blend of fluids, vitamins, and other nutrients directly into the bloodstream through an IV drip. This method offers flexibility, allowing clients to receive IV drips at their preferred location without the need to visit a physical clinic. The treatment ensures a direct and efficient delivery of essential nutrients to support overall well-being.

The company has previously offered its services in a mobile capacity. The Georgetown location will be its first physical location.