The Georgetown Metropolitan

Last night the ANC met for its July session. GM could only stay for a little over an hour, but he nonetheless caught some important discussions:

Short Term and Long Term Rentals

The acting director of the DC Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs, Melinda Bolling, was on hand to discuss an issue of great concern to Georgetowners: short and long term rentals.

The short end of that discussion primarily related to a topic that GM has covered previously: the rise of AirBNB in Georgetown. Commissioner Tom Birch spoke at length on the concerns that residents have with these properties. The two primary complaints relate to properties rented out as “party houses” and the increase in transience that comes regardless of whether the property is a party house or not.

Director Bolling was sympathetic to the complaints and cited some of the action that the city has taken recently against some of the party houses. But the unspoken message was this: even though this use is illegal under current law, DCRA will only bring enforcement action against troublemaking houses. The agency is considering new rules that would address this use (much like how the taxi commission dealt with Uber) but nothing is coming soon. So no wide sweeps will be forthcoming. If you don’t like your neighboring AirBNB, you’re going to need to complain that it’s a nuisance somehow. Mere illegality isn’t going to do it (GM inferred).

As to the long term issue, that concerns the legality and safety of properties leased out primarily to GU students. DCRA is working through a long list of rental properties identified to it by GU as housing students. DCRA wants these properties “in the system” so getting the landlord to acquire a license and an inspection is the paramount goal. DCRA is tackling this goal by showing up for surprise inspections throughout the summer. GM would like to note that multiple GU students were present and forcefully argued for more aggressive action by DCRA. There are always some impressive and engaged GU students around, but GM has been particularly impressed with the recent crop of student leaders that have stepped forward in the last year. Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A deep dive on Eastbanc’s embarrassing lawsuit over 3303 Water St. (which ends with Anthony Lanier unconvincingly swearing off condos).
• What Theodore Roosevelt Island looked like from Georgetown when it was almost completely barren.

1300 block of 35th St.

Every year GM performs a door-to-door census on all the stores in Georgetown. The thing is, though, that GM has gotten a bit busy (or lazy) and pushed off the census a little more every year. So by the time he got around to it this year, it was more like fifteen months since the last tally. As a result, the “changes” are probably exaggerated a bit.

But that said, GM is still crunching the numbers. To tide you over, here is the first bit of data: the number of stores that either opened or closed: Continue reading →

Photo by Tinkurlab.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown-themed movies getting shown outdoors this summer on the waterfront.
• Some details on the interior of the forthcoming Chaia Tacos.

2900 block of M St.

Yesterday ABRA announced that the four Georgetown liquor licenses have been claimed. GM has received an unverified (but reliable) tip as to who claimed them. And while it isn’t as bad as he expected it still demonstrates that the moratorium remains a problem for attracting new restaurants.

So who got the licenses?

• The Georgetown AMC
• Lady Camelia Tea Room
• Chaia Tacos
• Unnamed Greek restaurant on Prospect

Here’s GM’s take on each:

It’s unclear why the theater needs this liquor license. It’s in the same building as the Ritz Carlton, and hotels are not subject to the moratorium. Even if it’s not covered by the hotel exemption, it ought to be. Either way, this license is obviously not going to result in a new restaurant.

Lady Camelia is a successful tea room from the team that had less luck opening Macaron Bee on Book Hill. Now the stores are essentially merged, and finger foods are offered with the tea. It would appear that they also want to offer liquor (mimosas?), which sounds like a good idea. But if that’s true then it still means that this license isn’t producing a new restaurant.

Chaia tacos is not even open yet. They are moving into the old woodshop on Grace St. GM’s had their tacos before, and they’re amazing. We’re lucky they’ve decided to open here. But again, they were already going to open without the license. So again, it’s not like this license is inducing a new restaurant to open. Continue reading →

Photo by Brendan Ross.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The four liquor licenses were snatched up, GM has more on that later.
• Not news to many, but Georgetown is a good place for desserts.

1000 block of 34th St.

The flyer doesn’t say it, but MPD Chief Lanier will attend this public safety meeting tonight. So come on out and learn what’s being done and what else can be done to keep you safe!