Monarch Carry-Out?
Concerned neighbors have alerted the Growler that the proposed restaurant at the Monarch (whose request for a special use permit is on the January 3, 2008 Planning Commission docket) will be a Chinese carryout that will be seeking permission to operate until midnight. That's not reassuring to those who live close by.
Planning staff reports on SUP applications typically do not appear until a few days before the public hearing, which means the staff report on the proposed Monarch carry-out will not be available immediately before the Christmas-New Year's holiday interval when many neighbors will be away. The hearing notices have not been posted on the property either according to the Growler's readers.
City staff have told neighbors who have inquired that at this point the restaurant is not seeking any kind of ABC license.
Are We There Yet?
The next Braddock Road Metro planning meeting will focus on the redevelopment of public housing. It will be held Thursday, December 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. at Ebenezer Baptist Church's Hargrave Collins Educational Building, located at 301 N. Patrick St. Only on-street parking will be available.
Decisions, Decisions!
Unfortunately, on the same night as the Braddock Road meeting the Alexandria School Board will be holding a work session on the options for Jefferson-Houston School at 7:30 p.m. at School Board Headquarters (2000 N. Beauregard Street).
The Growler caught the end of last week's public hearing on Jefferson-Houston and was interested to hear School Board Chairman Claire Eberwein introduce yet another option: to rebuild a smaller school along with a special education facility.
28 comments:
Oh, goody. We're getting our own late night Chinese carryout to go with our ARHA properties. Now we can be JUST like Chatham Square. If we're lucky, our new Chinese carryout will also have a bulletproof cash window and security cameras. And if we're very very lucky, maybe we can get our own Royal Market, too!!
What is tonight's "ARHA Residents Community Outreach Meeting" as described below on the Planning & Zoning website:
Wednesday, December 12, 7 p.m.
Braddock Metro Neighborhood Plan - ARHA Residents Community Outreach Meeting
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Hargrave Collins Educational Building
301 N. Patrick St. (corner of N. Patrick St. & Queen St. - street parking only)
Unlike all of the other meetings, there is no flyer to describe what's going on. Is this an ARHA only thing to which the rest of us aren't invited?
"Is this an ARHA only thing to which the rest of us aren't invited?"
There appears to be no barrier to a member of the public attending, but the meeting seems tailored for ARHA residents. Some of the early HOPE VI meetings this fall were also held primarily for ARHA residents.
"The next Braddock Road Metro planning meeting will focus on the redevelopment of public housing. It will be held at 301 N. Patrick St. Only on-street parking will be available."
For an object lesson, we ought to seek parking restrictions on both Patrick and Henry Streets near the meeting, then let the meeting organizers try to tell us how little of an impact it would be to lose hundreds of parking spaces on Route 1 via the Bus Rapid Transit Plan!
Carryout? Disappointing that the Monarch cannot do better.
ABC license? Don't even try it!
While I understand the concern about a Chinese carryout, I for one, would welcome retail like this in our area. When we've been promised nail and hair salons and drycleaners as retail, anything more than that is welcome. Especially a carryout or convenience food restaurant that I would patronize on a weekly basis. Having our only retail be sit-down restaurants might be a nice idea, but I think there is more value in retail that will be used on a weekly basis. The immediate Old Town area is flush with sit-down restaurants. What it lacks are a variety of places to bring dinner home after a busy day.
And you cannot compare a takeout place at the Monarch to takeout place on Queen St, for example. It's on a busy street and will have several other retail neighbors with activity.
I am concerned about the constant push back against any change that is proposed to our neighborhood. There have got to be concessions made on both sides in order for any of this to move forward.
So these are the 7 options for JH:
Option 1
Costing the least of all the options, would not upgrade or change the design of the “open” classrooms, which have been criticized by school staff and parents for inhibiting student learning.
New lighting and increased storage space would be added.
High end cost: $175,000
Option 2
The central office, library and computer room would be relocated and classrooms enlarged and reconfigured. Students would be moved to trailers for an entire school year during construction and there would be no space for returning out-of-district special needs students.
High end cost: $6,925,000
Option 3
The same as option 2, but incorporates additional classrooms for the special needs center.
High end cost: $10,611,317
Option 4
Building a new school based on the Tucker model, which, like the T.C. Williams construction, would allow students to stay in the current school while the new facility is built. This, the most expensive of all the options, could also incorporate a special needs center.
High end cost: 15,636,317
Option 5
Converts the existing school into a special needs center and would close the school. Boundary adjustments would have to be made and all Jefferson-Houston students would be transferred to other ACPS schools.
High end cost: $5,869,725
Option 6
The school would be closed and the site would be used to house the ACPS central office staff.
All programs and leased space would be moved to this building. Again, boundary adjustments would have to be made and the students would be moved to other schools.
High end cost: $5,894,162
Option 7
The entire school would be closed and the site would not be used for any purpose. The building, if declared surplus, would revert to city control. There would be no special needs center and students would be shifted to other schools.
High end cost: $1,203,615
(from the Times)
15 million to rebuild the school? With no guarantee that parents would want to send their kids to that rebuilt school (I assume that the continuing segregation of public housing children into JH would continue)?
It would seem the options are just cosmetic. The problem to me is not the building. Its who goes into the building and who doesnt want to go into the building.
The city staff member for the Monarch Chinese restaurant is Richard Bray. You can reach him with comments by calling (703) 838-4666 and asking for him.
We originally noticed the item on the PC docket and raised the issue with the ICCA and our neighbors. We are not necessarily opposed to a carry-out restaurant. This one plans to have 12 seats, at least. (It is TINY, though -- less than 1300 square feet.)
We ARE opposed to having it open until midnight. I discussed this with Mr. Bray, and he informed me that restaurants that do not serve alcohol commonly request closing hours varying from 10 p.m. to midnight. We want the SUP to allow them to close at 10 p.m. at the latest.
The restaurant fronts largely on townhouses, including ours. We expect that its patrons will be mostly townhouse residents and the Monarch residents. That's all fine. But it's difficult to believe that this audience will be patronizing the restaurant until midnight.
Another concern is that the restaurant be diligent in keeping its surrounding space litter-free. We do not want food wrappers drifting through the neighborhood.
We wanted to get the word out on this coming business because it is going to Planning Commission on Jan. 3, 2008, which is immediately after the holidays. In addition, there were no SUP notices up on the property when we checked.
We will plan to be at the Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 3, 2008 and look forward to seeing others who are interested there.
Caston & Hillary Jarvis
1020 Oronoco St.
Hi Caston & Hillary --
Thanks for the information about the restaurant. Just wanted to give you a heads up about the City and the SUP process. We live near a property that operates under an SUP and have learned lots about the way these operate.
When they grant an SUP, the City sets all kinds of conditions, such as whether it can play music, what it must do with its trash, where their employees can park, how many patrons they expect, etc. However, the City then walks away totally. They do absolutely nothing to monitor whether or not the business is complying with the conditions. That burden will fall squarely on your shoulders. It's quite time consuming and frustrating in my experience so be prepared. Good luck.
Suggest you speak with the planning commissioners, or better yet, get some folks together to speak with them. Way before Jan. 3
- you could start by contacting one of your former neighbors,who is now on the PC.
As for location and "funny business" I was driving home from work around 8-9 the other evening and saw a young couple clearly "doing it" standing up against the wire fencing of the store next to the lofts - on Henry.
"They [the City] do absolutely nothing to monitor whether or not the business is complying with the conditions"
Although all SUPs are supposed to be monitored for compliance, Planning staff have stated publicly that they only investigate and enforce when there are complaints.
"As for location and "funny business" I was driving home from work around 8-9 the other evening and saw a young couple clearly "doing it" standing up against the wire fencing of the store next to the lofts - on Henry."
We have seen far worse at the Lofts. At least they were just doing it. Its worse when you witness the domestic violence incidents right in the courtyards at Madden Uptown or Bland.
I have walked my dog, observed, then retreated and called the police, who usually arrive quickly.
The irony, though, is everyone on route 1 just drives on by...until the police show up. Then its onlooker delay city.
"Although all SUPs are supposed to be monitored for compliance, Planning staff have stated publicly that they only investigate and enforce when there are complaints."
Of course they only investigate complaints! How many staff members do you think it would take to proactively monitor the tens of thousands of conditions contained in the thousands of SUP's the city has granted over the years? From my perspective, having worked in depth with the planning department, they barely keep their heads above water with the workload they have. Should we expect them to be cops now as well? If you have a business property that you are concerned about then get a copy of their SUP and if they violate conditions then report them. It's that simple and is part of your responsibility as a citizen.
If the city hired the hundreds of staff required to proactively enforce all these SUP's then you'd really see your taxes skyrocket and you'd be right back on this site complaining about it.
" If you have a business property that you are concerned about then get a copy of their SUP and if they violate conditions then report them. It's that simple and is part of your responsibility as a citizen."
hahahaha...try that with Esmeraldas or some of the other establishments in North Old Town.
Its hard to enforce conditions of the SUP when many of the causes for those violations are considered protected by the City.
"If you have a business property that you are concerned about then get a copy of their SUP and if they violate conditions then report them. It's that simple and is part of your responsibility as a citizen."
Okay, but by the same token, it's the City's responsibility to respond to citizen complaints when businesses are flagrantly violating their SUP restrictions. They need to fine the businesses, and if they continue to violate the terms of their SUPs, then the City needs to shut them down. I'm telling you from personal experience, it doesn't work like that. It takes numerous calls to the City, then you must email the City Council members when staff doesn't respond, etc. before you get any response. Then the action the City takes is usually not sufficient. I can tell you've never had to deal with a situation like this. I'm telling you, it's very very frustrating and time consuming. A citizen should be able to enjoy their property, not spend hundreds of hours documenting violations by a business. That's the City's job.
And by the way, I would SO much rather my tax dollars go to hire more P&Z staff and Code enforcement, than into public housing.
I guess my point was that the entire system is dysfunctional. If you grant 3-4 SUP's at every planning commission hearing, and each SUP has hundreds of conditions as my project did, then there is no way the city can enforce them all. There must be a better mechanism, right?
esmeraldas dosent have a sup. its grandfathered in.
"And you cannot compare a takeout place at the Monarch to takeout place on Queen St, for example."
Does Queen Street no already offer a Chinese carryout restaurant? Goody's? One should compare the carryouts and in doing so question how litter will be handled.
"esmeraldas dosent have a sup. its grandfathered in."
Which is the whole point. Go read what Romans Restaurants SUP said.
And then bring into the debate the Code enforcement division (probably its own separate thread). Since everyone knows they have trouble doing their job, its left to P&Z to enforce SUP requirements AND non-SUP requirements, neither of which they can do well.
I guess my point was that the entire system is dysfunctional. If you grant 3-4 SUP's at every planning commission hearing, and each SUP has hundreds of conditions as my project did, then there is no way the city can enforce them all. There must be a better mechanism, right?
And that's assuming it is not the CITY ITSELF that fails to follow through on SUP requirements. Builders donate money to the city via the requirements in the SUP, then the City sits on the money, does not deliver back to the neighborhood, and we get nothing back.
And City Council does nothing but ask for more and more and more. I will be very glad when I can finally leave Alexandria. The tax differential alone will make it worthwhile.
There are a few that live in AHRA that are doing the best they can and we should help them but they are the minority. If you look into almost any house there, there are numerous residents living in those every single one of those places that do not belong. NO ONE is policing AHRA or helping those folks. It is criminal for the Mayor to sit on his throne and act high and mighty while he is stealing thousands of tax dollars to 'run' our city. Please...he and those council members need to walk our streets daily and see that we get NOTHING for our tax dollars.
I was interested to read this in the Gazette Packet, as it encapsulates the insane mentality of many in this City who think that new buildings or new appearances is what Parker Gray needs:
"My own personal opinion is that we need a brand new school that could attract all the parents who have opted out of Jefferson-Houston," said Bill Campbell, president of the school’s parent-teacher association. "It’s not enough for us to communicate the options with existing parents who send their kids to this school. We need to reach out to the parents who live inside the boundaries for this school who have decided not to send their kids here."
Mr. Campbell, like others, cant get that parents are not concerned about the facade of JH or being reached out to. He can come to my house and tell me they are building a new facility at the JH site and it would b great to send my kid there.
And I still wouldnt send them. Ever.
The majority of parents in this area are concerned about the over concentration of poverty and over concentration of public housing in JH, and in PG in general. Dont think so. What would a parent think when they read this:
"Since a new attendance zone was carved for the school in 1999, attendance at the school has plummeted from 486 to 281. Meanwhile the number of students who qualify for a free or reduced lunch — an indication of the level of poverty at the school — has skyrocketed to 83 percent. Administration officials estimate that 53 percent of the students live in the public-housing units clustered near the Braddock Road Metro station, although Superintendent Rebecca Perry said she thought that figure was probably underestimated."
Thats right, underestimated.....
Until something is done about that, it doesnt matter if they build Disneyland at the JH site. People wont send their kids there. Its not racism or elitism. Its reality. People observe the Watson and the Carter murders and see the daily police sirens at ARHA properties and they put 2 and 2 together.
More on the Monarch carry-out:
I called Richard Bray of the City's Planning staff again today (703-838-4666) about this restaurant. He informed me that -- despite the concerns voice by us and some of our neighbors -- staff would recommend that the Chinese restaurant be allowed to remain open until midnight.
Mr. Bray stated that staff was trying to be consistent throughout the development. I pointed out that the only other business that has gone through PC for the Monarch is Starbucks. Although it will close at midnight on the weeknights, it will close at 10 p.m. on the weekends. Thus, it is not really "consistent" to allow the Chinese restaurant to stay open until midnight.
In addition, staff's logic seems flawed. If an arguably poor decision is made once, that decision should never be reexamined? We did not closely follow Starbucks' SUP process and might have objected to its midnight hours of operation on weeknights. Apparently, we are now estopped from making any future objections.
We will be attending the PC's meeting on Jan. 3. We hope that others who are concerned about the proposed restaurant's hours of operation do so as well.
Hillary Jarvis
1020 Oronoco St.
Hi Hillary - Sorry to hear that Staff has recommended approval of letting the Chinese restaurant staying open until midnight. It's ridiculous to allow a Chinese carryout two blocks from Adkins to stay open till midnight. They are just asking for trouble.
I recommend you get a digital camera and start documenting the inevitable violations. For example, there is simply no way that the poor owner of that restaurant can prevent people from loitering outside. They will loiter, make late night noise, throw trash, and threaten the owner if he asks them to move on.
So, unfortunately, the burden will fall to you to start taking pictures, videos, etc. You should also keep a diary of all violations. Then, after one year, request that the SUP be reviewed, as spelled out in the staff recommendation. When it's up for review, you can give the City all your carefully documented evidence. Please compile this evidence. I know from experience the City won't take any action otherwise. Good luck.
I hope the food's good, at least.
Monarch opposition petition:
We will be circulating a petition opposing the hours requested in the Monarch Chinese restaurant SUP. You can reach me offline at hbcoombs@comcast.net if you live near the building and would like me to bring it by for your signature or would just like to authorize me to sign for you. Thanks.
Hillary Jarvis
1020 Oronoco St.
Thank you to everyone in the neighborhood for the support. The Planning Commission changed the SUP to have the Monarch applicant close at 10 p.m. Su-Thurs and 11 p.m. on Fri-Sat, which is what we had requested in the petition. The restaurant must lock its doors after these hours, but may continue to make deliveries until midnight.
Hillary Jarvis
1020 Oronoco St.
"The Planning Commission changed the SUP to have the Monarch applicant close at 10 p.m. Su-Thurs and 11 p.m. on Fri-Sat, which is what we had requested in the petition."
Kudos to those who accomplished this and thanks also for posting the results. It's good to see that City Hall sometimes listens.
Post a Comment