We will have our regular SHA board meeting on Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 p.m. As we did last month, it will be a hybrid meeting - both in person at Immanuel Church on the Hill Parish Hall and via Zoom for those who cannot attend. Our first guest speaker will be Jack Browand, the Deputy Director of Parks and Rec. His department is putting forward a proposal to light 5 athletic fields in the city.  Funding has been provided for 2 fields, but the Department seeks to light 5 with additional funding. One of these 5 fields is Hammond Middle School.  As many may remember, lighting this field was proposed some years ago, but was withdrawn when studies showed glare into the nearby yards, in addition to sewer line issues under the field. I can only surmise that with the new lighting technology, the city has figured they can avoid the glare issue as they bring back this proposal again. In addition to our SHA meeting, Mr. Browand will hold two community meetings on this proposal.  The first is Wednesday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. It is a webinar and you must register in advance for this community meeting.  The link is:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UvUcHSBfRMCvuGF6E-MjkA.  The second meeting will be Tuesday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m.  The link for this webinar is:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_75TTvoNKS9annrnMVLkEew.  If you wish to attend a community meeting, I would suggest that you attend the webinar on the 8th, due to the following additional meeting SHA will have on June 21st. The field lighting proposal will go before Planning Commission and City Council in September and October, so with summer arriving now, there will be little time to get organized.

In addition, Police Chief Don Hayes has asked to join our meeting on Thursday night to discuss recent changes to police responses to calls. Chief Hayes will be joining us at 7:45 via the Zoom link you will find below. If you have questions or concerns about the new policy, this will be an opportunity to hear the Chief and ask him questions you may have.

Again, our SHA regular board meeting will be held on Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 p.m. As indicated above, the meeting will be in person and via Zoom. The Zoom link for our SHA board meeting is:

 Seminary Hill Association Zoom Meeting

Time: Jun 9, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join ZoomMeeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85135545415?pwd=MWIxdXVMUzNOM2VJeGdrRmNrSVZ3QT09

                         Meeting ID: 851 3554 5415 Passcode: 831725 

                        Dial by your location 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) 

 Mayor Justin Wilson has accepted our invitation to attend a special SHA meeting on Tuesday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m to discuss the proposed zoning text amendment which would change the minimum height standard for developers to receive a height bonus for providing some affordable housing. Many civic associations, including SHA, have pushed back on this proposal and the city now states it will not apply to single family home and townhome zones. We need to better understand the strength of this commitment, as this language could be changed with a separate zoning text amendment at a later date once this initial change takes place.  It is also unclear at this point how much of Old Town would be eligible for this 25-foot height bonus. The Mayor will appear in person at the Immanuel Church Parish Hall. The Zoom link for this meeting with the Mayor is:

Topic: Seminary Hill Association Special Meeting

Time: Jun 21, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81279034613?pwd=SmsyY2FBa3U4MEpHbjNGWHR5ODRFQT09 

Meeting ID: 812 7903 4613

Passcode: 693421

Dial by your location

 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Several SHA members attended the informational walk at Ft. Ward Park on May 21st.  There are several sites under consideration for the relocation of the playground. For those who could not attend the walk, there is supposed to be a Zoom meeting on June 23rd to review these options. There is no information yet about this meeting on the city website for this project, so we will have to check back to see if they schedule it. The location of the playground is complicated by the need to respect the sites of the African American community that made their homes in the park for many years, and the need to protect the existing tree canopy from injury or destruction during the construction process.

 

 

Thank you for your interest in Seminary Hill.  There are numerous Zoom links contained in this message, so please be sure you use the correct link for each meeting. Please do not hesitate to let me, or any board member, know your questions or concerns on any matters of interest to our community.