The following are the notes from the Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Crestwood Citizens Association meeting.  Thank you to Samuel Ng, who took them.                                        

 Police:
Sgt. Lance Andrian and Officer Philip Candela from Police Service Area 404 participated.  The police said that their statistics for Crestwood indicate that a rise in crimes, with auto thefts and burgularies being the main problems at the moment.  After Chief Lanier’s confirmation, police can get the ball rolling with more patrols.  The officer mentioned that money had been raised for a recent mugging victim; and a border patrol unit has been established.  Crime problems involve other community areas, so the border patrol unit can cover the 16^th and 14^th street areas.  Graffiti and gang symbols are nothing to be concerned about because police have increased patrols and are monitoring graffiti closely.  He said that the December crime spike is normal (seasonal) and was being monitored. 

 1400 Spring Road: 3 arrests and a closed robbery case.

 Prostitution problem: 17^th and 18^th Streets, Quincy, and Shepherd and Taylor.  Residents found litter and reported seeing slow cars and condoms. Officer says three things are needed for a crime to take place: 1) offender, 2) victim, and 3) the location.  We only need to remove one of the three to reduce crime.  When one location is being monitored, the crime often shifts to another location.

 Mugging: Young kids also on the other side of 16^th Street.  Efforts?  Special unit that deals with tagging and gang graffiti and with community intervention headway has been made with Latino gang problems.  Why were certain individuals targeted?  Possible answer:  Kids were shoveling and felt the individual was encroaching on their territory.  Does not seem like a “pattern crime” because kids likely instigated each other into attacking.

 March 11^th – another Sunday mugging.  Question: Where do these kids come from?  Answer: anywhere they can walk from.

 The officer warned that anyone you invite to your door can look at the home and its security systems. In other words, don’t invite strangers to your door.

 Vehicles: anything can be inviting (bags, computer, ipod, phones) to someone looking to break into a car.  Keep cars locked in well lit areas.  Car thefts concern what’s convenient and easy to steal.

 Martin Levine:  One of seven candidates for school board position arrived..  He said that it was his second time running and that he as a background in education.  In response to a question regarding DC’s 77% illiteracy rate, Levine argued for combining community and government efforts.

 Andrew Sullivan: Tax Assessor for Crestwood from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue.  Property and owner rights assessments.  The goal in DC is for property to be assessed at 100% of the market price.

 Assessment is a 5-step cycle:

-Sales verification – all sales are property specific: pictures in front and rear entered into sales database.  Field work data in computer to value large groups of data.

-Permit Listing

-At the very end of the year there’s a edit-review to find values that don’t fit in with the neighborhood.

-Appeal process: email Sullivan or call his office

            3 ways to appeal

                        1) written, in person, or on the phone

                        2) Board of Real Property

                        3) DC superior court

 
Each of the residents was provided with a detailed explanation of the steps that DC property owners must take to appeal the 2008 assessments.

All homesteads are eligible for a $16,000 reduction (if the owner live in owned house).  Senior citizens (65 years old and up) eligible for a 50% reduction

DC has a 10% tax cap and low tax rate (VA has no cap at 100% of value)

The real property service center is here.

Overall goal: put property at market value although some people don’t want assessment to go down

 Homestead exemption is not for rentals – only for owner occupied.

Sales and assessment available online with aerial imaging.

If you increase the assessed value of your property by more than 10% you will get a supplementary bill and lose the cap for the year.

Renee Carter and Trees

Resident Renee Carter of Crestwood Drive proposed to arrange to have arborist inspect trees in Crestwood yards.  If enough residents were interested, we could work together to have an arborist check the condition of trees in need of trimming of removal.  It is possible to get a group discount (5 families maybe).  The assessment is free but the work is not.

Crestwood trees are thought to be stronger than those on 16^th Street with pollution.

City is good for removing bulk debris

Tom Chused, Communications Director

Responsible for e-mails; directory collection in electronic data

 Green Team

Doug Barker, Vice President of the Green Team provided an overview of the upcoming plans:

            1) March 31 Potomac Watershed Cleanup at Arkansas-Piney Branch along stream bed 3/31 9-12 AM

            2) Pierce Mill- new fish ladder passage.  Migrating ocean fish (herring, shad, white perch)  4/14 and for a couple of weeks. friendsofrockcreekpark.org  

            3) Rock Creek Park Bio Blitz – scientist and naturalist park inventory in park observing and recording as many species 5/18-5/19 noon to noon.  Educational and fun. Nationalgeographic.com/bioblitz   

            4) Garden tour – 3^rd year

                        plan A: Rockafeller’s estate

                        plan B: local garden tour with neighbors evaluating each other (mid April through mid May not sure of date yet)

            5) Spring blooming at the point.  Need watering – Residents asked to help. Four families have offered, but more help is needed with the physical labor of getting water to all of the trees. 

Kid’s Team

Easter Egg hunt at the Point 4/1 for 2-7 year-olds.  Plastic eggs.may be used.  More information will be provided directly by the Kids Team.

Miscellaneous

Forum of ward 4 candidates – 18 of them.  Questions for candidates.  Make public these discussions and check Jeff Steele’s’s website ward4specialelection.org  

For our Annual Meeting (Tuesday, May 15 at Grace Lutheran Church), we have invited Mayor Fenty – and also the winner of the Ward 4 Council member seat and possibly the winner of the School Board seat to meet with us about their plans and to hear from Crestwood.

A survey was provided in draft that is proposed to be sent to all 18 of the Ward 4 candidates for the vacant Ward 4 position.  Other issues mentioned: Powell closing,

Sidewalk on Blagden Avenue and the status of the restoration of Klingle Road.

The Association considered whether we should host our own forum for Crestwood.  In lieu of hosting our own forum, the sense of the community was that we should support or participate in other forums that were already planned.  We noted that North Portal Estates is planning a forum and that there may be others close to Crestwood.  We directed attention to the Ward 4 website for information for residents.

David Swerdloff and Gale Black explained that the May meeting is also the time for the election of officers.  We encourage individuals who are interested in running for any of the offices to make their interest known.  Additional information will be provided on the nomination and election process by mail and e-mail.

Materials provided to residents at the March 20 Crestwood Citizens Association meeting:

Packet of materials from Real Property Tax Administration, Real Property Assessment Division First Level Appeal Application, Information on How to Access the DC Assessment Sales Ratio Reports, Frequently Requested Numbers for DC; a map of the DC Assessment “neighborhoods” and one that shows each of the units for Crestwood.

List of the officers and board of the Crestwood Citizens Association

The Calendar for 2007

Crimes Reported for February and March 2007 for Crestwood

A copy of correspondence received from DC on the proposed bike path along Blagden Avenue between Mathewson and Beach Drive

A map that shows the neighborhoods in Ward 4

An excerpt from the comprehensive plan that identifies the single family communities in Ward 4 by name: North Portal Estates, Colonial Village, Crestwood, Crestwood North, Carter Barron East, Shepherd Park, 16^th Street Heights, Takoma.  Other neighborhoods in Ward 4 include Lamond Riggs, Brightwood, Brightwood Park, Petworth and Manor Park.