The Crestwood Citizens Association (CCA) held its bimonthly meeting at the home of David & Peggy Beers at 1805 Quincy Street, on November 16, 2006 at 7:00 PM.  A quorum was present. Also present were: Adrienne Coleman, Superintendent Rock Creek Park (National Park Service), DC Police Officer Rob Fessock, Tom Dawson, President, Crestwood Neighborhood League, Jeff Hackert, Citizen Forestry Volunteer, and Dan Smith, Casey Trees.

Police Officer Fessock reported a stolen car attempt today at 3:00 PM. The vehicle has an automatic shut-off and the thieves could not start the car. The thieves did escape in a gray Cherokee; neighbors should be on the lookout for this vehicle and call the police if it is spotted. Steering wheel “clubs” work as a deterrent against auto thefts, vehicle alarms should be set, and Lojacks are very useful. Because it is the holiday season, there are many scams. Neighbors are reminded not to leave packages and other items in their vehicles. Two years ago, thieves targeted airbags. Several robberies have been reported at the bus stop at 16th Street and Shepherd.

Green Team Update Doug Barker reported on the planting trees at the point and introduced Adrienne Coleman, Superintendent of Rock Creek and Jeff Hackert, Citizen Forestry Volunteer. Casey Trees has donated 25-trees to be planted at the “Point.” One tree in particular, is an American Holly tree; this tree has white blossoms in the spring and berries in the summer and autumn to feed the birds. Some of the other trees being planted are Red Buds, Crepe Myrtles, and Witch Hazels. The planting will be done on Saturday, November 19, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM; approximately 60 volunteers are needed. Casey Trees, Sigma Ki, and Friends of Rock Creek Environment (FORCE) will help with the planting. Crestwood neighbors are needed to help with the planting and are also encouraged to come out and be part of the event. Crestwood is five degrees cooler in the summer than downtown DC – this is a benefit of living next to Rock Creek Park. We want to be good stewards of Rock Creek by planting native trees and caring for these trees. Rock Creek contributes to the health, vitality, and character of DC. Casey Trees is making DC a “treed-city” by donating many trees each year. In the future, developers in DC should be required to create buffer zones to protect the roots of existing trees. Rock Creek needs our help to recognize the importance of the park. Casey Trees has been instrumental in “greening” DC through the donation of native trees, and the Native Demonstration Project at the “Point.” In the 3 ½ years that Casey Trees has been working in DC, there has been little demand from Ward 4. Crestwood is committed to maintaining the trees. On Saturday, Casey Trees will provide tools and gloves for the planting; Starbucks has donated coffee, the Crestwood Citizens Association “owns” the project. The volunteers will need to manually dig the holes for the 25 trees. There will be approximately 18 seasoned foresters leading that effort. Rock Creek is on the national historical register; it was once a Native American Indian quarry and still contains artifacts. If any artifacts are uncovered during the tree planting, an archeologist will be on call to analyze the items before the trees are planted. Four neighbors living close to the “Point” have agreed to use water hoses provided by Casey Trees to maintain the trees, especially for the first and most critical year. Crestwood neighbors are asked to help the four neighbors (Sheridan, Scoda, Richards, and Black) to water the trees. Casey Trees will work with CCA to establish guidelines for when to water the new trees. Ivy and other weeds need to be removed along with other non-native invasives. CCA will work 1-2 days a year in partnership with Rock Creek Park to handle the non-native weed removal. Rock Creek has 3,000 acres and removes exotics such as English ivy and approximately 77 other species of invasive throughout the year. Ivy can cause problems for asthma suffers. CCA thanked Casey Trees and Rock Creek for making this project so successful. Casey Trees is also providing “gator” bags for some of the trees. Several Crestwood neighbors have been informally trained as “deputy rangers” for this project. By planting the trees, CCA hopes to reduce the amount of litter and dumping on the Point. Doug Barker reported that is a miracle that so many bureaucracies have come together to make this very significant event happen. CCA thanked Doug for all of his work over the past year to also make this happen. At a later date, the trees will have identification plaques that identify the tree species (both the botanical and common names). Right now the Point has a diversity of trees, with the new trees, we will have a very beautiful native plant demonstration project. The trees will serve as a living legacy to the neighborhood.

Hillwood Tour
The CCA sponsored Hillwood Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 16. The cost is $18 per person and checks should be made payable to Crestwood Citizens Association. The Hillwood house is a duplicate of the Rockerfeller house with incredibly beautiful gardens.

Rockerfellers
The Rockerfellers recently sent $100 to CCA to renew their membership.

Neighborhood Plan
The neighborhood plan is part of the city’s comprehensive plan. CCA will offer its neighborhood plan to the new city council. The neighborhood plan has policies and practices that are to ensure the Crestwood stays the way its citizens want it to stay. Issues to consider are libraries, types of buildings permitted, density, and schools. The neighborhood plan is an opportunity for Crestwood to provide input to the city’s comprehensive plan. On Monday, Mayor elect Fenty will meet with a number of DC agencies to discuss the plan as well as other topics such as voting rights and street cars. The draft neighborhood plan is divided into a number of policies. For example: Policy 7: Greening – with the Casey Tree project we are well on our way to reducing invasive plants. Policy 6: A trail from Crestwood to Connecticut Avenue (the Soapstone Trail), which goes to Van Ness Metro and to Mt. Pleasant is being discussed. Policy 10: The Powell School will probably not be closed. Crestwood needs access to quality education. There are few schools located west of 16th Street. CCA is trying to get access to the new magnet school at 16th & Irving for our neighborhood. Right now many Crestwood children attend private or charter schools. Once the teaching and education standards in DC schools come up to our expectations, Crestwood will send its children to those DC schools. Policy 12: This policy deals with cluster designation for Crestwood, and Carter Baron. If Crestwood is in the wrong cluster, then the downside consequences will be the ability of developers to build high-density housing. Crestwood needs to be aligned with 4A. Policy 14: The neighborhood plan preserves neighborhood anchors such as Rock Creek Park and historic churches on 16th ST. Gale Black wants CCA to put together a history of the area. Gale has a boxes and boxes of documents from the 1930’s with historical information. The plan will recognize the fabric of DC and its rich history. Policy 16: This policy deals with permits. Rock Creek is in a valley and receives run-off and overflows – we need to address the minimization of sewer overflow. There are some sections of Rock Creek where the water isn’t bad. But water samples taken on heavy rain days are unhealthy. Many toilets flush into Piney Branch. Approximately 2/3 of DC’s sewer system is antiquated. Newer sewer systems have two lines, one for dirty water and one for clean water. The dirty water lines are for toilets; the clean water lines are for other water usage such as sinks and washing machines. But for DC, both dirty and clean water go into the same line. When it rains, this line will back up and overflow into the Anacostia River, Piney Branch, and Rock Creek. Nearly 50 million gallons of wastewater is dumped into Rock Creek – this wastewater does not go through a filtration system. Residents should have their downspouts go into their yards and not into the sewer system. Rock Creek will install a fish ladder by getting money from the Wilson Bridge Project. The fish ladder will allow fish to swim up-creek and spawn. The money as also used to remove blockages. The Pierce Mill Dam is a historic site; the fish ladder is being built to enable fish to get upstream. Hurricane Isabel created a set back. If we have another flood this year, the flood will cause even more set backs. Rock Creek plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony this spring for the fish ladder. Last year volunteers formed a bucket brigade to get the fish upstream. The Rock Creek watershed goes to Laytonsville, Maryland – one third of the watershed is in DC, the remainder is in Maryland. Rock Creek is a “hot spot” for neo-tropical birds; Rock Creek is very good for bird watching. Crestwood Neighborhood League Tom Dawson the President of the Crestwood Neighborhood League (CNL) discussed his vision of unifying CNL and CCA through joint meetings, events, and discussions of common issues. CNL and CCA will continue to exist as separate organizations (sister organizations) but should work together on issues such as sewage, native plants, and dying trees. Tom believes that the community can have a strong influence at city hall if we work together. Tom has been president for 1-½ years. He plans to attend CCA meetings and work toward the two organizations doing things together. CNL has an annual holiday party and CCA members will be invited. It will be held on Sunday, December 10 at the home of Walter & Jo ???? who live on Varnum Street. This is a casual affair from 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Tom will give the information to Gale Black for distribution to CCA members. Tom would like CCA and CNL to hold two joint meetings a year. Odd-Shaped Lots A discussion ensued over the house being built on an “L” shaped lot. Landowners have the right to develop their property. Although there are rules related to the ratio of land and height to square footage of development, those rules do not extend to the shape of the lot. Through the comprehensive plan we can require use of the “regular process” for building permits but we will also have some problems due to “special use facilities” such as non-residential use (schools, churches).

Leaf Blowers
This time of year some neighbors use leaf blowers. The older leaf blowers are noisy and create extremely unpleasant odors as well as air pollution. A suggestion was made that CCA members be reminded to be considerate of their neighbors and limit the use of leaf blowers as much as possible.

Underground Storage Tanks
Rock Creek Park has 74 underground storage tanks. Many are with 1-½ miles of Crestwood. None are in Crestwood. The Klingle Road Project identified many of the tanks. Gale Black will research whether the tanks targeted for clean up – were actually cleaned-up.

Pepco
Everyone living in Crestwood is very interested in the upcoming visit of Pepco representatives – they will be at our January meeting. Ellen Wormser and Kathy Frank are working on this project. The questions related to needed reductions in power outages are: What can be done? When will it be done? Apparently, there are no “service level agreements” therefore Pepco does not have a service standard for providing service to neighborhoods. Tom Chused documents power outages. John Spencer of Pepco has put special meters on two houses in Crestwood to monitor outages. A power server on 8^th Street supplies Crestwood. Crestwood power service travels over line that goes through a large number of trees before we receive electricity. Crestwood is at the “end of the line” for power service. Therefore, anytime a problem occurs anywhere along the line, Crestwood loses electricity. Crestwood has been generating publicity through letters and meetings with the Public Service Commission, Corporate Council and the Peoples Counsel. Crestwood wants an acceptable level of service and Pepco needs to come up with a solution. Hazards have been identified with wires touching the ground and failure of medical equipment to provide needed health services. Crestwood will develop a list of questions for Pepco and provide those questions in advance of the meeting to enable Pepco representatives to provide answers. Right now Crestwood has the worst power service from Pepco of any area in the city.

Wreath Making
On Saturday, December 9, CCA will hold a wreath-making event at the Butlers home. CCA will supply materials.

Christmas Caroling
Each year the Sheridans host a meeting with Santa followed by caroling in the neighborhood. This fun event should not be missed.

501C3
When CCA was formed in 1938 it was part of a “federation” and was not incorporated. Incorporated neighborhood associations may apply for and receive grant money for neighborhood projects. The fee to incorporate CCA is approximately $500. CCA is considering whether we should apply for 501C3 status.

Next CCA Meeting
The next CCA meeting will be held on January 16 at a location to be announced.