President's Message
/By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org
Although spring is a time of new starts, it is also marks the end of the school year. Many of you—like my wife and me—will be celebrating new graduates either from high school, college, middle, or even elementary school. Congratulations to the class of 2016! Good luck with the next stage of your education and life! Your community is really proud of you!
There are two BCA events coming up that I would like to mention. First, our spring community clean-up has been pushed back to Saturday, June 11, from 9–11 am. A week later, on June 18, we host our annual summer picnic from 3:30–7:30 pm. As in previous years, there will be a band, Rocklands BBQ, a raffle, and fun for all age groups. Please look at our website and the next hard-copy edition of the Burleith Bell (delivered in early June) for more details. We are always looking for volunteers, so if you’d like to help, please email Kay Twomey at burleithevents@gmail.com.
A committee—chaired by Carol Baume and Lenore Rubino—has been established to explore the possibility of obtaining historic designation for Burleith. It is important to note that such a status would not be as stringent as Georgetown’s, but rather what Foxhall Village enjoys. The committee is investigating the process, researching the pros and cons, and developing a comprehensive outreach strategy. We will soon create a dedicated email address for all communications and a page on our website with links to a variety of documents and resources. I think it’s essential for all homeowners in Burleith to familiarize themselves with the advantages and disadvantages of such a status. In addition to the initial community meeting on the topic that took place on February 25 at Washington International School with representatives from DC’s Office of Historic Preservation and Foxhall Village, we are planning a series of community town hall gatherings to provide everyone with an opportunity to comment. The next such gathering will hopefully take place in early June before the summer picnic.
Georgetown University, working cooperatively with representatives from Burleith, Georgetown, Foxhall Village, and the student body, is preparing a draft for its next campus plan that will cover the next twenty years. Our community has been steadfastly represented on the Georgetown Community Partnership Steering Committee by Nan Bell. Nan has reported that she is very satisfied with the discussions thus far. When the conversations among the cooperating bodies conclude, the key components of the proposed plan will be presented to the community, probably in late May or early June. Once a date has been finalized, we will advise everyone about the time and venue.
Infrastructure issues continue to be addressed. It appears that the water pipe replacement on 35th Street and Whitehaven Parkway has been completed. We will inquire about better repaving of the road surfaces. We have been promised repaving of 37th Street, but there has been no specific notification yet. New sidewalks and curbs were installed along 39th Street last month; all of this rain we've been having should help the sod in the tree boxes take root. The test borings for potential green infrastructure in various alleys have been done, and we are waiting for information on next steps.
Finally, the fight against increased airplane noise continues. If you have not already done so, please consider emailing a declaration about how the noise has impacted your quality of life to the DC Fair Skies Coalition, c/o Richard Hinds of the law firm Clearly Gottlieb at rhinds@cgsh.com; also please cc bca@burleith.org.
I hope to see you at our upcoming events.