CPCA presented the following views on Advisory Neighborhood Commission boundaries at the March 1, 2022 meeting of the Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force, as part of CPCA’s efforts to inform the redistricting process.
Summary
- Splitting Cleveland Park across ANCs violates purpose of ANC system and weakens community voice
- If shrinking ANC 3C boundaries, a new ANC for Woodley Park is viable and reasonable
- Extending ANC 3C northern boundary would be helpful if adjusting ANC boundaries
- Maps provided to facilitate discussion, validated for population and census tract compliance
Purpose of ANC’s
- Established in Home Rule Charter to ensure neighborhoods a voice to make requests to the DC gov’t and express concerns about its actions
- Address a wide range of issues including issues of great consequence to the neighborhood’s they represent
- Any proposal to break up a neighborhood in drawing ANC lines runs afoul of the basic purpose of ANCs
Cleveland Park is a Neighborhood
- Long recognized and identified as such
- Geographic area reflected in map by CPCA and map of the designated historic district within the neighborhood
- Reflected in how the area has developed, how residents live their lives, and shared issues of concern to them
- Corridor concept does not reflect reality here and not appropriate to apply
Changing Boundaries of ANC 3C
- ANC appears able to address issues brought before it
- Any change of boundaries should be between neighborhoods, not through one
- Multiple ANCs for a neighborhood weakens community voice, complicates community engagement, disenfranchises residents
- A new ANC for Woodley Park is reasonable and supported by its anticipated population growth, if needed
- Extending ANC 3C northern boundary is reasonable to better align with edges of neighborhoods
Conclusion
- No compelling reason has been offered to justify breaking up Cleveland Park
- Arguments against splitting the neighborhood are clear and overwhelming
- Whatever discretion task forces have been given, core guiding principles are clearly: honoring the purpose of ANCs, community views of their own geographic area and identity, and keeping neighborhoods intact.
- We urge the task force to reject application to ANC 3C of the corridorcentric intellectual construct, apparently unique to this task force, that clearly undermines the voice of a very real community
- We urge the task force not to vote on any changes to Ward 3 ANC boundaries without first publishing proposals to enable community input