Neighborhood Notes - Foxhall: 11 April 2001

Councilor Mendelson already held a public hearing on Ward redistricting, starting with testimony from DC Office of Planning on the legal obligation to equalize ward populations. Our D.C. State Data Center office's Herb Bixhorn is hopeful this could be accomplished by moving whole tracts between wards. (Although perhaps unlikely to move  between Wards 2 and 3 yet again, the Foxhall Community Citizen Association area is just one tract, 8.2 in Census nomenclature. However, boundaries could legally be drawn at the block level).

By late April the time for public input will be over, a revised Ward boundary map will eventuate, and only after that does the interesting ANC and Single Member District boundary option even get on his subcommittee's agenda. SMD's, unlike Wards, do represent a constant number of people (approx.  2000) but neither the number of ANCS nor  the number of SMD's in any given ANC are consistent.

For example, Wards 2 and 3 each have six ANCs, while Wards 5 and 6 have only three ANCs (see anc.dc.gov). The number of SMD Commissioners range from two (ANC1D) to 14 (ANC6A - see www.foxhall.org/ANCSizes.htm). Nor  do the areas covered by the ANCs always match well with over 120 identifiable neighborhoods  and their clusters (see neighborhoods.washingtondc.gov). So what basis will Council, and Office of Planning, use to rationalize ANCs to be an effective voice for residents?

If ANCs are too small, it is difficult for them to have effective coverage of issues. If ANCs are too big, then a single commissioner may have a hard time getting their own constituent's issues supported by the majority. FCCA has been fortunate in the caliber of leadership offered by the ANC chairs on both sides of our association (ANC3D to the north, ANC2E to the east). We trust changes only improve our voice in D.C. governance.

© Bob Andrew, Foxhall