Thanks to everyone who joined our 2024 Annual Meeting. We were lucky to have ANC Rep. Anthony Davis-Thomas join our meeting to give us information on the status of the park and DPR’s upcoming construction. John Henderson of Green Spaces of DC also joined us to give us a report on administrative matters related to the organization. And 11th & Bark board members reported on our activities over the last year including our clean-ups, events, financial status, and more.
DPR Meeting About Dog Park Construction
Last night the Department of Parks and Recreation held a community meeting at the park to give us an update on the upcoming renovation. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2025 with an expected end date of Fall 2025.
DPR reported that they will keep the existing fence, repairing as needed, and replacing the mesh to keep little dogs in. DPR does not have money in the budget for lighting, but said the community could consider solar lights if desired or asking the city to add a light to the street lamp posts. The surface will be primarily engineered wood fiber with a strip of astroturf along the 11th street side.
Sign up for our listserv to keep keep informed about the renovation.
The proposed park design. A portion is reserved by WMATA so that they can continue to access the metro.
Dog Park Progess Update
The Columbia Heights Dog Park sits on property owned by WMATA, which allowed us to use the space for our dog park since 2009. In late-2023, after years of our advocacy, the District signed a 10-year lease with WMATA that will allow the park to become an official DC dog park and allow the District to upgrade the space.
The dog park application is now formally moving along, and in March the application was noticed in DC Register for public comment. 11th & Bark submitted a letter of support for the dog park.
In addition, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is now working with the Department of General Services (DGS) to identify and procure a contractor for this project. Once that happens, DPR will begin the formal community engagement process for the project.
11th & Bark 2022 Annual Meeting
11th & Bark held its 2023 annual meeting on Tuesday, September 19. We were pleased that Council Member Brianne Nadeau and ANC Member Anthony Thomas-Davis joined us to make an exciting announcement—the District’s Department of General Services (DGS) signed the lease with WMATA to take control over the park. The next step in the process is for WMATA to sign the lease. And then, DGS will begin determining what must be done to renovate the park.
At the meeting, we also discussed our prior and upcoming cleanups and other events, shared aour financial report, reminded people about park etiquette, and how to get involved with the park.
You can see the powerpoint slides from the meeting here.
Your Survey Results Shared with the ANC
Thanks so much to all of you who took our survey about the dog park. We had an impressive 64 responses. We shared the survey results with the ANC1-A Board, which relied upon it to draft a letter to the Department of General Services (DGC). which was working to finalize a contract with WMATA to lease the dog park property. Obtaining the letter of support from the ANC was an important step towards finalizing the lease for the property.
We owe a special thanks to new ANC 1-A member Anthony Thomas-Davis. Anthony, who takes his pup to the park, really took the lead in moving forward this important letter from the ANC. We are grateful to him for his leadership and support.
Fill Out the Survey!
We have great news! DC’s Department of General Service (DGS) has issued its notice of intent to sign the lease with WMATA to obtain the dog park property. This is a big step forward in making the dog park an official DC park!
Now, the ANC wants to hear from you! According to DC ordinance, our Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) gets to weigh in on the lease. In particular, DGS has asked for its opinions regarding recommendations or concerns as to pedestrian safety around the Property, operational hours for the Property, or noise and light pollution generated at the Property. But the ANC would also like to know what you want to see in the park when it is renovated.
To weigh in, please fill out our survey.
While WMATA is leasing the District the property, it does need to reserve a parcel of the property for itself so that it access areas important to train maintenance. Below is a rendering of how WMATA and the District have proposed to divide the property.
The 2022 Annual Meeting Is in the Books
Tonight, more than 20 members of the community joined our annual meeting.
David Meni of Council Member Brianne Nadeau’s office reported on the District’s negotiations with WMATA to lease the property. In short, the Department of General Services (DGS) has completed its negotiations with WMATA on the lease of the property. But before the lease can be finalized, a land survey must still be completed. DGS reports that it will be ready to move forward with planning for construction once the lease and survey are completed. Money remains in the District’s budget for construction.
ANC1-A ANC Rep. Brandolon Barnett also spoke, as did John Henderson of Green Spaces DC.
Members of the 11th & Bark Board then reported on what we accomplished over the last year, including our community cleanups and events. And, the Board spoke to our finances, how to get involved, and dog park etiquette.
Thanks so everyone who joined the meeting and who is active in making 11th & Bark successful.
The Dog Park Application Has Been Submitted!
We submitted the dog park application today! Thanks so much to everyone in the community for their amazing support for the park.
The submitted application includes:
More than 500 signatures and more than 60 statements of support from people in the community.
Letters of support from eleven local businesses, nine of which are on 11th Street and within a block or a few blocks of the park, and three local nonprofit organizations.
Businesses: Queen’s English, Red Rocks, The Coupe, El Chucho, Odd Provisions, Wonderland, Ossobuco, Makan, Patrick’s Petcare, District Dogs, Leslie Knows Homes (realtor)
Nonprofits: Community Wellness Alliance, District Bridges, GreenSpaces for DC
A letter of support from the ANC1A
To gain this support from the community, we did a lot of community outreach, including:
We distributed approximately 500 flyers to the homes surrounding the park, providing them with information about the park application;
We attended the Columbia Heights Farmers Market to inform people about the park application and to collect signatures;
We reached out to large apartment buildings, condo buildings, and a senior home in the area to ask their buildings managers to share information about the park application with their residents. These include Victory Heights, Monroe Tower, Columbia Heights Square, Kenyon Square Condominiums Arcade Sunshine, Park Place, Park Triangle, Highland Park, and 1020 Monroe St NW Condos;
We held happy hours at Midlands and Hook Hall to inform people about the park application and collect signatures;
We took several 2-hour shifts at the dog park to inform people about the park application and collect signatures;
We attended Open Streets and spoke to people in attendance there; and
We provided information on our website and shared information on our email listserv and on our social media platforms--FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter.
What happens next? The application will be published in the DC Register and there will be a 30-day period for public comment. DPR will then review the application and the comments and will issue a recommendation. There is no time limit on them. But After DPR issues a recommendation, it must notify us within 30 days.
We will let you know when we hear from the District.
ANC 1A Unanimously Passed Resolution Supporting the Park
Last night the ANC 1A passed a resolution that both supported our dog park application and supported 11th and Bark being an official “Friends of”group for the park. This resolution required for our “Friends of” application and our dog park application.
New ANC Commissioner, Brandolon Barnett sponsored the resolution. After a few questions from the commissioners and a short presentation from the Chair of 11th & Bark, Commissioner Barnett moved to pass the resolution and Commissioner Dottie Wade Love seconded the motion. The motion was then passed unanimously.
We are so grateful to Commisioner Barnett for supporting both the park and 11th & Bark. And we are pleased that the first resolution he passed as a Commissioner was related to our park.
We are now one step closer to becoming an offical District Dog Park.