An ANC is a non-partisan neighborhood body made up of locally elected representatives called Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. ANC Commissioners, who serve two-year terms without pay, are elected at DC Elections in November in even-numbered years. The ANCs were established to bring the government closer to the people and bring the people closer to the government.
There are now 40 ANCs, and each ANC area is subdivided into several smaller areas. Since only one Commissioner is elected per district, they are called Single Member Districts (SMDs). Each SMD consists of about 2,000 people. Although the SMDs should have equal populations, ANCs may vary widely in size. The Georgetown-Burleith ANC has 8 SMD’s, 2 of which comprise the Georgetown University campus.
The Georgetown-Burleith ANC is the neighborhood’s official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on things that affect our community. While the ANC has no enforcement powers, District agencies are required to give the ANCs’ recommendations “great weight.” Moreover, District law says that agencies cannot take any action that will significantly affect a neighborhood unless they give the affected ANCs 30 days’ advance notice. This includes zoning, streets, recreation, education, social services, sanitation, planning, safety, budget, and health services.
The ANCs may also initiate recommendations for improving city services, conduct neighborhood improvement programs, and monitor resident complaints.
ANC2E has a unique responsibility, as Georgetown is a designated historic district. For residents and businesses who plan to do construction on their properties, they must go through a lengthy historic review process. A key component of that process is ANC review. We choose not to review many projects (examples include replacing windows or installing solar panels). Still, if the project is large and impacts our community, we do review it at our monthly meeting and allow neighbors to share their thoughts and concerns. Sometimes we officially comment and send those comments to the Old Georgetown Board, which is the next step in the historic review process.
As an ANC Commissioner, I find my responsibilities ranging from responding to constituent requests (missed trash collection, damaged sign, request for a speed bump, etc.) to attending community meetings on a wide range of issues and testifying before the Council and everything in-between! There is never a dull day, that’s for sure!
The ANC2E Commissioners are: Kishan Putta, Jenny Mitchell, Lisa Palmer, Gwen Lohse, Elizabeth Miller, and Rick Murphy. You can find out more about the Georgetown-Burleith ANC on our website: www.anc2e.com
