| This email was sent to BACA, presumably for posting so I’m passing it on:
To the Bates Area Civic Association:
The Ward 5 Improvement Association is writing to all Ward 5 civic and citizens associations to seek your support to stop the District from creating a red light district in Ward 5. The District has already approved the relocation of three strip clubs to one area: the area around New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE. One of the clubs, the Stadium Club, is already open.
The problem is that the DC Zoning Administrator is refusing to classify the strip clubs as “sexually-oriented businesses.” This allows the strip clubs to locate as a matter of right in all CM-zoned areas, which are areas where sexually-oriented businesses are not allowed.
There are CM-zoned areas all over Ward 5 that will now be vulnerable to having strip clubs locate there as a matter of right. The Ward 5 Improvement Association has filed an appeal with the Board of Zoning Adjustment regarding the Zoning Administrator’s actions. The Board of Zoning Adjustment will give its decision on December 7th whether ‘red light districts’ will be allowed in Ward 5.
You can help by contacting the head of DCRA (Linda Argo), Councilmember Thomas and Councilmember Bowser, asking that the Zoning Administrator enforce the rules regarding sexually-oriented businesses (contact info below). A sexually-oriented business is defined in 11 DCMR §199.1, and strip clubs clearly meet the definition. If the Zoning Administrator enforces the rules he is supposed to, the strip clubs will have to shut down because sexually-oriented businesses are not allowed in CM-zoned areas.
Feel free to share this letter and the attached flyers with your members. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at (202) 832-4038.
Sincerely,
Don Padou
President, Ward 5 Improvement Association
- Linda Argo, Director of DCRA and Zoning, linda.argo (202) 442-8934
- Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., hthomas (202) 439-5103
- Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser (responsible for oversight of DCRA), mbowser (202) 724-8052
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Bates Area Civic Association 
Why not relocate the strip clubs to where they were… 55 was super famous, it even made it on HBO’s Real Sex. The neighborhood by the Stadium could use it, there’s not much else there, is there now huh? I bet the residents WISH Normandies was on M ST to get Liquor so they weren’t so bored and Nexxus Gold club was still shakin booties in the hood. Hey, at least they coulda got some sit down hot food…
I guess I’m the only one who’s noticed that the new developments are just high priced housing projects that will depreciate much faster since they stopped the grandeous developments in the area. Hey, who cares, isn’t CSX slated to destroy a large portion of the area soon?
I feel for Ward 5, I guess they are the new screwed area since SE got baseball. Y’all better protest it, hasn’t a large faction of hookers moved to the NY Ave coridor already?
Why does lower Ward 5 get all the businesses, etc that nobody else wants. Ms. Bowser’s parents live in upper Ward 5. I bet she would not let them put it there.