1315 T Street Expansion Backed by ANC1B Committee

The residents of 1315 T Street NW have received approval from the Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street in connection with the proposed renovation and expansion of their row house at 1315 T Street NW. The approval was unanimous, with one abstention.

1315 T Street is the blue building, center

A representative of the residents appeared before the Design Review Committee of ANC 1B at its monthly meeting, held on August 19th at the Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th Street). Documents submitted to the board say the renovation will remove an existing third-floor addition and construct a new one. A roof deck will be added, and the basement enlarged.

The new addition will not be visible from the street, the representative said.

The project at 1315 T Street will require zoning relief from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for several reasons. First, after the renovation, the whole structure will cover 70% of the property. The limit under current rule is 60% for this zoning category. Secondly, an existing open court behind the building is non-compliant with zoning regulations. The regulations say such a court should be 10 feet wide; this court is 3.7 feet wide at its narrowest point.

A public hearing on the renovation is scheduled at the BZA (441 4th Street) for Tuesday, 22 October.

It will also require a building permit from the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), because the building is within the boundaries of the U Street Historic District. The residents and their architect are filing a request for conceptual review with the HPRB.

An ANC's recommendations legally have influence, but are not binding, before both the BZA and the HPRB.

The residents of 1315 T Street have a letter of no objection from the abutting neighbor to the east. They have letters of support from two neighbors to the rear of the property. At the hearing, the residents' representative said that the abutting neighbor to the west, a landlord with renters, had been informed, but had not responded.

The architect for the project is Will Teass of Tektonics Architecture.

The committee's recommendation will probably come up for approval at the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled for Thursday, September 5, at 7pm, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Street)