Gompers Park to Improve Using Community Benefit Funds from Developer

Brad Reichard of the Friends of Gompers Park told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle on February 4 that developer-financed renovation of the park is proceeding. However, he noted some difficulties in getting the promised funds from the developer.

Statue of Gompers in the park (photo credit below)

Gompers Park is located at intersection of 10th Street, L Street, and Massachusetts Avenue, in front of the Morrison-Clark Inn (1015 L Street NW).

Friends of Gompers Park should receive a one-time payment of $20,000 from the developer Quadrangle Development according to the terms of a community benefits package -- see SALM blog post of January 8. This payment is part of the terms of a Planned Unit Development (PUD), in which Quadrangle Development agreed to make payments to local development groups in return for relief from certain DC zoning requirements. The zoning relief will allow Quadrangle to build hotels and housing at the corner of 9th and L Streets, one block from the park.

The Friends of Gompers Park had been in discussion with the National Park Service, Reichard said, about beginning work on an "aggressive planting program", as well as thinning out existing trees, removing garbage cans, and improving street lighting on the L Street side of the park.

Although the $20,000 payment is supposed to be ready to access, Reichard indicated he was having difficulty doing so. ANC2F Chair John Fanning (Commissioner for district 04) and Sherri Kimbel, Director of Constituent Services in the office of DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward One), told Reichard that, under the terms of the PUD, Quadrangle Development cannot dictate where money is supposed to go or demand documents like invoices. Fanning and Kimbel also told Reichard that, if he continued to have trouble accessing the PUD money, they would be happy to help in their dealings with Quadrangle Development.

The discussion of the park improvement is mentioned in the summary of February 4 meeting on ANC2F's website here.

A diagram showing the proposed improvements is available here.

(photo credit: 2008 photo by AgnosticPreachersKid/Wikipedia)

1727 Massachusetts Avenue: Show You've Consulted the Neighbors and the ANC Will Support You

CORRECTION: In the original headline and first sentence, I incorrectly gave the address as 1717 Massachusetts Avenue. Apologies for the mistake.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle has reversed itself on a zoning variance request for 1717 1727 Massachusetts Avenue NW. ANC2B now supports the requested zoning variance. The decision came at ANC2B's regular monthly meeting on August 13.

Coming soon: office space in the basement

The zoning variance would enable the owner of a basement unit in the building to legally rent out the unit as office space. The unit functioned as a kind of
handyman's workroom at one time -- it has two rooms and a bathroom, but no kitchen. It has been the home of some kind of small business for over a decade, although strictly speaking the owner did not have authorization to use it in this way. The owner decided he wanted to rent out the office space to some kind of white-collar professional. He discovered he needed a zoning variance to do so.

Previously, the ANC voted to protest the zoning variance application. The ANC felt the other members of the condo community had not been consulted, so it voted to ask DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to delay the hearing.

At the August 13 meeting, the unit owner, Arnie Litman, appeared before the ANC. He said that the condo bylaws had been reviewed. There was nothing in the bylaws that prohibited the conversion. Other members of the condo association were also notified and given opportunity to protest. None did.

The ANC voted unanimously to endorse the request for a special exception.

See a copy of the letter that ANC2B sent to the BZA here.

This request was also the subject of SALM blog posts on July 9 and July 14.

The documents in this case can be reveiwed by entering case number 18802 into the search bar of the BZA's Interactive Zoning Information System.

1727 Massachusetts Avenue: "I'm Not Trying to Pull the Wool over Anybody's Eyes"

At its regular monthly meeting on July 9, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to oppose the zoning application of Arnold K. Litman of Newlettman Associates LLC. ANC2B will ask D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for time to review the application. Because the BZA doesn't meet in August, this will delay the application two months, assuming the request is granted.

The front door of Winthrop House

This application for a special exception will allow a room originally meant as a janitor's living space or workroom to be converted into office space. The room is located in the basement of a 142-unit building at 1727 Massachusetts Avenue, also known as Winthrop House. The application was the subject of the SALM blog post of July 9.

ANC2B Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07) started the discussion of this case by reading a resolution he had drafted opposing the special exception. (The property is in Dwyer's ANC district.) The resolution stated the applicants did not "reach out in a timely manner" to the ANC, nor did they receive relevant documents to review before meetings. The ANC had had no contact with the condominium association of Winthrop House. It was impossible to determine the impact of this request on the building residents.

After the resolution was read, moved, and seconded, Litman and two associates came before the ANC to discuss the case.

Litman said he was unable to attend an ANC committee meeting two days before owing to the death of a close friend. Dwyer said he was sorry for Litman's loss.

Litman told the ANC he had bought the unit ten years ago. The sellers had represented to Litman that the property was zoned for commercial activity. Since then, the space has been home to a printer, a fitness studio, and a massage therapist. The tenants of the building have seen this unit rented for years. Only recently did Litman find out the space required zoning approval for this type of activity.

Litman described the property as two rooms and a bathroom.

"It has no kitchen," he said.

The property has no direct access from outside. To get to it, you must go through the front door, past a desk which is manned 24/7, Litman said.

Litman then said he was also the president of the Winthrop House condominium association, and he had a letter, signed by himself, stating that the special exception would create no hardship in the building. Perhaps recognizing that this alone might not be enough, Litman also brought the vice-president of the condominium association, who agreed with Litman's statement, and had also signed the letter.

Litman was asked if the condomium board had voted on the matter. It had not.

Litman said every unit owner in Winthrop House had gotten a letter about the matter.

"I'm not trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes," he said.

After Litman's testimony, there was some discussion. There was  a friendly amendment to the original resolution. The friendly amendment changed the language so that the ANC requested a delay to the BZA hearing, but did not object outright to the project.

The resolution opposing the project can be seen on ANC2B's web site here -- about half-way down the page. As of this writing, the resolution published on the this web page is NOT the resolution that the ANC passed -- it is Dwyer's original resolution. Dwyer said in an email the post would soon be changed to reflect the friendly amendment.

1727 Massachusetts Avenue: Janitor's Apartment to Lawyer's Office?

"They thought it was legally permitted to be office space," the owners representative told a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle July 7.

But it wasn't.

Winthrop House, with orange zoning placard in front window

The owners of 817 square feet in the basement of The Winthrop House condominium (1727 Massachusetts Avenue NW) will have purchased themselves an expensive storage area unless they can convince DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to grant them a special exception. The owners' representative was at the most recent meeting of ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee to ask for an endorsement of their request.

According to information presented at the meeting, the space was originally meant as a basement apartment for a janitor or maintenance man. It has its own toilet and a window well. Now, he said, it was not considered a legally habitable space. The new owners wanted to convert it into office space for a lawyer, architect, or accountant. They need zoning permission to change its purpose.

The representative of the owner told the committee "two individuals" bought the property, and the individuals were under the impression that office use was permitted when they bought it.

Who are the owners?

A publicly-available BZA document indicates the property is owned by Lettermen Associates LLC. The address of Lettermen Associates is 14705 Dunleith Street, North Potomac, Maryland. Online information indicates that 14705 Dunleith Street is owned by Arnold K. Litman and F. J. Litman.

Another BZA document gives the name of one of the owners as Arnie Litman. Yet another is signed "Arnie Litman, Letterman Associates".

Arnie Litman is described on one web site as

a licensed real estate broker who serves as a contractor and property management consultant with more than 25 years of experience in successfully developing affordable housing projects in the Washington, DC area. Mr. Litman has negociated [sic] over 3,000 commercial and retails leases. Currently he is the broker of record for Tysons II Mall and two premier office buildings in Washington, DC.

Litman Development has successfully managed thousands of apartments units in some of the toughest neighborhoods...

A Linked-In profile describes Arnold (Arnie) Litman as "an independent real estate broker" of 38 years experience. From 2011 - 2013, Litman worked at Zalco Realty of Silver Spring.

A 1989 document (also available online) from the Office of Administrative Law Judges of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates that Arnold K. Litman was debarred from participation in federal contracts for three years. This, the documents say, was after Litman pleaded guilty and was convicted in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on February 15, 1989, of false statements on six separate occasions in 1983 and 1984. Litman was "committed to the custody of the Attorney General for nine months for each of the counts, which were to run concurrently". He also received a $5,000 fine.

What steps have they taken so far?

The representative began his presentation by apologizing. He had left most of the relevant documents, which he was supposed to share with the committee, back at his office.

"Have you reached out to the building?" asked ZDP Committee Chair Leo Dwyer (commissioner for district 07). Winthrop House is in Dwyer's ANC District.

The representatives said that he, personally, had not, but the owners had. He had no details.

Was such a conversion possible under the bylaws of the Winthrop House condominium?

They would have to check the condo bylaws, the representative said.

"The bylaws will say what is allowed and what is not allowed," said Tom Bauer of the Dupont Circle Conservancy.

There would be no separate entrance to the proposed office. It would only be accessible by going through the lobby. Did the building have a concierge?

"They don't have a 24-hour concierge now, but they're heading towards one," the representative said.

The representative wanted the full ANC to consider the matter at its next full meeting, scheduled for tonight, July 9, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue). He said he would try to get condo board support, check the bylaws, and get back to Dwyer before the Wednesday meeting, two days hence.

"Also reach out to the residents of the building," Dwyer told him.

Commissioner Stephanie Maltz (district 06) suggested someone from the condominium board should come to the ANC meeting.

Dwyer said the resolution at the meeting would recommend more communication with the condo board, and the establishment of a 24-hour concierge on the front door. Dwyer also said he might ask the BZA to delay their hearing on the matter, which is currently scheduled for July 27.

"It seems a little too much of a reach for a special exception," Dwyer said.

The BZA documents about this case are available for public inspection by going to the Interactive Zoning Information System and putting case number 18802 into the search bar.