How Many People Can Live in a Logan Circle Row House?

At its regular monthly meeting March 4, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle heard from Logan Circle residents who believe a neighboring row house at 1517 12th Street NW was about to a used as a rooming house. The neighbor asked ANC2F to pass a resolution asking DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to deny the owner a rooming house permit, should one be applied for. The ANC did not vote on the matter as requested, but passed a resolution asking DCRA to give the matter "special attention".

The property last Saturday

A neighbor reported that the property had been advertised as a shared house for eight people on Radpad and Craigslist, with leases beginning March 1. These ads (which no longer appear) advertised an open house on February 18. According to the neighbor's written statement to the ANC:

...I and three other neighbors in the area went to an open house on the property. That is when we discovered that the new owner had converted the single family row house into a shared house with 9 or 10 bedrooms -- 2 bedrooms on the first floor (where the dining and living room were), 3 bedrooms on the second floor, 3 bedrooms on the 3rd floor and another unit in the basement, which they decribed as for 2 people. There is one kitchen on the first floor and one in the basement and 3.5 bathrooms (1 is attached to a room). Each room was being rented from $995-$1095/mo. (Each room had a piece of paper taped to it with a dollar amount written on it.)

Neighbors take action

The neighbors did some research on DCRA regulations with the help of the ANC and the office of DC Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two). They discovered the legal occupancy limit for a two-unit single family house is eight -- six in main unit, two in the basement -- but could not operate as a rooming house without a business license and an inspection. Furthermore, the owner had a license that would have allowed him to rent the house to a single family only. On February 23, he applied for a two-family rental license, the neighbor's written statement says. DCRA records also show that the first recent permit for electrical work on the property was issued on February 27.

The neighbors lobbied DCRA who issued a Compliance Notice to the owner, also on February 27. DCRA also monitored a March 1 open house and passed out copies of the Compliance Notice to people coming to view the house by appointment.

"It's not a legal unit at this point," said a neighbor.

"We're very concerned about the safety and integrity of the house," said another.

An abutting neighbor reported that the fireplace in the house had recently been used, and smoke had come into the neighbor's house -- indicating that the fireplace was not adequately vented. There was some question whether the owner had gotten the necessary permits for improving the house.

"[W]e are very concerned that the excessive occupancy and density of a 1870s rowhouse presents issues that must be closely examined, such as the burden on public utilites, sanitation, parking, etc.," the neighbors statement to the ANC says.

"I don't think we're doing anybody a favor putting nine to twelve people in there," Sherri Kimbel told the ANC at the meeting. Kimbel is a Logan Circle resident who is also Director of Constituent Services at Councilmember Evans' office.

ANC not quite sure what to do

"It's sort of a bad message if we take action," said ANC2F Chair John Fanning (Commissioner for district 04). Fanning worried about the precedent such an action would set.

"I think that the precedent we are setting is that we are insisting that people follow the rules," said Commissioner Pepin Tuma (district 03).

A motion to send a letter as requested by the neighbors -- that is, to ask for the denial of a rooming house license -- was not made by any Commissioner or voted on. Instead, the ANC unanimously voted to send a letter to DCRA asking them to give the matter their "special attention". Chair John Fanning also promised to follow up personally with phone calls.

1517 12th Street is in Fanning's ANC district.

The house seemed unoccupied as of last Saturday, March 7.

CORRECTED: Prestige Restaurant Patio Space at 11th and O Streets Endorsed

CORRECTION (5:30pm, 3/9/15): When originally posted this article (and the March 4th post referenced below) erroneously said the planned outdoor space was on the corner of 11th and Q Street, not O Street. A reader corrected. Apologies for the error.

David Dale of Dale Management and Development came before Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle last week and convinced it to revise a decision on outdoor space for a proposed mixed-use building planned for 1337 11th Street NW, the southeast corner of 11th and Q  O Streets NW. Dale's request and subsequent decision occurred during the last regularly-scheduled meeting of ANC2F on March 4. 

How the space looked two days ago

The previous week, Dale had appeared before the Community Development Committee (CDC) of ANC2F -- see SALM blog post of March 4. At that time, Dale asked for endorsement of a plan that would brick over the entire space between the north side of the building and the sidewalk, and then set a decorative fence and hedge around it. This would create an area which was ideal for a restaurant patio, with seating for perhaps 50-60 people. Dale said previously he's had expressions of interest in the space from "household-name chefs who I cannot divulge".

The CDC refused to endorse Dale's request as submitted. Instead, they modified his plan and passed a resolution endorsing a smaller space -- roughly 65 percent of what Dale asked for. Over Dale's objections, the CDC's plan located the patio entirely on the western part of the requested space, toward 11th Street (right of photo), away from the neighboring residences on Q O Street.

Dale came back before the full ANC to explain why the CDC decision was unacceptable for him. The CDC's resolution, as written, would prohibit Dale from using a fire exit door that opens onto the east side of the proposed patio space (see left of photo). DC regulations require that such a door open onto a paved area. The door would be a requirement should a professional kitchen want to operate in that space.

Dale came back with an revised proposal, designed both to allow him to both have the required fire door as well as meet the CDC's desire to have roughly 65 percent of the originally-proposed space bricked over. The result was the creation of a patio with an irregularly-shaped green space in the northeast quarter, which would hold two newly-planted trees and an herb garden.

 "It is the exact number of square feet that was approved," Dale said.

There was some discussion about whether endorsing the design of the patio, as Dale had submitted it, obligated the ANC to endorse a future public space permit by a restaurant tenant.

"We're buying into the notion of some café space," said Commissioner Kevin Deeley (district 08).

"I don't think this is an implicit approval of outdoor space," said Commissioner Kate Gordon (district 01).

The ANC considered sending the decision back to the Community Development Committee. Dale told the ANC he had put $1.2 million into the renovation of the property and he needed to move forward.

"I have to be able to show something built to a restaurant tenant," Dale said. "I can't just hang on forever."

The full ANC approved Dale's proposal as presented without audible dissent. Dale will now take the ANC's endorsement to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which has authority over public space issues, for a final decision. 

"Either Stay in the Suburbs or Find Another Place to Live!"

CORRECTION (3/8/15): I listened to a recording of the meeting on ANC6E's Youtube channel after this blog post went live. The title is slightly inaccurate. The actual quote is: "Either stay in the suburbs or find another place in DC."

The owner of 440 Ridge Street NW needs zoning relief to expand her house back by 20 inches in the rear, and up in the rear by less than half a story. She eventually got Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw to endorse an application for zoning relief for lot occupancy at its regular monthly meeting on March 3, but first she had to endure some abuse from a neighbor.

440 Ridge Street (Google Street View)

Her architect, Catarina Ferreira of Archi-Textural, Pllc., that the plan to expand the house a been through "a few revisions" and trips to the DC bureaucracy. Substantial changes to the house have to be approved by DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), because the building is located in the Mount Vernon Square Historic District. Most recently, a plan to add a third story seven feet in height, set back 16 feet from the front of the building, was passed by the HPRB with substantial modification, meaning the proposed roof addition had to be smaller and situated further to the rear of the building.

The HPRB decision occurred on January 29, 2015. See an unfavorable review of the project from HPRB staff, written before the January 29 meeting, here.

The owner of the building explained she had owned and lived in the building, and then moved to the suburbs after she got married and started a family. She retained ownership of the house and rented it out. Now, the owner said, the suburban traffic had grown intolerable, so she and her husband had made the decision to move back into the District with two children.

However, the house, which was built sometime before 1870, is a little cramped for a modern family of four. Therefore, they are attempting to expand it. Following the suggestions by HPRB, the architect and owner agreed on a plan that expands the building further back but not as far up -- a concept more likely to get historic preservation approval.

However, the 20-inch rear expansion will put the house over limit for percent of lot occupancy, so zoning relief is necessary.

The ANC had requested letters from the directly abutting neighbors saying they had no objection to the project, and also a written guarantee that work would not start before 8 am. The applicants supplied these.

ANC6E Commissioner Rachelle Nigro (district 04), in whose district the property is located, said that several neighbors had come to the meeting and wish to speak. They were allowed to do so.

One, who said he pushed for the historic district designation in 1998, expressed outright support for the expansion. Another remarked that the personal details of the family should not influence the decision, meaning, the zoning rules should be applied uniformly whether the applicant was a family or a developer.

The person who spoke the longest was against the application. She identified herself as a 37-year resident, and was later acknowledged to be a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

"I came to talk generally about how the neighborhood should be," she said.

The purpose of zoning, she said, was to maintain places for people to live. Ridge Street was one of the few places left in Shaw that people could afford. Now, people were coming and making the housing prohibitively expensive by building them out.

"Either stay in the suburbs or find another place to live," she said.

This remark created a commotion in the room. People shouted "Rude!" and "That's not nice!"

After the audience comments were finished, Commissioner Nigro made a motion that the ANC oppose the request for zoning relief, but it died for lack of a second.

Then Commissioner Alexander Padro (district 01) made a motion to support the request for zoning relief, which passed by a vote of 6 - 1. Nigro was the only vote against. 

2024 15th Street: ANC1B Facilitates Negotiations Between Neighbors about Pop-back

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street successfully facilitated an agreement between the owner of 2024 15th Street NW and a neighbor, so that the building will be able to "pop back" into a residence that will have four or five residential units. ANC1B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee voted unanimously to support the project after representatives of the neighbor came to the meeting and said they were satisfied with the outcome. The vote came at the ZPD Committee's February 23 meeting.

The darker grey on the left is the rear addition to the house

The neighbor had originally written a letter of protest about the development, which must get the approval of DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) because it is located between U and V Streets in the U Street Historic District.

Patrick Nelson, ZPD Committee chair, said he had made a site visit to the property three weeks before and had spent two hours on the telephone with the neighbor a few days previous, addressing the neighbor's concerns.

The neighbor was out of town on business, but the neighbor's spouse and mother appeared at the meeting to confirm that the neighbor was satisfied with the outcome.

"He was very happy that someone took the time," Nelson said.

The neighbor was initially concerned about trash collection at the building once the expansion was complete, as well as a part of the proposed new construction which, the neighbor felt, would block light and air. The parties developing 2024 15th Street took the concerns on board and made changes.

"The modifications were not the ideal," the owner of 2024 15th Street told the committee.

The applicants told the committee they were planning to appear before the HPRB in three days' time, on February 26. This would be too soon to get approval from the full ANC, but the applicants were hoping to go to the HPRB with the committee's approval only.

The historic preservation aspects of the project were approved by the HPRB at its February 26 meeting. The HPRB staff report on the project (available here) calls the rear addition compatible with the historic district as a whole. It notes that it will not be visible from the front and is similar to rear additions to nearby houses already in place.

The rear additions will not increase the building's height, and the building will still have two parking spaces as required by zoning. The project does not require any zoning relief, so now that the HPRB has signed off on it, it can go ahead.

See the architectural drawings submitted to the HPRB here.

Weather permitting, ANC1B's regularly monthly meeting is scheduled for tonight, March 5, at 7 pm at the auditorium of the DC Housing Finance Agency, 815 Florida Avenue. This matter is not on the published agenda, which is available about half-way down this page.

(Photo credit: detail from applicant's HPRB submission)

11th and O Streets: "Household Name" Chefs Interested, But ANC Won't Go for 60 Seats Outdoors

CORRECTION (3/9/15): This article originally said the outdoor space was at the corner of 11th and Q Street. It is not. It is at 11th and O Street. Apologies for the error.

David Dale of Dale Management and Development asked a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle to endorse a plan that could have created outdoor dining space for "50 or 60 people" outside a new restaurant space. The space is on the ground floor of a proposed mixed-use building planned for 1337 11th Street NW, the southeast corner of 11th and Q O Streets NW. He made the request at the February 25 meeting of ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC).

1337 11th St in July 2014, viewed from across Q O Street

Dale's idea was to brick over the entire space between the northern side of the building to the Q O Street sidewalk. There would be a "hoop top wrought iron fence" and a 42-inch high permanent hedge around the perimeter. The bricks would match the sidewalk as much as possible.

Right now, Dale is only asking for a public space permit to start the construction of the space. The permit comes from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and often an ANC endorsement makes the process go more smoothly.

Who will occupy the space?

"I'm not asking anything about the liquor license," Dale said. "This is just a construction application."

Dale does not have a tenant for the building yet. At the meeting, he claimed that two "household-name chefs who I cannot divulge" were interested in the space.

"The two LOIs [meaning, I think, "letters of intent"] I have are from restaurants that people have heard of," Dale said later.

"This is leading up to a public space application," a member of the committee said, meaning that, once built, the patio space would inevitably end up serving as outdoor seating for a restaurant operating out of the building.

Developer reaches out to neighbors

Dale told the CDC he took "extraordinary measures" to ensure transparency and community input. He printed and distributed 125 copies of a flyer inviting neighborhood residents to the CDC meeting. Four or five people at the meeting identified themselves as neighbors concerned about the public space application.

"I appreciate the notice," one of them said to Dale. However, this man, and other neighbors, expressed apprehension at the prospect of 50+ outdoor streets on the patio.

"I'm very concerned about what kind of tenant you will have," said one 27-year resident of 10th Street.

There was a lot of discussion about what might happen if a restaurant came, meaning, for example, where and when the trash would be picked up and deliveries made, and and what the operating hours of the restaurant might be.

"I've let the applicants know there will be no full hours," Dale said.

Dale said his prospective tenants would want the patio space set up as Dale had outlined, and he would be in "a tight spot as far as making the economics work" without it.

"I'm sure you appreciate the pickle I'm in," Dale said.

The committee votes

The first vote the CDC took that evening was to endorse Dale's application as written -- to allow him to brick over the entire space. The motion went down to defeat by a single vote, 7 - 6. After that motion, a second motion was made that would allow Dale a paved space equivalent to that which was there before the renovation -- about 65 percent what Dale had asked for. The remaining easternmost portion, facing Q O Street, would be green space. This second motion passed unanimously.

The CDC's recommendation is on the agenda for the next meeting of the full ANC, which is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday, March 4, at 7 pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

Read a March 2014 report about this development from the blog BadWolfDC here.

Publicly available records show that Dale Management and Development acquired the domain name 1337eleventh.com in January 2012. The page promises: "Coming soon!"

Agreement Reached in Logan Circle Air Rights Deal

Barry Madani of Madison Investments told a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle that his company had reached a deal with the board of the Zenith Condominium (1437 Rhode Island Avenue) which will allow Madison to build a part of a seven-story condominium over the Zenith's driveway. Madani told ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC) of the deal at its last regularly-scheduled meeting on February 25.

This space will change hands.

"They were interested, we came to an agreement," Madani said.

However, Madani did not say how much Madison Investments will pay the Zenith Condominium for the air rights. Last year, there were reports that the owners' association of the Zenith Condominium had been offered $500,000, but some members wished to hold out for more -- see SALM blog post of August 27, 2014.

The ANC does not have to endorse or even know about the deal, but it creates a situation in which Madison Investments needs to court the ANC's endorsement.

Madison Investments will get "fee simple" (meaning, unconditional) ownership of a slice of land, which is now a driveway to some outside parking on the side and rear of the Zenith Condominium. The slice is roughly the width of one curb cut. Its length starts at the public sidewalk in front of 1437 Rhode Island Avenue and ends somewhere in mid-lot.

In exchange, the Zenith Condominium will get (in addition to a large cash payment) a "perpetual easement", so vehicles coming and going from the Zenith can use the driveway just as they do now.

The change of ownership of the strip of driveway means that Madison Investments will now be responsible for the curb cut leading to Rhode Island Avenue. Madani explained that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) treats this change of ownership and responsibility as "a new development", so Madison Investments must apply for a curb cut like it was a new one, even though the curb cut already exists and will accommodate the same cars moving and parking on the same land.

"For all intents and purposes, everything will remain as it is," Madani said.

The CDC unanimously endorsed this request with very little debate. It will recommend to the full ANC that a letter be sent to DDOT in support of the "new" curb cut. Normally, requests approved unanimously by the CDC are approved by the full ANC with little further debate.

This matter is on the agenda for ANC2F's next regular monthly meeting, scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday), March 4, at 7 pm at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

New Blagden Alley Construction: "I Envision a Restaurant" Next to Rogue 24

A team from Douglas Development unveiled a plan for a new building to be constructed in Blagden Alley at a regularly-scheduled monthly meeting of a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle on February 25. The address will be 920 N Street NW. The building will abut Rogue 24 restaurant to the east. The space is currently a fenced-in empty lot which sometimes functions as a sculpture garden or a location for outside events.

Black building (right): Artist's conception of proposal

Paul Millstein of Douglas Development told ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC) told the committee the project was "a matter of right from a zoning perspective", meaning, it will not be necessary to seek zoning relief. However, the design, concept, and massing of the building must be approved by DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) because the building is located in the Blagden Alley/Naylor Court Historic District. 

The black building on the right of the picture is the proposed new building.  The architect told the CDC the plan is for the building to have a two-story, 32-foot-tall building with a black brick veneer. It would be three feet taller than La Colombe coffee shop (left in photo), but still well within the zoning-dictated limit of 50 feet tall. Its design would "differ from [neighboring] historic buildings but have certain nods".

"We wanted to see the reaction to the brick," one of the presenters said.

The reaction to the color of the brick was not positive. Many members of the committee said they thought it should be changed. Some said it would not be possible to exactly match the color of the brick of the neighboring structures but recommended that the new building have "a similar color".

The new construction would also have access to an improved roof deck over neighboring Rogue 24.

Paul Millstein said there was no tenant committed to the space yet, but the building was built with food service in mind.

"I envision a restaurant," he said.

This lead to a discussion of practical aspects of a restaurant operating in the space, such as valet parking and trash collection. Millstein said he thought the future restaurant would have valet parking on 9th Street.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend the full ANC endorse the historical aspects of the new construction, with the provision that Douglas Development work with HPRB on the color of the brick.

The CDC's unanimous endorsement of this project will now move to the full ANC for approval. The case is on the agenda for ANC2F's next regularly-scheduled meeting on Wednesday, March 4, at 7pm at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle). In the case of unanimous committee endorsements, the full ANC in the past has often ratified decisions without much further debate.

(Photo credit: from documents distributed at the CDC meeting by Douglas Development)