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BZA approves special exception for second‑story addition at 2807 Old Dominion Blvd.
Summary
The Alexandria Board of Zoning Appeals voted to allow a second‑story rear addition at 2807 Old Dominion Blvd., granting relief from the R‑8 side‑yard setback to limit impacts in a Resource Protection Area (RPA). Vote: 4–0.
The Alexandria Board of Zoning Appeals on an undisclosed November hearing date approved a special exception allowing a second‑story rear addition at 2807 Old Dominion Blvd., granting 6.07 feet of relief from the R‑8 side‑yard requirement. The motion to approve the staff recommendation passed 4–0.
Rachel Drescher, planner with the Department of Planning and Zoning, told the board the parcel is zoned R‑8, is a substandard lot in width and area, and lies adjacent to Monticello Park and within a Resource Protection Area (RPA) established under the Chesapeake Bay protection framework. "These are areas that were established with the Chesapeake Bay protection act ... they are very limited construction and they're managed by our transportation environmental services department," Drescher said, describing why the proposed addition was placed to limit impacts to streams and groundwater.
The applicant, Jane O'Connell Seward, the property owner, said the work responds to chronic leaks and mold in the rear dormer and that the project keeps the same footprint while raising the second floor. "We decided that we would just, you know, raise the second floor ... the footprint is the same," Seward said, describing deteriorated dormer and insulation problems that prompted the renovation.
Staff presented measurements and the relief requested: the proposed addition would add about 1,155 square feet of gross floor area and reach about 26.74 feet in height; R‑8 rules require a side setback of one foot for every two feet of height but not less than eight feet, which here would require a 13.37‑foot setback. The existing northwest side yard is 7.3 feet; the applicant sought 6.07 feet of relief to align the new wall with the existing noncompliant wall and avoid expanding into the RPA.
A board member asked whether neighbor notifications included written feedback; Seward said notices were sent and that she had spoken with adjacent neighbors and received one out‑of‑jurisdiction note of no objection. After brief deliberation, a board member moved to support the staff recommendation and another board member seconded. The motion carried on a 4–0 vote.
The board recorded no additional conditions beyond the special‑exception approval. The applicant may proceed with permitting subject to other required reviews from Transportation and Environmental Services for work in the RPA.
