D.C. BZA delays decision on Hillview Market conversion after hours of split public comment

The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment on May 14 continued a decision to June 4 on application 21151, in which owners Dinesh and Nidhi Tandon asked to convert the long‑running Hillview Market at 2324 North Capitol St. NW into a restaurant (proposed as “Indigo 2”). The hearing featured more than a dozen neighbors and community leaders testifying both for and against the use variance and special‑exception relief the applicant seeks.

Why it matters: the application would change a nonconforming retail convenience use to a full service restaurant in an RF‑1 residential zone. That change requires the board to find that no other lawful use is feasible and that the requested variance will not cause substantial adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhood — a high legal bar under the zoning rules.

The Office of Planning (OP) recommended denial. Ron Baron, OP’s development review specialist, told the board that despite additional submissions from the applicant the office could not change its initial recommendation: "OP is not able to change our initial recommendation," he said. OP’s written report said the applicant had not shown the high level of justification required for the intensity of the restaurant/bar,…