Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Trash Storage Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
BZA delays decision on removing condition that requires restaurant trash be stored inside at 1724 North Capitol St.
Summary
The Board of Zoning Adjustment continued a request by Marjorie Hutchinson to remove a condition requiring indoor trash storage after the applicant failed to upload DDOT and HPRB documentation; the board asked for a maintenance agreement, public-space approval and photos showing how the proposed outdoor shed prevents odors, drainage and rodents.
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment on April 9 continued a request by Marjorie Hutchinson to modify a prior order so the restaurant at 1724 North Capitol St. NW could store trash outside in a locked shed on the sidewalk rather than inside the building.
The board continued the hearing after Hutchinson and her representative, Janet Stedman, said they had obtained approvals from DDOT’s Public Space Committee and had discussed the shed appearance with Historic Preservation staff, but had not uploaded official documents into the case record. “I was in a meeting with the public space committee on March 27, and that was approved,” Stedman said. She also told the board she had spoken with Brandon Myers at Historic Preservation and expected to coordinate shed appearance once a building permit was pursued.
Chairman Fred Hill and other board members said they needed documentary proof before they could act. The Office of Planning staff, Sherpa Beeman, told the board OP would support a modification — not a full removal — of the condition if the trash enclosure remained secured, locked when not in use, and fixed at the approved location. “The trash enclosure shall be properly secured and should not be moved from the requested location,” Beeman said in the hearing.
Board members repeatedly asked Hutchinson and Stedman to upload into the Office of Zoning record: (1) the DDOT public-space permit showing approval, (2) the maintenance agreement DDOT made a condition of that approval, (3) any HPRB/Historic Preservation Office documentation or correspondence, and (4) photos and plans showing how the enclosure prevents drainage, odors and rodent entry. The board set a schedule for filings: OP said it would submit revised recommended language by April 18; the applicant was asked to file the requested records and any clarifying burden-of-proof material by April 25. The case was continued to a continued hearing on April 30.
Board members stressed the origin of the current condition. Hill said the prior variance was a difficult decision and that condition 10 — requiring interior trash storage — was a factor in granting relief previously. Vice Chair Rob Miller asked for updated DDOT documentation and the maintenance agreement and asked the applicant to show why internal storage was not feasible. “You have to convince the board that it’s okay for us to modify this condition,” Hill told the applicant.
Hutchinson and Stedman told the board they had relied on a different interpretation of “internal location” and provided oral testimony that they cannot fit multiple dumpsters and recycling containers inside the existing restaurant footprint. Stedman described steps she said she took to address rodent concerns, including working with a pest-control contractor and sealing an alley gate. She said grease and oil are stored in containers inside the shed for monthly pickup. “I have a contractor. He brings an oil container, and we pour the oil in the container. And they come and they actually remove the container,” Stedman said.
The board left the record open and required the applicant to upload the DDOT public-space approval and maintenance agreement, any HPRB records or correspondence, photos of the shed and interior spaces showing lack of capacity for internal storage, and any other supporting exhibits. The board said it would request an official DDOT update if necessary and invited the ANC to file any response by April 29.
