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BZA validates long‑standing three‑unit use at 2016 First St. NW, waives 900‑sq‑ft per‑unit rule
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Summary
The board approved Pamela Wilson’s request to convert and validate an existing three‑unit apartment house at 2016 First Street NW, granting a variance to waive the 900‑square‑foot‑per‑unit lot area requirement and approving reduced parking.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment on July 30 approved Pamela Wilson’s application to validate a three‑unit apartment house at 2016 First Street NW, granting a variance from the requirement that each dwelling unit have 900 square feet of lot area and approving a parking reduction from two spaces to one (tandem). The vote was 4–0 in favor.
Wilson told the board she inherited the building in 2019 and after a 2020 fire completed reconstruction consistent with the existing three‑unit layout. She said she relied in good faith on the long‑standing operation as three separate units and learned only when applying for a certificate of occupancy that the lot was zoned for two units by right. Wilson described substantial financial strain from holding the vacant building during reconstruction and while pursuing zoning relief: “Last year, my expenses were $45,000 mortgage, 44,000. So that's $95,000 out of my retirement savings gone with 0 income,” she said.
Wilson’s attorney, Melissa Carter, argued the property meets the special‑exception criteria for conversion under Subtitle U §320.2 because the building existed as three units before the zoning rule and the applicant is not proposing new construction or additional units. The Office of Planning recommended approval of the conversion, the variance to waive the 900‑square‑foot‑per‑unit requirement and the parking reduction; OP and the applicant cited prior BZA decisions with similar facts (good‑faith reliance and long‑standing three‑unit layouts) as precedent.
Board members noted the building’s history, the existing three‑unit physical separations between floors and a previously issued building permit for three units. Vice Chair Carl Blake, Board member Vershawn Smith and others said those factors supported a finding of exceptional circumstance and practical difficulty for a variance. The Board approved the relief as captioned; staff recorded the vote as 4–0 and will prepare the order.
