Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
BZA denies request for 14‑bed healthcare facility on Eastern Avenue, citing parking and neighborhood impact
Loading...
Summary
The Board denied application 21250 for a 14‑bed healthcare facility at 7410 Eastern Avenue NW, concluding that lack of on‑site parking and potential traffic impacts would unduly burden the surrounding residential area.
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment denied application 21250, a request to convert an existing building at 7410 Eastern Avenue NW to a 14‑bed healthcare facility, after concluding the proposal would have adverse neighborhood impacts primarily tied to parking and traffic.
Chair Fred Hill said the board had previously approved some healthcare facilities with mitigation measures — notably provision of rear parking and designated staff spaces — but that the current application, which would increase capacity from eight to 14 residents, presented a different set of operational and neighborhood risks. “They are going from 8 to 14 people,” Hill said. “We seem to be jumping through a lot of hoops to try to figure out how to make this work.”
Vice Chair Carl Blake and Commissioner Tammy Stidham echoed parking concerns. Blake noted that approvals in other cases had depended heavily on off‑street parking at the rear of the property; removing parking shifts demand to the public street, which he said could “monopolize” curb space and alter the block’s character. Stidham called the alley and street in the area narrow and said the facility “is dependent completely on on‑street parking,” concerns she said could not be mitigated by proposed conditions.
The Office of Planning had reviewed the application; the record included public testimony, ANC input and prior hearings that began May 7 and concluded June 11. The board denied a request from a neighbor (Lisa Adams) to reopen the record for additional letters.
Chair Hill moved to deny the application; Vice Chair Blake seconded. The roll‑call vote was recorded as 3‑0‑2 to deny application 21250, with Commissioners Hill, Blake and Stidham voting yes and two seats recorded absent. The board provided a written dismissal of the application at its decision meeting.
Board members recommended the applicant consider a matter‑of‑right operation limited to eight beds and to pursue stronger community outreach should it seek future relief. The board’s denial was grounded in the special‑exception standards under Subtitle U and parking relief under Subtitle C; the panel said those legal standards were not satisfied in this location.
(Decision: motion to deny application 21250; mover: Chairman Fred Hill; second: Vice Chair Carl Blake; outcome: denied, vote recorded 3‑0‑2.)
