BZA approves conversion of rear accessory building to principal dwelling and grants parking relief

The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a special exception Oct. 15 to permit a new two-story accessory building at 628 15th Street NE to serve as a principal dwelling and granted relief from minimum on-site parking requirements.

Architect Elena Schindler represented applicant Ed Findley and described the proposal as a two-story accessory structure converted into a two-bedroom principal dwelling in the rear yard of an existing two-story row dwelling. The applicant withdrew an incorrect citation to Subtitle C §702.2 during the hearing; Chair Fred Hill accepted that correction on the record.

Karen Thomas of the Office of Planning supported the request, citing the site’s location in a high-transit corridor served by H Street and Benning Road and noting DDOT’s memo supporting parking relief. "The accessory structure ... should not cause an adverse impact on the neighborhood," Thomas said, and she said the proposed principal dwelling would conform to other zoning requirements.

Chair Hill said he was comfortable approving the request given the transit-rich context and the applicant’s outreach; Vice Chair Carl Blake and Commissioner Rob Miller voted in favor as well. The motion to approve application No. 21349 was made by Chair Hill, seconded by Vice Chair Blake, and recorded as a 3–0–2 vote in favor by staff.

The applicant told the board neighbors and the ANC had been notified and that the accessory unit would be occupied immediately as a principal dwelling. The board noted the applicant had withdrawn the erroneous code citation and that the application otherwise met the special-exception criteria relating to scale and neighborhood impacts.

Action: BZA approved the special exception for the accessory building to be a principal dwelling and granted parking relief (case 21349).