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BZA postpones hearing on rear‑deck variance for Fourth Street NE home to November
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Summary
The Board postponed consideration of application 21346, a request for area variance and rear‑yard special exception for a rear deck at 1130 Fourth Street NE, to allow applicants and neighbors time to await zoning text amendments and to provide further filings.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment postponed application number 21346, filed for 1130 Fourth Street NE (Lot 72, RF‑1 zone), after hearing arguments from the applicant and recommendations from the Office of Planning.
Applicant Jake Lestock, owner and occupant, sought an area variance from lot‑occupancy limits and a special exception from rear‑yard requirements for a rear deck addition to an existing two‑story principal dwelling. Lestock told the board the lot is unusually narrow (18 feet wide) and shallow (about 55 feet deep), and he argued the site’s steep rear slope and alley elevation create a practical difficulty that makes usable outdoor space impossible without relief. “I think that these conditions constitute an exceptional situation under the zoning regulations,” Lestock said, describing the slope, limited lot area and existing proximity to the rear property line.
Shepherd Beeman of the Office of Planning said OP reviewed the application and concluded the area variance request did not meet the Subtitle X §1000 test; OP recommended denial of the variance. Beeman wrote that OP would not object to the requested special exception for the rear yard if the board otherwise found the variance test met.
Board members noted that a zoning text amendment being considered by the Zoning Commission could change the necessity of the variance and suggested the applicant might be better served by seeking relief from the Zoning Commission’s pending omnibus text amendment. After discussion the chair said he would postpone the case to allow the parties to await the zoning commission action. The board and parties agreed to continue the hearing in November; the secretary recommended November 19 and the applicant confirmed availability.
The board closed the hearing and left the record open for the parties’ existing filings, and the applicant was advised that if the variance were no longer needed after the zoning text amendment the applicant could withdraw it to avoid delay.
