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Board upholds zoning administrator and denies lot‑split variance at 1120 Nineteenth Street
Summary
The board voted 3–2 to uphold the zoning administrator’s denial of a variance to split 1120 Nineteenth Street into two substandard lots, citing lack of exceptional circumstances, self‑imposed hardship from prior variance‑driven development, and alternative financing routes such as condominium conversion.
The Board of Appeals upheld the Zoning Administrator’s denial (3–2) of a requested variance that would have subdivided a 25x100‑foot lot at 1120 Nineteenth Street (also addressed as 398 Pennsylvania) into two smaller parcels.
Planning Department staff reviewed the five legal findings required for a variance and said they were not met. Officials noted the applicants had alternatives — maintaining the current two dwelling units on one lot, condominium conversion paths that include a lottery bypass if owner‑occupied conditions are met, or other financing options — and concluded the hardship was largely self‑imposed by prior development authorized under a 1975 variance. Opponents and many neighbors said splitting would create permanently substandard lots, worsen nonconformity (rear yard and parking), and risk future envelope expansions; supporters argued the split was a bookkeeping step to help a financially struggling owner renovate a derelict rear cottage.
After testimony from both sides and lengthy discussion of precedents, the board found the zoning administrator’s findings defensible and denied the appeal. Commissioners who voted to uphold the denial emphasized the five‑part variance test and the risk of creating a new substandard lot; commissioners in the minority cited neighborhood precedent and urgent repair needs.
What’s next: The denial stands. The appellants may consider alternatives including condominium conversion processes or other financing approaches; the board noted conditions or recorded restrictions could be applied in other cases to limit future additions.
