WHEREAS, the owners of 3558 Albemarle Street, N.W., (Square 1970, Lot 75)(new Record Lot, formerly Partial Lot 907) have filed an application with the Board of Zoning Adjustment requesting a special exception under § 223 of the Zoning Regulations from the side yard (§ 405) requirement in an R-1B District to build an addition in the rear of their house; and

WHEREAS, 3558 Albemarle Street, N.W., is located within ANC 3F06; and

WHEREAS, the one-family dwelling at 3558 Albemarle Street, N.W., was built in 1911, before the current Zoning Code was enacted, and occupies a lot that is 45-feet-wide, rather than the 50 feet now required; and

WHEREAS, the existing east side yard meets the required minimum of 8 feet for an R-1B District, but the west side yard does not:  the house is only 2.46 feet  from the side lot line (widening to 3.15 feet toward the rear), and the raised deck and walkway that provide access to the side door, rear of the house, and back yard extend all the way to the property line; and

WHEREAS, the applicants wish to construct a two-story addition to the rear of their home at the first and second floor levels, and this addition would extend the west side of the house 5 feet beyond the existing bay at a distance of 3.15 feet from the west side lot line, with a one-story indented bay extending an additional 4’ 5 3/8” into the back yard at a distance of 3.73 feet from the west property line; and

WHEREAS, the applicants wish to replace the existing wooden deck and staircase to the back yard with a new deck and stairs that would also be built to the west property line and would extend 14 feet beyond the one-story bay (13’6” beyond the existing staircase); and

WHEREAS, the applicants propose to locate the addition on the west side of the house to preserve a 64” dbh tulip poplar growing close to the rear of the house on the east side; and

WHEREAS, applicants’ lot and adjacent lots are characterized by unusual topography, so that the applicants’ back yard is one story below the grade of adjacent properties along the west lot line and substantially below the grade of Albemarle Street, with the result that the deck, which is one story above grade in the applicants’ back yard, is close to the same elevation as the grade of adjacent properties along the west property line, and thus, would not be visually intrusive to them; and

WHEREAS, the addition would be relatively far from houses on adjacent properties, nor is it likely that any houses or additions to houses would be built close to the proposed addition at a later date:

(a) The proposed addition is set back from Lot 878, a non-conforming vacant lot owned by the residents of 3566 Albemarle Street, a corner lot, who use it as a “back yard”;
(b) The addition would be adjacent to Lot 73, but the house on Lot 73 faces 36th Street, so that its back yard abuts the common property line;
(c) The addition would come close to, but not touch, the back corner of Lot 874, which faces Alton Place;

as a result, the proposed addition is less likely to affect the light and air available to neighboring properties or to compromise the privacy of use or enjoyment of these properties by their residents than if the houses were close together; and

WHEREAS, this is a relatively small addition to a spacious early twentieth century house that will replace 1970’s style bays with a structure more in character with the original house and the neighboring houses to the east; and

WHEREAS, the addition and deck would not be visually intrusive from any of the surrounding streets:

(a) as viewed from Albemarle Street, the addition would be entirely behind the existing house, and the deck extension would be no higher than the existing walkway and deck;
(b) from 36th Street, the construction would be mostly hidden by a hill and several houses, which themselves are very close together with non-conforming side yards;
(c) although the top of the addition could be seen from some points on Alton Place, they would be approximately 131 feet away; and

WHEREAS, adjoining property owners and residents along the west property line have told ANC 3F they have no objection to the proposed addition, including the owners of 4421 – 36th Street, N.W., whose property would be most directly affected by it; and

WHEREAS, several neighbors have stated they enjoy the tulip poplar and appreciate the applicants’ plan to save the tree;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:  ANC 3F does not object to the requested special exceptions, but recommends that approval of this application be conditioned upon a strong tree preservation plan for the tulip poplar; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:  Commissioner Cathy Wiss be appointed to represent ANC 3F at the hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
 
 

Approved by a vote of 7-0-0 at a duly noticed public meeting on September 17, 2002, with a quorum present.
 

     /s/ Cathy Wiss                                                   /s/ David J. Bardin
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Cathy Wiss, Chair                                               David J. Bardin, Secretary