Media Alert: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022
Contact: Nick DelleDonne,
703 929 6656
Listen in:
Is the Roof a Roof?
Zoning Hearing on Masonic Development Feb. 23
While at Risk Construction Continues Apace
The Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) is set to hear the city argue that the roof on the Masonic Temple at 16th and S Streets, NW, is not a roof but an embellishment. The question is raised in the zoning case that will be heard Wednesday, Feb. 23, when the Mason’s developer, Perseus, and DC’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) will argue that the ponderous roof is merely an embellishment. The case is brought in a challenge by Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA) to the Masons’ proposed luxury development. Public viewing is available online. See instructions below.
Board of Zoning Adjustment Public Meeting and Hearing Case 20453
Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 9:30 am:
WebEx Meeting Online https://dcoz.dc.gov/service/watch-live-virtual-zcbza-hearingsmeetings
Call into the WebEx Meeting: +1 (202) 860-2110
Access Code (Phone): 2303 854 7577
Watch on YouTube Live: Click here
DECAA on Monday advised the BZA of the judgment last week by the DC Court of Appeals siding with residents and remanding most of the case to DC Superior Court. Meanwhile Perseus is proceeding at its own risk, constructing as much of the 5-story apartment building as possible before the hearing on the merits.
James C. McCrery II, Professor of Architecture at The Catholic University and member of the US Commission of Fine Arts, will testify for DECAA that among other things the roof is a roof. “Simply put, the entire project as designed, requires the Masons' property to be split into two lots,” said DECAA attorney Ed Hanlon. “To maximize the size of the apartment building, the Masons are constricting the Temple, a national historic landmark, to a postage-stamp size lot, designating S Street as the front and the area along the alley as the rear of the Temple. But that puts an 11-foot wall into the rear yard which is illegal. Zoning regulations say no structure more than 4 feet high can occupy any part of a rear yard.”
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