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| BZA stands by AppleTree decision |
admin writes, "BZA stands by AppleTree decision
BY BEN WEINSTEIN
The city's zoning board Aug. 17 said it will not overturn its decision that allows the AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation to proceed with plans for its 12th Street preschool campus in Northeast. more …
The Board of Zoning Adjustment said the school could move forward with plans to get building permits for its 138 12th St., NE, location, despite neighbors’ assertions that the board ignored new city codes and two board members failed to disclose potential conflicts of interest.
The zoning board "recognizes the [Northeast Capitol Hill advisory neighborhood commission] obvious frustration with the outcome of the process," said board chair Ruthanne Miller. But, she added, members make decisions based process, not on outcomes.
During the AppleTree case, the Zoning Commission adopted new regulations for public schools locating in residential neighborhoods. The new rules would effectively deny the school's plans because they don't provide enough parking spaces; but the board said the new rules did not supersede older regulations."
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Board members said the Zoning Commission adopted the new rules without amending established rules, forcing them to follow the broader regulations. Members added that they could not decide the case based on their interpretation of the Zoning Commission's intent.
"It was not our place to try to figure out what someone intended to say," board member John Mann said.
The neighborhood commission also said two board members — vice-chair Curtis Etherly Jr. and former chair Geoffrey H. Griffis — failed to disclose conflicts of interest.
Etherly did disclose his association with the Washington Mathematics, Science and Technology Public Charter High School. But the neighborhood commission said he should also have declared his position on the board of DC Action for Children, an organization that opposed the Zoning Commission's rules regulating charter schools in residential neighborhoods.
"Had we known this at the time, we would certainly have objected to Mr. Etherly's participation in the BZA hearing or vote," the neighborhood commission wrote to the zoning board.
In a lengthy discussion at the zoning board's special August meeting, Etherly said that as a DC Action for Children board member he wasn't privy to discussions on the zoning amendment. "It's a fairly long walk to get from point A to point Z, " he said, arguing that he didn't discuss the position with policymakers or receive the e-mail from the organization's policy director calling for opposition to the zoning amendment.
"I think it is enough to raise a flag, but not enough to vacate your vote," Miller said. Etherly said he was still concerned that his association with the organization could give the appearance or bias, but Miller said it doesn't rise to the level of disqualification.
The neighborhood commission also said Griffis should have disclosed his association with Young American Works Public Charter School board and the Capitol City Public Charter School of Washington.
"[Griffis's] failure to declare while holding the gavel and giving shape to the BZA's discussions, both in the hearing rooms and during the Board's preliminary discussions, irrevocably taints the process," the neighborhood commission wrote the zoning board.
Miller said that Griffis's association with the organizations is no different than Etherly's relationship with Washington Mathematics, Science and Technology Public Charter High School. Because that relationship wasn't found problematic — and because vacating either vote would leave the board without a quorum — reconsideration is not justified, Miller said.
Northeast commissioner David Holmes said he's not satisfied with the explanations or the board's process. He attended the August meeting to speak to the conflict-of-interest issues but was not given a chance.
This most recent decision follows AppleTree's successful appeal of a 2006 decision rejecting the school's plans for the Northeast site. Then-Zoning Administrator Bill Crews rejected plans based on a lack of onsite parking for the proposed 54-student charter preschool.
But the zoning board sided with the school, which argued the pre-958 building is grandfathered into zoning codes and not subject to regulations including the minimum-parking space requirement.
Surrounding residents had waged a campaign against the school's proposal, arguing that the property is too small and the neighborhood too residential to accommodate the planned expansion.
Holmes said the neighborhood commission is still exploring options for its next action. The Northeast Neighbors for Responsible Growth, a resident group opposed to AppleTree's 12th-Street plans, said all options will be considered.
“We have several strong paths that we are pursuing, any one of which will effectively block their developing the property on 12th Street better than a protracted court battle,” said group spokeswoman Margaret Holwill.
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Posted on Aug 31, 2007 21:02pm.
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