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Testimony on Zoning Enforcement |
Testimony of
John W. Finney Prepared for Delivery before Council Member Sharon Ambrose's
Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs on Feb. 7, 2003
My name is John Finney and I am Chair of ANC3d that covers the
Palisades, Spring Valley and Wesley Heights. I come with the message that
the Building and Land Regulation Administration, in particular its zoning
office, is in trouble, real trouble, and very much needs your oversight and
your help. Indeed, I believe that when it comes to applying and enforcing
the zoning code in our residential neighborhoods, the Building and Land
Regulation Administration borders on being dysfunctional.
Along with other ANC's I could spin out a long tale of horror
stories of the unresponsiveness of the zoning office to complaints. It has
been nearly a year, for example since I requested DCRA to check on whether a
private school was violating its cap on size of faculty, with no response
yet from DCRA. Or of administrative confusion. For example, it cannot
produce the plans for two buildings in Wesley Heights that neighbors believe
violate the zoning code. Or of misinterpretation of the zoning code so that
the three-story limitation on houses is frequently violated. Or of the
failure to respond promptly to citizens requests for inspectors to check on
whether a new home or addition is conforming with the zoning code.
But I don't want to belabor you with horror stories. Suffice it to say that
the zoning function of DCRA is not working properly and needs fixing. One
important piece of evidence for my assertion is that The Board of Zoning
Adjustment, already hard pressed to keep up with its workload, in the past
year has been overwhelmed with an unprecedented number of appeals of zoning
decisions by the zoning office in DCRA. There are signs there of an
incipient citizens revolt against the administration of the zoning codes.
I quite frankly do not know why DCRA's zoning offices are in such trouble. I
think it goes beyond enforcement of an oft ambiguous zoning code. In part,
it may be because of shortage of manpower. I am told that the zoning
administrator has only three inspectors for the whole city to check on
whether new residences are in compliance with the zoning code. It may be
because unqualified officials are passing judgment on building plans. I am
told that in the past DCRA's zoning office was run by administrators who
were unable to read blueprints. And a coziness may have developed between
builders and the zoning office, which then tilts its interpretations in
favor of the developers.
My role as an ANC commissioner is not to provide you with answers but to
advise you that something is going wrong in the DCRA's zoning office that is
adversely affecting our neighborhoods. I would respectfully suggest it is
your role as oversight committee to look into shortcomings in how DCRA is
applying and enforcing the zoning code, to determine the causes and to
recommend remedial steps. I hope these hearings are but the first step in
the important process of legislative oversight of DCRA. |
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