Media Alert: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021
Contact: Nick DelleDonne,
703 929 6656
Hearing to Stop Masonic Temple Construction
As Developers/OP Twist Rules to Permit Illegal Building
What: Board of Zoning Adjustment Public Meeting and Hearing Case 20453
When: Today, Wednesday, December 22, 2021, 9:30 am:
Where: Join the WebEx Meeting Online: Click here Password (Online): DCOZ
Call into the WebEx Meeting: +1 (202) 860-2110
Access Code (Phone): 2317 065 5427
Watch on YouTube Live: Click here
The Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) announced Friday, a hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 22 on an Emergency Motion to Stay Construction of the Masonic Temple new luxury building at 15th and S Streets, NW. The motion by Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA) is opposed by the Mason’s developer, Perseus, and by the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). The motion will be heard Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 9:30 am and is available online (see instructions below).
“We must not forget that a motion asking for a stay of construction is extraordinarily difficult to win,” said DECAA attorney Ed Hanlon. “However, Perseus and the Masons have so twisted the language of the zoning regulations that the BZA will have a hard time not agreeing with DECAA and stopping construction. Specifically, to fit their oversize building onto their postage-stamp size lot, the Masons are rotating the Temple 90 degrees, pretending S Street is the front (when in fact it’s on 16th St.) which puts an 11-foot wall in the rear yard, when only 4 feet is allowed.
Perseus and the Masons are now building as fast as possible. It is clear they want to present the city a fait accompli when the merits of the case are heard in February 2022. Thus, even if the building is found to be illegal, it will have already been built. DECAA’s emergency motion is to prevent this gross miscarriage of the city’s rules.
This case proceeds under a new policy announced by DC Attorney General Karl Racine on The Politics Hour on WAMU on Friday. He said then that whereas his office has had to “defend…the “development arm of the city, now OAG is free at last to act independently.”
“This is indeed welcome news from Mr. Racine,” said Hanlon. “We are looking forward to our hearing Wednesday morning to stop the illegal construction at the Masonic Temple.”
Tune in: Board of Zoning Adjustment Public Meeting and Hearing Case 20453
Wednesday, December 22, 2021, 9:30 am:
Join the WebEx Meeting Online: Click here Password (Online): DCOZ
Call into the WebEx Meeting: +1 (202) 860-2110
Access Code (Phone): 2317 065 5427
Watch on YouTube Live: Click here
