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Avenue S condo limbo – BSA stalls on zoning decision

Avenue S condo limbo – BSA stalls on zoning decision

A developer’s appeal to move ahead with a controversial Homecrest condominium project will continue through the summer.

On May 20, the case of 1610 Avenue S came before the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), which after exhaustive questioning, and requests for more information, set another hearing date for July 29.

The project calls for the construction of a 66-foot tall building with 25 condo units and 15 parking spaces.

Opponents say the project is wildly out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood of one- and two-family homes.

Moreover, they have argued that construction there is illegal, since the foundation was not completely poured before the area’s zoning was changed in 2006.

With the new scaled-down zoning in place, a project of this size is illegal without the approval of the BSA—which has yet to issue such a declaration.

City Department of Buildings reps initially said work at the site was being done legally, but last October the department concluded that the foundation work was not completed by the time the neighborhood’s zoning was amended.

In October, the agency ordered all work to be halted at the site.

Stuart Klein, an attorney for the developer, has told this paper that the foundation was completed, and aims to prove it. He said the size of the building is of little consequence—it is only a question of “whether we conform to the legal requirement.”

Susan Regan, an attorney working pro bono for opponents, said her case is solid.

“I think what is important here is that there is harm being done to a neighborhood,” she said.

“When rules that are being put in place by government are twisted—and because those rules are twisted they are causing an injury—that’s when I think the law needs to step in,” Regan continued.

Opponents of the project remain confident. “We believe we have a strong case and the BSA should rule in our favor,” said Dr. Budd Heyman, a block resident the project’s most vocal critic.

Time, it seems, is not an obstacle. “We will go on as long as it takes to win,” he said.