5447440 Resolution 21-85, Sense of the Council in Support of a Limitation on Pop-ups Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015

A RESOLUTION

21-85

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

April 14, 2015

 

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need for the Council to urge immediate action by the Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia to revise and finalize the zoning regulations to limit pop-up expansion of row houses.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Sense of the Council in Support of a Limitation on Pop-ups Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015”.

 

Sec. 2. (a)  The need for emergency action by the Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia exists because issues have arisen regarding certain pop-ups.  They have caused property rights disputes; such as, they reduce the efficacy of rooftop solar panels, they lead to a reduction in already limited off-street parking, they cause damage to the foundations of neighboring homes, and by their inordinate height, they obstruct neighboring chimneys, a potential carbon monoxide and fire hazard.

(b)  Other adverse effects regarding pop-ups that need to be studied and may need further regulation are issues of reduced air quality, of flooding, and other water damage.

(c)  Many residents testified that there are pop-ups that are aesthetically incompatible in size, scale, architecture, and setback with the neighborhood character in which they are constructed.

(d) There may also be a need to study the effects of incompatible pop-ups on the value of homes and the desirability of new residents to move into particular neighborhoods.

(e)  It is clear that more regulations are required to settle pop-up issues for residential neighborhoods District-wide.

(f)  It is urgent that regulations be finalized by the Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia.

 

Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Sense of the Council in Support of a Limitation on Pop-ups Emergency Resolution of 2015 be adopted on an emergency basis.

 

Sec. 4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.