West End Citizens Association v. District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
112 A.3d 900 (2015)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment (the board) (defendant) granted a certificate of occupancy (CO) in 2008 to Foggy Bottom Grocery, LLC, doing business as FoBoGro. The CO allowed FoBoGro to operate a grocery store in Foggy Bottom, a residentially zoned neighborhood in the District of Columbia. FoBoGro wanted to purchase and expand a grocery business that had operated on the first floor of a three-story row house since 1946 and had existed as a lawful nonconforming use since at least 1958. The CO permitted FoBoGro to use all three stories of the row house for its grocery business. After obtaining the CO, FoBoGro purchased the grocery business, leased the row house, and began renovations. One year after the CO was issued and before the bulk of the renovations were completed, the West End Citizens Association (WECA) (plaintiff) learned of the CO and appealed to the board, requesting that it revoke the CO based on concerns about effects on tranquility, traffic, and property values. The board upheld the CO, reasoning that FoBoGro’s grocery business was not an improper expansion of a nonconforming use. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals reversed. On remand, the board again found for FoBoGro, this time based on equitable estoppel. WECA appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Glickman, J.)
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