Washington’s Board of Adjustment, during its meeting Thursday, is scheduled to discuss a rehearing request from Jim Bilbro, who is challenging the board’s decision to issue a special-use permit to allow multi-family dwellings in neighborhood of single-family residences.

Several residents in the West 14^th Street and Summit Avenue area of the city do not agree with the board’s 3-2 vote to issue a special-use permit to Luis and Valerie Taveras, who live in Brooklyn, New York, to build four duplexes on a lot between West 14^th and West 15^th streets. The board’s split vote was made June 14.

Those residents, some of whom voiced their concerns to the City Council in July, contend the duplexes are not in character with the single-family nature of the neighborhood. They wanted the board to reconsider the matter regarding the property at 294 W. 14^th St.

Seven residents — Elizabeth Barnhardt, Jim Bilbro, Georgia Clagett, Barry Friedland, Melonie Grooms, James M. Skillen and Tracy Warren and —filed formal requests to have the matter reheard by the board.

At its Nov. 8 meeting, the board, in split votes, voted to deny the rehearing requests from Barnhardt, Skillen, Clagett and Friedland. Warren and Grooms withdrew their rehearing requests.

The minutes from the board’s Nov.8 meeting explain why Bilbro’s rehearing request was approved. “(Board Chairman Steve) Fuchs explained that it was brought to the Board’s attention by Mr. (John) Rodman that Mr. Bilbro was not sent a notice because his property is not within the 100 feet boundary of the property in question. Mr. Fuchs stated that Bilbro stated that he lived within 100 feet, but in actuality he does not. Mr. Fuchs stated this issue was the whole basis for the Board granting his rehearing request.” The Rodman reference concerns John Rodman, the city’s director of community and cultural resources.

In a related matter, the board is expected to consider amending its rules of procedure to remove the provision regarding rehearing requests. “There have been discussions lately on amending the current Rules of Procedure to remove the section concerning the rehearing of an application after a Board of Adjustment decision,” reads a memorandum from Rodman to the board.

Another city document reads: “As a general rule, a board may not hear a quasi-judicial case a second time. The applicant and other affected parties must present their evidence at the initial hearing. Appeals of the initial decision may be made to the courts, not back to the Board. The City’s Rules and Regulations, however, allow for a rehearing process.”

Evidence in support of a rehearing is limited, initially, to that which is necessary to enable the board to determine at least one of two of the following:

• new facts or evidence is available for which there was no capacity of being obtained at the original hearing that that substantially changes conditions of the case;
• procedural rules that significantly changed the conditions of the case were not followed. No harmless error shall be grounds for granting a rehearing. A harmless error is one that would not have changed the outcome of the matter, or for which refusal to rehear does not deny a substantial right. An application for rehearing shall be denied if the board, in its records, does not find a least one of these two conditions to be true. A simple majority vote by board members present is required to grant a rehearing.

The board meets at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 102 E. Second St.