Youngblood v. D.C. Bd. of Zoning Adjustment

• Decision Date: 28 October 2021
• Docket Number: No. 19-AA-0294,19-AA-0294
• Citation: 262 A.3d 228
• Parties: Gary YOUNGBLOOD, et al., Petitioners, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT, Respondent, and MIC9 Owner, LLC, Intervenor.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

262 A.3d 228

Gary YOUNGBLOOD, et al., Petitioners,

v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT, Respondent,andMIC9 Owner, LLC, Intervenor.

No. 19-AA-0294

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued September 17, 2020

Decided October 28, 2021

Heather M. Benno for Petitioners.

Karl A. Racine, Attorney General, Loren L. AliKhan, Solicitor General, and Carl J. Schifferle, Acting Deputy Solicitor General, filed a statement in lieu of a brief for the respondent District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Deborah B. Baum and David J. Stute, Washington, for Intervenor, MIC9 Owner, LLC, on behalf of Meridian International Center.

Before McLeese and Deahl, Associate Judges, and Nebeker, Senior Judge.

Deahl, Associate Judge:

This case concerns what qualifies as a private school under 11-X D.C.M.R. § 104 (2021). That regulation provides that private schools are eligible for a special exception to zoning regulations that otherwise restrict certain areas to residential housing. Id. More specifically, the question presented in this appeal is whether Meridian International Center, a self-described "premier nonprofit global leadership organization" that "offers educational and cultural exchange programs," qualifies as a private school eligible for that exception. The Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) found that it does, and therefore granted Meridian's application for a special exception, as requested by intervenor MIC9 Owner, LLC, on Meridian's behalf.¹ Meridian sought the exception in order to substantially modify its existing private school plan and build an eight-story, mixed-use condominium building with over 100 residential units, more than 9,000 feet of office and meeting space, and an underground parking garage on its current grounds. Notably, as the BZA found and nobody disputes, Meridian could build something roughly comparable "as a matter of right" even without the exception afforded to private schools.

Petitioners are residents of properties adjoining Meridian and they challenge the BZA's grant of the special exception, arguing that the record and the BZA's findings were insufficient to support the conclusion that Meridian is a private school. In their view, Meridian is not a school at all, but rather a private event center. They point out that the bulk of events hosted by Meridian are private rentals, such as weddings, and that any educational programming Meridian offers is peripheral to its core function: hosting and collecting fees from private events.

We agree with petitioners that the BZA's findings are inadequate to support the conclusion that Meridian is a private school. The record is lean, and the BZA's findings are virtually non-existent, on factors pertinent to whether Meridian is a school in any meaningful sense. There is no finding as to whether Meridian has a faculty, an enrolled student body, graduates, regularly scheduled classes, and the like. It is unclear if it is accredited as a school, charges tuition, or has a curriculum. While none of these factors is dispositive, we have previously described the inquiry into whether an organization is a school as a holistic assessment of "what goes on at [the purported school] on a daily basis." See Neighbors on Upton St. v. District of Columbia Bd. of Zoning Adjustment , 697 A.2d 3, 8 (D.C. 1997). Because the BZA's findings shed little light on that inquiry, we vacate the BZA's decision and remand the case.

In reaching that disposition, we reject intervenor's threshold argument that petitioners lack standing to appeal the BZA's order. We also reject petitioners’ arguments that the BZA failed to accord "great weight" to concerns raised by affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1C, as the BZA's findings demonstrate that it gave those concerns the requisite weight in reaching its decision. See D.C. Code § 1-309.10(d)(3)(A), (B) (2021 Supp.).

I.

Meridian International Center is located in the 2300 block of 16th Street, N.W., across from Meridian Hill Park in the Meridian Hill Historic District. There are two historic mansions on its grounds, the White-Meyer House and Meridian House, both designed by the acclaimed architect John Russell Pope. The surrounding area contains a mixture of large mansions and apartment buildings. Meridian describes itself as "a premier nonprofit global leadership organization" that "offers educational and cultural exchange programs aimed at strengthening global engagement, preparing public and private sector leaders for a global future, and providing a forum for international collaboration across sectors." Meridian's application to the BZA states that it offers "experiential learning via tours and activities in other cities, as well as various training programs, expert panels, and related events hosted at [Meridian]." Meridian also operates as a private event space, hosting events like weddings that provide funds to support its operations and maintenance costs. In 2017, which was the last full year before the BZA hearings on Meridian's application, Meridian held a total of 149 events. The record suggests most of those were "private rentals," including 39 weddings.

For more than sixty years Meridian has held a special exception, for zoning purposes, to have a private school on its grounds. See BZA Order No. 5802 (1960). In the BZA's 1960 order first authorizing Meridian (then known as the "Washington International Center") as a campus for a private school, the BZA described its expectations that the average number of students on Meridian's grounds would "be from 60 to 75 at any one time" with "hours of operation ... from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. [M]onday to Friday, and on certain evenings ..." The BZA also restricted "[t]he number of dances to be held at the subject property ... to the number normally scheduled by colleges and universities." From 1972 to the mid-80s, the Antioch School of Law—a predecessor of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law—was housed on Meridian's campus. In 1987, shortly after Antioch School of Law closed its doors, the BZA approved an expansion of Meridian's campus into an adjoining lot under BZA Order No. 14571, and its order—like the 1960 order—described its expectations that the site would be used for what sounds like a typical school. It approved Meridian as a "private school for adults," with "approximately 35 faculty and staff members" and an average of "18 to 20 student-visitors" who "will attend classes and programs on the site on a daily basis," with the school "generally ... closed on the weekends and evenings," though "open occasionally." BZA Order No. 14571. In 2003, the BZA again approved Meridian's request to modify its private school plan, see BZA Order No. 17070, though in that instance its order said little about how Meridian would function as a private school. Its order referred in passing to a "school and cultural center" with little elucidation.

In the current proceedings, Meridian again seeks a special exception to modify its private school plan, requiring it to demonstrate that it continues to qualify as a private school eligible for a special exception under 11-X D.C.M.R. § 104.1. And because its property is "split-zoned," with different zoning requirements applicable to different parts of it, it also seeks to extend the more liberal regulations applicable to its "Residential Apartment 4" (RA-4) zone to its "Residential Apartment 2" (RA-2) zone. See 11-A D.C.M.R. § 207.2 (2021) (permitting as a special exception the extension of the "lesser restrictive use zone" in split-zoned lots). It sought those two exceptions so that it could build an eight-story, mixed-use condominium building with 111 to 115 units, along with a 9,266 square foot conference center, plus an underground parking garage on its site. Meridian's application stressed its considerable community outreach to arrive at a proposal that neighbors would find acceptable. In particular, Meridian "engaged in meetings with ANC 1C and representatives of the Surrounding Property Owners and formed a working group of interested stakeholders led by a community facilitator." The working group and Meridian created three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to address various concerns related to: (1) events held at the new conference center; (2) the new residential building; and (3) construction.

But the new development still faced considerable opposition from members of the surrounding community. ANC 1C, an automatic party to the proceedings because of its geographic proximity to the site, consistently raised its concerns with the BZA. It passed a pre-hearing resolution highlighting how, even prior to the proposed new development, Meridian's frequent events created noise, traffic, parking, and safety related concerns. The resolution stressed how previous efforts to ameliorate those concerns through an MOU between Meridian and surrounding neighbors had "not improved the problems caused by Meridian's events," so it predicted the new round of MOUs would prove similarly ineffective. ANC 1C also passed a post-hearing resolution, in which it argued that Meridian is not in fact a private school but rather a private event center. That echoed the hearing testimony of ANC 1C Commissioner Amanda Fox-Perry who testified in opposition to the project. She noted that while Meridian was supposed to function "like a private school, it's functioning as a private event center, as much as anything else." She also echoed the ANC's concerns that Meridian had "consistently violated" a pre-existing MOU with surrounding neighbors. Other neighborhood residents likewise voiced their opposition to the project.

The BZA approved Meridian's application and granted the two requested exceptions, with some conditions. As to the complaints that Meridian is not in fact a school, the BZA noted that ANC 1C "failed to raise this issue at the hearing, where [Meridian] would have had an opportunity to directly address the question," yet...