Zoning Board Goes Too Far in Regulating Unniversity Actions

摘要

In the continuing struggle in Washington, D.C., between universities and their neighbors over growing enrollments and expanding campuses, a court has ruled that the Board of Zoning Adjustment went beyond its competence in the conditions it set for approval of Georgetown University's 10-year campus plan. Washington's municipal regulations permit universities as a matter of right in areas zoned for high-density commercial use. On land zoned residential or "special-purpose," universities are permitted only by special exception, which involves a two-step application process. In the first stage, the university submits a campus plan setting out its general land-use plans over a substantial period of time, usually 10 years. In the second stage, the Board of Zoning Adjustment reviews individual projects for consistency with the campus plan and zoning regulations.