D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 11, r. 11-U516

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Rule 11-U516 - SPECIAL EXCEPTION USES (MU-USE GROUP F)

516.1 The following uses shall be permitted if approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment as a special exception under Subtitle X, Chapter 9, subject to the following conditions:

(a) Any use permitted as a matter of right in MU-Use Group F that does not comply with the required conditions for Use Group F may apply for permissions as a special exception, except firearms retail sales establishment;

(b) Animal care and animal sales uses not otherwise permitted as a matter of right or special exception, subject to the following conditions:

(1) When located in a nonresidential building or on a property not zoned residential, the use shall not abut nor be closer than twenty-five feet (25 ft.) to any property line of an existing residential use or a residential zone;

(2) The use shall be located and designed to create no objectionable conditions to building residents or tenants, or to adjacent properties resulting from animal noise, odor, or waste; and shall utilize industry standard sound-absorbing materials, such as acoustical floor and ceiling panels, acoustical concrete and masonry, solid core doors, caulking to seal penetrations made in floor slabs for pipes, spray-on noise insulation, and acoustical landscaping;

(3) Floor finish material, areas intended to be wet, and wall finish materials measured to a minimum height of forty-eight inches (48 in.) from the floor, shall be impervious and washable;

(4) External yards or other external facilities for the keeping of animals shall not be permitted, except that an Animal Shelter may have external yards or other external facilities for the keeping of animals which shall be entirely located a minimum of two hundred feet (200 ft.) from an existing residential use or residential zone;

(5) All animal waste shall be placed in closed waste disposal containers and a qualified waste disposal company shall be used to collect and dispose of all animal waste at least weekly;

(6) Odors shall be controlled by means of an air filtration system (for example, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration) or an equivalently effective odor control system;

(7) The Board of Zoning Adjustment may impose additional requirements pertaining to the location of buildings or other structures, entrances and exits, buffers, banners, and fencing, soundproofing, odor control, waste storage and removal (including frequency), the species and/or number of animals, or other requirements, as the Board deems necessary to protect adjacent or nearby property; and

(8) The Board may waive or modify the conditions of this paragraph upon a determination that there will be no adverse impacts to building residents or tenants, or to adjacent properties resulting from the waiver of modification;

(c) An Electronic Equipment Facility (EEF) use that does not qualify as a matter-of-right EEF use under Subtitle U § 515.1 subject to the requirements of this paragraph:

(1) An EEF shall not occupy more than fifty percent (50%) of the constructed gross floor area of the building, unless approved as part of a planned unit development pursuant to Subtitle X, Chapter 3;

(2) An applicant shall demonstrate, in addition to the requirements Subtitle X, Chapter 9 that the proposed use will not, as a consequence of its design, operation, low employee presence, or proximity to other EEFs, inhibit future revitalization of the neighborhood, reduce the potential for vibrant streets capes, deplete street life, or inhibit pedestrian or vehicular movement;

(3) In evaluating whether an EEF will have any of the adverse impacts described in this paragraph, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall consider, in addition to other relevant factors, the:

(A) Absence of retail uses or a design capable of accommodating retail uses in the future;

(B) Presence of security or other elements in the design that could impair street life and pedestrian flow;

(C) Inability of the EEF to be adapted in the future for permitted uses; and

(4) The Board of Zoning Adjustment may impose requirements pertaining to design, appearance, landscaping, parking, and other such requirements as it deems necessary to protect adjacent property and to achieve an active, safe, and vibrant street life;

(d) Where not permitted as a matter or right, a gasoline service station to be established or enlarged, or a repair garage not including body or and fender work, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The station shall not be located within twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of a residential zone;

(2) The operation of the use shall not create dangerous or other objectionable traffic conditions; and

(3) Required parking spaces may be arranged so that not all spaces are accessible at all times. All parking spaces provided under this subsection shall be designed and operated so that sufficient access and maneuvering space is available to permit the parking and removal of any vehicles without moving any other vehicle onto public space; and

(e) Enlargement of an existing laundry or dry cleaning establishment that contains more than five thousand square feet (5,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area, subject to the provisions of this paragraph:

(1) Any noise or odor shall not adversely affect the neighborhood;

(2) Dangerous or otherwise objectionable traffic conditions shall not be created; and

(3) The Board of Zoning Adjustment may impose additional requirements as to the location of the building and other structures, the location of equipment, and other requirements as the Board deems necessary to protect adjacent or nearby property;

(f) Where not permitted as a matter or right, any establishment that has as a principal use the administration of massages, subject to the following conditions:

(1) No portion of the establishment shall be located within two hundred feet (200 ft.) of an R, RF, or RA zone;

(2) The establishment shall be compatible with other uses in the area;

(3) The use shall not become objectionable because of its effect on the character of the neighborhood or because of noise, traffic, or other conditions; and

(4) The establishment shall not have an adverse impact on religious, educational, or governmental facilities located in the area;

(g) Public utility pumping station, subject to any requirements pertaining to setbacks or screening, or other requirements the Board of Zoning Adjustment deems necessary for the protection of adjacent or nearby property;

(h) Retail, large format, subject to the conditions for that use of Subtitle U § 511.1;

(i) Sexually-oriented business establishment in the MU-9, MU-21, or MU-30 zone, subject to the following conditions:

(1) No portion of the establishment shall be located within six hundred feet (600 ft.) of an R, RF, RA, MU-1, MU-2, MU-15, MU-16, or MU-23 zone;

(2) No portion of the establishment shall be located within six hundred feet (600 ft.) of a church, school, library, playground, or the area under the jurisdiction of the Commission of Fine Arts pursuant to the Shipstead-Luce Act, approved May 16, 1930 (46 Stat. 366, as amended; D.C. Official Code § 6-611.01 (formerly codified at D.C. Official Code § 5-410 (1994 Repl.)));

(3) No portion of the establishment shall be located within three hundred feet (300 ft.) of any other sexually-oriented business establishment;

(4) There shall be no display of goods or services visible from the exterior of the premises;

(5) The establishment shall be compatible with other uses in the area;

(6) The use shall not become objectionable because of its effect on the character of the neighborhood or because of noise, traffic, or other conditions; and

(7) The establishment shall not have an adverse impact on religious, educational, or governmental facilities located in the area; and

(j) Veterinary boarding hospital subject to the following conditions:

(1) A veterinary boarding hospital may board any animal permitted to be lawfully sold in the District of Columbia, pursuant to § 9(j) of the Animal Control Act of 1970 (D.C. Law 3-30, as amended; D.C. Official Code § 8-1808(j) );

(2) No more than fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area of the veterinary boarding hospital may be devoted to the boarding of animals;

(3) The veterinary boarding hospital shall be located and designated to create no objectionable conditions to adjacent properties resulting from animal noise, odor, or waste;

(4) The veterinary boarding hospital shall not abut an existing residential use or a residential zone; unless the existing residential use is in a mixed-use building and the applicant demonstrates to the Board's satisfaction that:

(A) The building was designed and constructed or will be redesigned and renovated to mitigate noise to limit negative impacts on residential units that the use will abut, including the use of industry standard sound-absorbing materials, such as acoustical floor and ceiling panels, acoustical concrete and masonry, solid core doors, caulking to seal penetrations made in floor slabs for pipes, spray-on noise insulation, and acoustical landscaping;

(B) The windows and doors of the space devoted to the veterinary boarding hospital use shall be kept closed, and all doors facing a residential use will be solid core;

(C) Animal waste shall be placed in closed waste disposal containers located in enclosed areas or away from abutting or confronting residential windows and doors; and shall be collected by a waste disposal company at least weekly;

(D) Odors will be controlled by means of an air filtration system or an equivalently effective odor control system;

(E) Floor finish material, areas intended to be wet, and wall finish materials measured a minimum of forty-eight inches (48 in.) from the floor, shall be impervious and washable;

(5) External yards or other external facilities for the keeping of animals shall not be permitted;

(6) Pet grooming, the sale of pet supplies, and incidental boarding of animals as necessary for convalescence, are permitted as accessory uses;

(7) The Board of Zoning Adjustment may impose additional requirements as it deems necessary to protect adjacent or nearby properties; and

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 11, r. 11-U516

Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 2447 (9/6/2016); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 7264 (7/28/2017); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 11964 (10/16/2020); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 13131 (11/6/2020); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 2485 (3/5/2021)