Judge denies renovation request
A Washington County judge denied a developer’s appeal to turn a former convent in Washington into a boarding house for Marcellus Shale workers.
In her opinion last week, President Judge Katherine Emery denied a request by Robert Starr, of Phive Starr Properties, to refurbish the 15,000-square-foot building at 130 N. Franklin St. and market it as temporary housing for natural gas drillers.
“The court finds the zoning ordinance at issue does not explicitly prohibit boarding houses, and the city’s mere failure to include this is generally insufficient to reach the conclusion that the ordinance is unlawfully exclusionary,” Emery said.
Starr’s lawyers had argued that Washington’s zoning ordinance is exclusionary based primarily because the term boarding is not included in the definition of a dwelling. But Emery said Starr, at least conceivably, could operate a boarding house in the general business district by obtaining a conditional use permit.
During oral arguments in December, Starr’s lawyers argued that property would become a multifamily dwelling and would be similar to apartment complexes, which should be permitted as a residential use in the city’s business improvement district.
The city’s solicitor, Jack Cambest, said it would function more like a commercial structure because of the temporary stays of residents there. He added the plans put forward by the developer are significantly different than a bed and breakfast that would have only a few people staying in a house at any given time.
The pastor and some parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church, which is across Franklin Street from the former convent, had expressed opposition to the developer’s plan.
Mayor Brenda Davis declined to comment on the opinion. Cambest said Monday that city council is happy with the judge’s decision. He said the city is revising their zoning ordinance, which should clarify any future zoning questions.
Starr’s lawyers, Harlan Stone and William Bresnahan, did not return calls for comment.