Oops: D.C. Must Raze Luxury Home
Mistaken Construction Permit Proves Costly

By Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The District has purchased a new six-bedroom house for $1.5 million in an affluent upper Northwest Washington neighborhood, and will now pay even more to demolish the building after officials admitted that they allowed its construction by mistake.

Payment for the luxurious house built across from Rock Creek Park is part of a settlement that ends a contentious fight with neighbors in North Portal Estates who said the building blocked their view of the park and encroached on their property.

"It was definitely a costly mistake," said Patrick Canavan, former director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, describing the need to buy and then raze the house. "It is my understanding that it has never happened before."

City officials said yesterday that they do not know how much it will cost to demolish the house, which has a hot tub, marble bathrooms and a commanding view of the park. They will put the job out to bid and expect the house to be flattened by March.

The error occurred when the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs improperly approved building permits for two houses more than a year ago without a review by the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, required for construction across from federal parkland.

The commission later approved one of the houses, in the 1700 block of North Portal Drive NW, but determined the second home "was inappropriate" because it was situated in the back yard of the other house.

Minh Vu, a lawyer, and her husband, Ramon Camacho Jr., had spent more than $1.1 million purchasing the property and building the four-story house, according to the settlement, which was signed in December and gave them about $400,000 more than they paid.

"The last eight months have been extremely difficult for us," Vu said. "We are pleased that the District finally took responsibility for its mistake. . . . We should not have had to go through this, but we are glad to move on."

Also in the settlement, residents of the three houses adjoining the property led by attorneys Deborah Royster and her husband, Robert A. Malson, purchased the land for $135,000. The city owns the house and its contents, some of which can be salvaged, and will be responsible for grading the property when it is razed, Royster said.

"The settlement was in the best interest of everyone involved," said Traci L. Hughes, spokeswoman for then-Interim Attorney General Eugene A. Adams.

Canavan blamed the problem on agency shortcomings that failed to flag the plans for review because the property was not identified as being near parkland.

"This was a system problem, and we have worked hard to fix it," said Canavan, who left DCRA this month and was not director in late 2005 when the error occurred. "We did not have a computer system to help us safeguard against mistakes like this."

Royster said the city should have halted construction when residents first complained in late 2005 that they didn't think two houses should be built on the lot, once peppered with trees. Royster, a Pepco lawyer, and Malson, president of the D.C. Hospital Association, said they chipped in $30,000 for the legal battle and are to be reimbursed under the agreement.

"It harmed many families because it ruined the beauty and character of our neighborhood," Royster said. "We had to spend our own money to get the city to enforce the law."

The house, a large Cape Cod-Tudor, was one of two structures built on North Portal Drive. The five-bathroom, tan, shingled house was wedged between the new 5,000-square-foot Colonial and Royster's red-brick house with a swimming pool and Japanese pond.

Yesterday, Royster, who is the managing member of a partnership established by the three families to purchase the lot, toured the nearly complete house, with 46 windows and three sets of French doors.

In one bathroom, the fixtures were in a box on the vanity. In another, a contemporary bowl sink was sitting on the floor. A fireplace mantel was propped on one wall. A second-floor bathroom with marble floors and shower featured a whirlpool bathtub and two windows with a bird's-eye view of Royster's pool and kitchen. A white tea kettle on her counter top could be seen clearly. "Omigod," Royster said, "I didn't realize they could see me at my kitchen sink."

Many of the house's windows allowed a view of the houses on the adjoining property lots, but it was built so that the dining room had unobstructed front and side views of Rock Creek Park.

"They have a better view than we do," said Royster, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years. The other adjoining property owners are Ellen Elizabeth Grooms and James S. Edmonds, and Howard University official Sidney H. Evans and his wife, Bebra.

The neighborhood is home to numerous city officials and longtime community leaders, many of whom attended the federal commission's meeting in May. D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby also lives nearby.

Jerome Paige, president of the North Portal Civic Association, said the group is working to ensure that zoning changes are enacted to prevent this type of error from occurring again.

"It's been an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Paige said. "We're glad that the city has moved to correct the mistake. It's not something to celebrate. We're sorry we had to go through it."