Update from DC

Maurice is now officially the Washington, DC "stringer" for the blog. Despite the generally poor quality of his photographs, he is an astute observer, and his contributions are welcome. The blog thought that there might be an interesting story behind this No McMansions sign that Maurice sent to us...and indeed there is. The sign was posted by the Woodley Park Community Association. Here's the story, in their own words:

The house at the corner of Garfield Street and 29th Place, 2910 Garfield Street, was recently sold. The buyer was a developer, ZP 29th Place LLC, which represents a developer who has built other houses in Woodley Park in recent years. The developer wants to tear down the house and replace it with two much larger homes. DC zoning regulations prescribe minimum sizes for lots. In this zoning classification, the minimum is 5000 square feet. The lot of 2910 Garfield Street is 9946 square feet, so it would appear to be too small to accommodate two houses. However, the Zoning Administrator, who works for DCRA, has the authority to approve a "minor deviation" from this requirement. The Zoning Administrator granted such a deviation for this property in November 2009. No notice of the request to subdivide the lot or for a "minor deviation" was given to the neighbors or to ANC3C, nor were they notified the requests had been granted.

Zillow reveals that the house was built in 1957, and that it sold this past January for about $1.4 million.