Public Hearing on Board of Zoning Adjustment Nominations – May 19, 2026
Public Hearing on Board of Zoning Adjustment Nominations – May 19, 2026
On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 2:58 PM in Room 500 of the Council Chambers, the Committee of the Whole of the Council of the District of Columbia, chaired by Phil Mendelson, held a public hearing to consider two nominations to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA): Paul Goldstein (PR 26-636, replacing Fred Hill for a term ending September 30, 2029) and Michelle Purseau (PR 26-667, replacing Carl Blake for a term ending September 30, 2028). A third resolution (PR 26-666) was withdrawn. The hearing received testimony from one public witness and the nominees. The record will remain open until 5:00 PM on Monday, June 1, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Paul and Kathy Rosenbaum, residents of 6117 32nd Place, testified in support of the nominees and described their pending variance case. They have a stop work order on their renovation since December 29, 2025, causing a six-month delay. They are renovating a 1926 bungalow to allow aging in place and create an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for affordable housing. The renovation footprint is identical to the original structure (five feet from the property line), but a zoning interpretation led to the stop work order. They estimated it would cost $300,000 to tear down and move the structure three feet. Chairman Mendelson noted that variances require a showing of hardship or practical difficulty, not just that a project appears harmless.
Discussion Items
- Chairman Mendelson questioned both nominees on three standard topics: time commitment, tax liabilities, and conflicts of interest. Both confirmed they can fully participate, are current on taxes, and will recuse themselves if a conflict arises.
- Michelle Purseau testified: she is a longtime D.C. resident and former director of the D.C. Department of Transportation, with a master’s degree in urban planning from Howard University. She described serving on the BZA as a "dream job" and emphasized her experience with zoning applications, community coordination, and the D.C. Comprehensive Plan. She is prepared for the heavy workload the board currently faces.
- Paul Goldstein testified: he is an attorney with a master’s in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked at the D.C. Office of Planning, the Department of Buildings (currently as a program analyst), and the Office of the Attorney General, providing legal advice to the BZA. He will resign from his current position if confirmed. He committed to reviewing applications without bias and noted one potential conflict he will investigate further.
- Chairman Mendelson expressed concern that the BZA sometimes grants variances too liberally, which increases the board’s caseload. He noted that the board currently lacks a quorum and will face a significant backlog once the two new members are confirmed.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; the hearing was solely for testimony. The record will close at 5:00 PM on June 1, 2026, allowing written comments.
- The nominations of Paul Goldstein and Michelle Purseau will proceed to full council consideration after the record closes. If confirmed, both will serve on the BZA, which will then have three members (including a rotating member) and be able to resume meetings.
Meeting Transcript
Let me get this started. I'm calling to order this hearing. This is a public hearing of the committee of the whole of the council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, chair of the council and chair of the committee of the whole. Today is Tuesday, May 19th, 2026. The time is 258 in the afternoon, and we are in room 500 of the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building. The subject of this afternoon's hearing is consideration of nominations. The mayor is submitted to the council for appointments to the Board of Zoning Adjustment. There were three resolutions that were introduced. One of them, PR 26-666, my understanding has been withdrawn. So what we have is PR 26-636, Board of Zoning Adjustment, Paul Goldstein, Board Confirmation Resolution of 2026, and PR 26-667, Board of Zoning Adjustment, Michelle Purseau, confirmation resolution of 2026. The stated purpose of PR 25 26-636 is to confirm the appointment of Paul Goldstein to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, replacing Fred Hill for the remainder of an unexpired term ending September 30th, 2029. And the stated purpose of PR 25-667 is to confirm the appointment of Michelle Perceau to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, replacing Carl Blake for the remainder of an unexpired term ending September 30th, 2028. The Board of Zoning Adjustment is an independent quasi-judicial body with the ability to grant relief from the strict application of the district zoning regulations in the form of variances, to grant special exceptions where authorized under the zoning regulations, and to hear appeals from actions taken by the zoning administrator of the Department of Buildings. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony from government and public witnesses as to the fitness of the nominees for appointment to the commission. The record in this matter will be open for a little less than two weeks, that is to record, we'll close at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1st. So it's a little less than two weeks from today. Paul Rosenbaum. Come forward to the table. Kathy Rosenbaum. Okay. We don't see um Kathy Rosenbaum online. Oh, I'm going to reset that. She had an appointment to get you guys. Maybe she's had the leave for that. Okay. But I told her that we were just starting, so she's aware that we're just starting now. Okay. So why don't you begin? Okay, good afternoon. Uh I'm Paul Rosenbaum and my wife Kathy and I are excited to participate in this meeting today to observe the process used to hopefully approve two new board members for the zoning variance board. Uh, this will create a minimum quorum so that our hearing will take place on the delayed date of it was June 10th, as of my writing on Tuesday, but we just got placards that now say it's June 17th. So since December 29th, 2025, we've had a stop work order on the renovation of our house at 6117 32nd place, where we have lived since 1982. This will be a six-month delay for the renovation of our 1926 bungalow. We're renovating the house for several reasons, but mainly because I promised my wife a new kitchen a couple of decades ago. We're also redesigning it to allow us to enjoy aging in place because we love the many benefits of our neighborhood. We also have in mind the desire to make it a multi-generational house where we can live with our son and his family when he gets married and has kids. We currently work six blocks away from the house as a fitness instructor. We're also converting the basement to an ADU so that we can offer affordable housing to anyone who wants to work in the neighborhood. The renovated house will take advantage of all green and sustainable construction features available today. And Michelle Porcio has extensive experience not only in the DC government, but also in Baltimore. And hopefully we'll get things flowing again quickly. You're free to negotiate wherever you want. That's not the same as the government doing. Well, we'll find some taxpayer money someplace. We can we can use uh Trump's new slush fund. Uh we look forward to working with the new zoning board members and the Department of Building team. Sincerely, Paul and Kathy Rosenbaum. Um thank you.
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