Thursday, May 3, 2018

Dupont Circle church faces possible bankruptcy

From Washington DC-

St. Thomas’ Parish Episcopal Church in Dupont Circle, which is considered one of the city’s most LGBT supportive religious institutions, could be forced into bankruptcy following a D.C. government order halting construction of its new church and an adjoining residential building, according to Rev. Alex Dyer, a gay priest who leads the church.

Dyer said the church faces a financial crisis as a result of a decision by the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to issue on April 23 a “stop work” order on the construction of the parish’s new church building and an adjoining 56 apartment residential building.

The DCRA says it issued the stop work order in response to a ruling by the D.C. Court of Appeals vacating a zoning variance awarded to the church by the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment. The court, in siding with an appeal opposing the building project filed by the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, ruled that the Board of Zoning Adjustment failed to provide sufficient justification for awarding the zoning variance.

The court ruling says the variance could be reissued at a later date if the Board of Zoning Adjustment provides a better legal rationale to justify it.

Attorneys representing the church and CAS Riegler development company have argued in a motion asking the court for a stay on the stop work order that the court ruling did not require DCRA to issue the stop order and the order was a mistake that will cause irreparable harm to the church.

More here-

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