Board continues gas‑station towing expansion case after ANC opposition and site revisions

The Board of Zoning Adjustment kept open the public hearing on application 21419 — PMG Mid‑Atlantic LLC’s proposal to expand an existing gasoline station at 4101 Alabama Ave SE to include vehicle towing and storage — and scheduled a decision for Sept. 2, 2026 while asking the applicant and ANC 7B to submit specified follow‑up materials.

At the continued hearing, attorney Marty Sullivan for the applicant said the team revised its site plan to address agency and neighbor concerns: access will be routed internally through the station’s existing curb cut per DDOT’s request; the grass in the public space in front of Lot 13 will be restored; and the buffer between the nearest parking space and the closest residential building was increased from roughly 15 feet to about “30 or 35 ft.” Sullivan also confirmed vehicle storage would be limited to standard passenger vehicles and pickups, not commercial trucks, and said the operator “would request seven, but we understand if… [the board] would do less, we are okay with a time limit.”

Community testimony was strongly opposed. ANC representatives and nearby residents told the board they repeatedly saw larger vehicles parked on the grassy public space and inside the fenced lot and argued the neighborhood had not been properly engaged. ANC 7B Chair Travis Swanson asked the board for a short continuance so the ANC could hold a specially noticed meeting and produce a formal resolution; Commissioner Jimmy Williams and resident Paulette Tilman described recent photos and petitions showing ongoing site problems and said neighbors feared those conditions would continue even with approvals.

In deliberations the board emphasized that the applicant had made meaningful design adjustments but required specific, enforceable commitments rather than general promises. The board asked the applicant to supply clearer screening/landscaping plans, a proposed time limit for the use (the applicant signaled openness to a multi‑year limit), and documentation of the proposed vehicle types and parking layout. The board also asked for an ANC report on its special meeting outcomes and set the matter for a decision on Sept. 2, 2026. The hearing record was left open only for the requested submissions.