WAMU story: "As Development Spreads Across D.C.’s Neighborhoods, Can Regulators Keep Up?"

First, see this tweet:

WAMU 88.5 News
@wamu885news
Can DC's government keep up with house flippers? Part 3 of @maustermuhle’s series airs 6:50 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. http://wamu.fm/flippedoff3 
6:12 AM - 7 May 2015

And here is Part 3 of WAMU's house flipper story.  Click on the link to read the entire article. 

As Development Spreads Across D.C.’s Neighborhoods, Can Regulators Keep Up?

By Martin Austermuhle

On a Saturday afternoon in late April, a group of about a dozen Petworth residents walked from one property to another in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood, pointing at rowhouses in various states of demolition or construction.

The rear wall of a home on Varnum Street had been removed, exposing the gutted three-floor interior of what a developer hopes to turn into a four-unit condo building. Over on Randolph Street, another home had been fully demolished; nothing was left standing but its facade. On Quincy Street, a faded stop-work order adorned the front of another rowhouse halfway through the addition of a third story.

The residents complained that many of the projects lacked proper permits, that developers had started substantial work without notifying adjacent homeowners, and that damage was sometimes done to neighboring homes. It’s a story told by residents of many neighborhoods where developers are buying, renovating and reselling residential properties.

    

The group in Petworth was joined by D.C. Council member Vincent Orange (D-At Large), who leads the committee that oversees the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the agency charged with both issuing building permits and enforcing the city’s building code.

But to hear the residents tell it, DCRA isn’t doing either very well.

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