The District of Columbia’s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) plays an outsized role in shaping neighborhoods, housing outcomes, and development timelines. The BZA is an independent, quasi‑judicial body responsible for hearing zoning variances, special exceptions, and appeals of decisions made by the Zoning Administrator at the Department of Buildings. For developers navigating atypical site constraints, nonprofits proposing community facilities, or homeowners seeking relief from setback requirements, the BZA is often the only path forward under the Zoning Regulations.
Yet in early 2026, the Board finds itself hobbled by extensive vacancies that have effectively stalled its work—raising concerns across the development, housing, and civic communities. The Board is statutorily composed of five members:
- Three mayoral appointees (District residents),
- One designee of the D.C. Zoning Commission, and
- One designee of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC).
To conduct hearings and issue decisions, the BZA must maintain a quorum of at least three members. When it cannot, cases simply do not move.
As of April 2026, the situation is stark: all three mayoral appointee positions and the NCPC designee position are vacant. This has forced the Office of Zoning to administratively reschedule numerous BZA hearings originally set for mid-March, April and May 2026. The rescheduling has created an extensive case log backup on top of new applications that are being filed.
The timing of the BZA vacancies is particularly consequential. The District is grappling with housing affordability, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, and pressure to deliver missing‑middle housing forms—all of which routinely come before the Board through special exceptions and use approvals.
Against this backdrop, Paul Goldstein and Michelle Pourciau have emerged as nominees to fill two mayoral appointee positions. Mr. Goldstein is an attorney with a long professional history in zoning, planning, and development. Mr. Goldstein is currently a program analyst in the Office of the Zoning Administrator at the Department of Buildings, having spent the better part of a decade in that office. Ms. Pourciau’s background is in the transportation sector, including three years as the Director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. More recently, Ms. Pourciau worked as a consultant in the transportation and infrastructure field.
Mr. Goldstein and Ms. Pourciau’s nomination were referred to the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole on April 21, 2026, and May 5, 2026, respectively, formally beginning the confirmation process. The next step will be for the Committee of the Whole to schedule a public roundtable or hearing on the nominations, followed by a formal vote by the full Council.
There is scuttlebutt on the third mayoral appointee but no official nomination has been put forth yet. As the Council considers these nominations, the larger issue is not just who joins the Board—but how quickly the District can put the Board back to work.