In March, I blogged about how some journalists who live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, were taking legal action to force their neighbors, Marc and Marianne Duffy, to tear down their home for violating zoning laws.
Washington Post editor William Hamilton, his wife Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, and former ABC correspondent Jackie Judd had complained about the Duffy renovations, which were erroneously approved by county bureaucrats.
Well, the Duffy's plight is back in the news as they lost another fight in their struggle to save their home.
On June 7, an appeals board affirmed the order issued in March to the Duffys. Buried in Miranda Spivack's article in the June 8 Washington Post is a factoid that goes to show how petty the complaint by Hamilton, Mayer, and Judd was:
While upholding its earlier decision, the board yesterday accepted new data from the Duffys showing that the front of the house is 1.7 feet -- not seven feet -- too close to the street. The ruling did not address the Department of Permitting Services' actions in issuing and then revoking the Duffys' permits. The board will consider that issue in a separate proceeding this fall.
