In the face of considerable neighborhood opposition, the City Council voted Tuesday night to deny apartment status for a large residence at 906 10th St. in the MLK District.
Ericka Stearns said the property is set up for six units. Planning Agency officials said on a 1928 map the location was a multi-family residence.
Ms. Stearns said she had secured a lease with the nearby Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church for residents to use some of the church parking spots.
Those speaking against the request included the president of the MLK Neighborhood Association, former city official Moses Freeman and Dr. Anita Polk Conley, a longtime leader of the association.
They said they feared a "domino effect" if one property goes back to multi-family.
Mr. Freeman, who lives in the next block on 10th Street, said 80 new homeowners had invested $7 million in the district after the council approved downzoning.
Councilwoman Deborah Scott said the case involved "a larger house on a postage stamp lot."
Councilman Jack Benson said the request was not in keeping with the zoning plan. Councilman Andrae McGary disagreed, saying it calls for a diversity of housing, especially on corner lots.
Councilman Peter Murphy said it would be very costly to convert six units in a 35,000-square-foot structure back to a single-family home and the neighborhood may wind up with a vacant eyesore.