"WITS operates a yeshiva, which is a religious education immersion program incorporating the study and practice of orthodox religion.  The program includes an accredited general studies program for the high school age boys.  A necessary component of yeshiva attendance is living on the premises in order to fully participate in the range of religious instruction and practice.  The students, all male, sleep in dormitories, eat in group facilities, and attend classes and worship services all on the same property.  The yeshiva has a current enrollment of approximately 120 students.  WITS seeks construction of an additional building on the property that would include a dormitory for its students.

                        Although the property is located in a single-family residential district, it has not been utilized as a private single-family residence since 1948, when it was sold by its original owner and builder, Henry Thompson, to the Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle, a Catholic order of nuns.  During its ownership, the convent obtained a permit to convert the residence into a convent and retreat house, erect a one-story addition for use as a chapel, and add a wing for bedrooms and a meeting hall. In 1974, the convent sold the property to the Western Province of the Sisters of St. Mary, an Episcopalian order that continued to use the property as a convent and retreat house.

                        In 1984, WITS purchased the property and obtained an occupancy permit for use as a "Synagogue and School (Religious) - nonprofit - Dormitory." Robert Shaft, a permit and plan examiner for the Department of Building Inspection, granted a certificate of occupancy after determining that WITS' use was a continuation of the prior legal nonconforming use. At that time, thirty-six students attended the yeshiva.  Between 1984 and 1995, enrollment continued to increase.  In 1991, WITS converted an existing coach house for student residence, and in 1994 it began to plan new construction to accommodate an enrollment of 160 students."