Here’s a great example of why we need to get rid of parking minimums. The owner of a former KFC at 15th and Pennsylvania SE (a block from Potomac Ave Metro) wants to make the neighbors happy by building a two-story building over the entire lot instead of a (legal) four-story building on half the lot. Covering the whole lot is good, since it will create a continuous line of buildings instead of big gaps near the corner. There’s just one problem: current zoning laws mandate 28 parking spaces.

Will the neighbors support the project with no parking? Will the Zoning Commission? Will DC fix its parking laws before too many travesties occur? Will the new zoning actually fix the problem? Find out on the next exciting episode of Adventures in Bad Zoning Laws!

I’d also argue that we should allow more height right around the Metro at such a busy intersection, by the way, but that’s an argument for another day. Via Ryan Avent.

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Tagged: capitol hill, dc, parking, parking minimums

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.