Posts tagged Cat:zoning
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Can a new zoning code make Mt. Rainier inviting and affordable?
Long considered up and coming, Mount Rainier is a Prince George’s neighborhood just east of the District line that’s attracting investors and where house prices are rising. Typically, more zoning means higher housing costs, but Mount Rainier residents are trying to use zoning to keep their neighborhood inclusive and affordable. Is that possible? Keep reading…
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Zoning update retreat on housing and parking gets a chilly reception from the DC Zoning Commision
DC’s Office of Planning (OP) may have backed down on some key provisions of the DC zoning update, but some members of DC’s Zoning Commission, which has the final say on zoning, voiced skepticism about the recent changes at a meeting last week. A majority of commissioners may be prepared to reject several of OP’s proposed amendments, including one that would… Keep reading…
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DC planners want to limit row houses from becoming condos
In neighborhoods like Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, people have been converting row houses to 3- and 4-unit condo buildings. Should zoning stop this practice? It would under a new proposal from the DC Office of Planning, but not all of DC’s zoning commissioners were enthusiastic about the idea. This proposal would apply to the zones now designated R-4, including… Keep reading…
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For the umpteenth time, DC’s zoning update gets watered down some more
In the six-year-and-counting saga of DC’s zoning update, the Office of Planning (OP) has watered down proposed zoning changes yet again. Planners have removed residents’ right to put an accessory apartment in a carriage house or other external building and reinstated most of the existing parking minimum requirements around high-frequency bus lines. While… Keep reading…
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Have you signed up to testify on the zoning update?
The epic hearings for DC’s zoning update are coming up in just a few weeks (and so are Montgomery County’s). Have you signed up to testify? There are 4 key hearings: Wednesday November 6 on low-density residential areas. This includes the proposal to allow accessory apartments which will let a homeowner rent out a basement or garage to add housing and help with the… Keep reading…
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Parking lots remain mandatory
DC planning director Harriet Tregoning announced today that minimum parking requirements in transit-oriented neighborhoods will remain in the new zoning code. As part of its rewrite of the zoning code, DC’s Office of Planning (DCOP) had proposed eliminating mandatory parking requirements in the densest, most transit-friendly parts of the city. Anyone who wanted… Keep reading…
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Muriel Bowser unsure on parking minimums, corner stores
Wednesday is the final ward-based community information session for the zoning update, in Ward 4. This is a particularly important one as Councilmember Muriel Bowser seems undecided on, or leaning against, proposals to reduce parking minimums near transit or to permit corner stores in Petworth, and confused about the specifics of the proposal to let homeowners rent out a basement… Keep reading…
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Cutting dependence on cars isn’t anti-car, it’s common sense
Cleveland Park resident Herb Caudill posted about the zoning update on the neighborhood listserv, and triggered a lively debate. On the issue of required parking, one resident wrote about “the growing hostility toward the automobile,” and said, “The need for parking is a reality of modern urban life.” Caudill followed up with this fantastic article,… Keep reading…
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Don’t be silent; speak up for a better zoning code
The DC Zoning code shapes the form of our city and influences how walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented it is. Yet the code hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1958. Priorities have changed a lot since 1958 — and that’s why it’s so important to get involved in this effort to create the framework to help us ensure the gains we’ve made in… Keep reading…
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Support a growing city and join Pro-DC
Want to see the District of Columbia become even better than it is? I’m pleased to announce Pro-DC, a group formed to organize residents to support positive change in DC’s zoning update and beyond. Pro-DC is a project of the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Greater Greater Washington. We believe in helping DC grow, thrive, and become more livable for everyone. I hope… Keep reading…