Do Something: The week of January 1, 2024

Weekly, Regional Policy Director Dan Reed and DC Policy Director Alex Baca will share with you an action you can take in the immediate future that has the potential, sometimes great and sometimes small, to increase the number of homes in our region, decrease the trips people take by car, make all of it safer, and not screw people over in the process.

If you have any questions, email dreed@ggwash.org about Maryland and Virginia Do Somethings, and abaca@ggwash.org about Washington, DC, Do Somethings—or, about whatever you want to talk about. This week: 1617 U Street, finally; a chance to turn Takoma Park’s vacant hospital into homes; and counting down the minutes until the Virginia General Assembly starts.

DC

New year, new (zoning commission hearing on 1617) U (Street NW, and 1820 V Street NW): On Monday, January 8, 2024, the Zoning Commission will, for the third time, meet to vote on ZC 23-02, a map amendment to change the zoning designation of 1617 U Street NW, and 1820 V Street NW, from MU-4, which permits “moderate-density mixed-use development,” to MU-10, which permits “high-density mixed-use development with a balance of uses conducive to a higher quality of life and environment for residents, business, employees, and institutions.”

Do you live nearby and support this?

Hell yeah. Sign up no later than 4 pm on Sunday, January 7 to testify in person. To be safe, submit a written copy of your testimony at the same time to zcsubmissions@dc.gov. Then, log on at 4 pm on Monday, January 8 for the hearing.

Do you live outside a 500-foot radius of 1617 U and 1820 V, but still want to support this?

Cool! Submit a written comment in your own words to zcsubmissions@dc.gov no later than 4 pm on Sunday, January 7. A form letter, click-to-send letter, or copypasta of someone else’s text will do you, and us, absolutely no favors. (You can also watch the hearing.)

Need help?

Read everything linked in this post, then email me at abaca@ggwash.org ASAP if you still have questions.

I wrote about the whole 1617 U mishegas, and what sort of participation is appropriate in this kind of upzoning, in the first half of 2023. I’ve been providing updates on it to you since the very first Do Something post (speed run: it’s happe—no, it isn’t; now it’s happeni—ugh, not again). So, I, of course, do believe the third time’s the charm and am feeling relatively confident that, on Monday, the commission will approve ZC 23-02, which is very much not inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan, which is what matters most.

I’m very aware that you’ve likely been asked to show all the way up to deliver in-person testimony to the zoning commission regardless of where you live. I’m not surprised. I frequently encounter an implicit assumption among my fellow pro-housing advocates that being at a meeting to say yes is the whole ballgame—but just like the type of housing that we build does, in fact, matter, the type of testimony and the type of person that delivers it often supersedes the mere existence of support, especially in high-key situations, which is what ZC 23-02 has become.

“But, Alex,” you, a person who lives more than 500 feet from 1617 U and 1820 V, may say, “you have been so confident that this will pass on its merits for nearly a year. Why can’t I just show up and say that I want more housing? What harm could that possibly cause?” Ah! Well, I explained this, back in November:

“Those of us who want more housing, and more affordable housing, in the District need to be strategic, and put forth meaningful, honest, well-informed support. …

I am asking you to take what might seem like a step back because testifying at the zoning commission is a bit of an authenticity war these days. There is considerable risk to a firehose of support that comes off as “more housing good,” unequivocally, even though I agree with the sentiment. Several opponents have filed for party status, meaning that, if they are granted it, they can cross-examine witnesses. The appropriate response to this is not to rustle up a pro-upzoning gaggle to file for its own party status (trust me, I thought about it); it is for proponents of the map amendment to calmly, accurately, and respectfully respond to cross questions in their own words. If we come off as sloppy, glib, rude, dismissive; as outsiders without a meaningful stake in the zoning commission’s decision; or as if we don’t have a grasp on how land use works in the District, the legitimacy of our support will be called into question and possibly discourage the commission from granting this site an MU-10 designation.”

The kind of support, not just whether there’s support, can substantially influence any decisionmaker, on any issue. It’s a big deal that housing production is now taken seriously enough that details matter. Just as the District filing a map amendment to upzone its own land, in the case of ZC 23-02, is a precedent that I am so thrilled it is setting, we in “the movement” can set a better, stronger precedent of our own in the ways we show up—starting with ZC 23-02.

If you’re testifying and want a ping before you’re about to get called, email me and let me know. I’ll watch the witness list for ya. —AB

Maryland

Many places in the DC area have changed in my lifetime, but none like Takoma Park. In the 1960s it was hippies who fought blockbusting and freeways; in the 80s the yuppies started coming; by the 2010s, it was hippies, yuppies and members of Obama’s cabinet. Takoma Park is expensive now. Beloved local haunts are closing and new trendy places are coming in. Last year I bought a bunch of local art and went to a queer music and art festival all a mile from my house.

To be honest, I don’t hate it. And how people feel about these changes loom in the background of a conversation about what to do with the former Washington Adventist Hospital, which moved out of Takoma Park four years ago, leaving 15 acres in what’s become a hot neighborhood. This month, you’ve got a chance to weigh in on what should happen there.

Just before Christmas, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved a vision to replace the hospital with a mix of homes and shops, with buildings as tall as 120 feet and open space for community events and gatherings. The plan, dubbed the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment, sounds like a smaller version of the redevelopment of the former Walter Reed hospital less than two miles away. It’ll be years before anything gets built there. The County Council will hold a public hearing about the plan January 25, and they’ll get to make revisions before voting on it later this year. Only then can a developer actually propose doing something.

As Carter Dougherty wrote in September, some neighbors are campaigning to block the plan with some, uh, colorful language. I don’t blame them for being upset. Takoma Park’s culture of protest and progressive politics draws people in, especially if you come from a more conservative place, and makes you feel like part of something bigger than yourself. If living in Takoma signaled that you were with “it,” they’ve changed what “it” was. 15 acres is a lot of room for more things that feel like they aren’t for you.

Yet the seeds of Takoma Park’s transformation were planted almost 50 years ago, in 1977, when residents successfully blocked landlords from chopping up old houses into apartments. That may have made sense at the time, when the population was falling and the local high school was so underenrolled it almost closed. In today’s trendy Takoma, that’s a problem. A study from Montgomery Planning found that Takoma Park and some adjacent neighborhoods lost over a thousand low-cost apartments (meaning rents below $1250/month) just between 2010 and 2018, the most of any place in Montgomery County. Meanwhile, median household incomes there rose higher than anywhere else except Bethesda and Kensington, as more affluent people could bought those recombined homes.

Most of Takoma Park is now zoned for single-family homes. (The DC side allows apartments, and thus a lot of apartments are being built there to the chagrin of some Marylanders.) We’d love to change that. For now, the former Washington Adventist Hospital is our chance to make room for everyone who wants to be a part of Takoma Park: the hippies, the hipsters, the single moms pooling their resources to buy a fourplex, and the muckety mucks. And a grocery store. A full-size grocery store would be nice.

The County Council will hold a public hearing on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment January 25 from 7 to 9pm, both at Takoma Park Middle School (7611 Piney Branch Road) and online. As Alex notes in the DC Do Something, if you live near the former hospital, even if not in the City of Takoma Park, it’s definitely worth signing up to speak, which you can do here. You can also send in written, audio, or video comments here. This is our testimony about the plan from last fall.—DR

Virginia

After the holidays I was a little reluctant to return to work (who isn’t?) so I was absolutely giddy to spend Tuesday moving our office into a bigger space down the hall. No thoughts, just going through old boxes and pushing a hand truck and figuring out where to put a picture of my dog on the wall. With that done, I felt ready to dig into the Virginia General Assembly session, which along with Maryland’s General Assembly kicks off next Wednesday, January 10. This is a long session for Virginia, which means it will last for two months, instead of the normal one. It’ll go fast, but until then it’s all hurry up and wait. I know I keep hyping some exciting stuff that will happen in Virginia this winter, and this week is no different. Please continue to stay tuned.

Also: we had such a great time at our Planners of Color happy hour in November, we’re doing it again this Tuesday, November 9 at Dacha Beer Garden in Shaw. Will I see you there? You can RSVP here.—DR

Your support of GGWash enables us, Dan and Alex, to do our jobs. Our jobs are knowing how development and planning works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. If it’s appropriate to take action to advance our goals, which we hope you share, we can let you know what will have the most impact, and how to do it well. You can make a financial contribution to GGWash here.