Chapter 3

Land Use

Element

CHAPTER 3: LAND USE

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Land Use Element

Overview¹

THE LAND USE ELEMENT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. It establishes the basic policies guiding the physical form of the District, and provides direction on a range of development, preservation, and land-use compatibility issues. The element describes the range of considerations and balancing of priorities involved in accommodating an array of land uses within Washington, DC. ²

The critical land use issues are addressed in this element. These include the following:

• Providing adequate housing, particularly affordable housing;
• Conserving, creating, and maintaining inclusive neighborhoods, while allowing new growth that fosters equity, including racial equity, and accessibility;
• Strengthening downtown;
• Enhancing neighborhood commercial districts and centers;
• Balancing competing demands for finite land resources;
• Directing growth and new development to achieve economic vitality and creating jobs while minimizing adverse impacts on residential areas and open spaces;
• Promoting transit-accessible, sustainable development;
• Improving resilience; and
• Siting challenging land uses. ³

More than any other part of the Comprehensive Plan, this element lays out the policies through which growth and change occur, while conserving and enhancing neighborhoods, commercial districts, and other areas. The Land Use Element integrates and balances competing policies of all the other District Elements and should be given greater weight than other elements. ⁴

Although Washington, DC was almost fully developed by 1960, the demand for land, housing, and jobs has continued to fuel land use change. The changing needs of the federal government, private industry, and other institutions continually reshape the landscape. Aging, environmentally inefficient, and underused building stock requires refurbishment and replacement. The renewed popularity of urban living generates the need for more housing and new amenities. ⁵

Land use changes have the potential to make Washington, DC more vibrant, economically healthy, exciting, and even more environmentally sustainable, equitable, and resilient than it is today. But without proper direction and coordinated public investment, change can also be adverse. Not all areas of the District are as economically healthy, and not all are positioned to benefit from future change. The Land Use Element strives for positive outcomes in all parts of the District and for all residents by setting policies

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7th Street NE rowhouses

on appropriate uses and densities and describing how different uses can successfully co-exist. 300.5[^]

The element is divided into several sections. The first section provides basic data on land use and density in Washington, DC. Subsequent sections of the element present policies and actions organized under the following major topic headings:

• Shaping the District;
• Creating and Maintaining Vibrant Neighborhoods; and
• Balancing Competing Demands for Land. 300.7¹

The definitions of land use categories and descriptions of the Future Land Use Map and Generalized Policies Map may be found in Chapter 2 (Framework Element).

Land Use Profile of Washington, DC 301[^]

The District of Columbia comprises 69 square miles, including approximately eight square miles of water and 61 square miles of land. Land use patterns, illustrated in Map 3.1, reveal an expansive District core of about four-square miles centered on the open spaces of federal Washington, DC. The core is surrounded by an inner ring of moderate- to high-density residential and mixed- use neighborhoods, extending west to Georgetown, north to Columbia Heights and Petworth, east across Capitol Hill, and south to the Anacostia River and Near Southwest. Beyond the inner ring is an outer ring of less dense development, characterized largely by single-family housing and garden apartments. The two rings generally correspond to historic development patterns, with most of the inner ring developed by 1920 and the outer ring developed after 1920. 301.1[^]

The impact of the District’s transportation network on land use patterns is apparent in Map 3.1. Most of the commercial and higher-density development beyond the core of Washington, DC hugs radial avenues like Connecticut Avenue NW and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Most of the District’s industrial development follows the railroad corridors running from Union Station east along New York Avenue and north to Silver Spring. The historic connection between transportation and land use continues to shape the District today, with Metrorail station areas being the most robust activity centers. 301.2[^]

Map 3.1 reveals other distinctive land use patterns. Open space networks, particularly those along Rock Creek and the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, are apparent. Large institutional uses including some 2,000 acres of colleges, universities, hospitals, seminaries, and similar uses are visible. Federal enclaves beyond Washington, DC’s core, such as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, the St. Elizabeths Hospital West Campus, and the Armed Forces

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Map 3.1:

Existing Land Use 2017 ¹

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Retirement Home, appear prominently. Many of the federal and institutional uses are located in areas that are otherwise residential in character. While this creates the potential for land use conflicts, these uses are also important open space buffers, job centers, community anchors, and resources for the surrounding neighborhoods. ¹

Figure 3.1 shows the location of each of the city’s 10 Planning Areas. Each of these planning areas are of different acreage and land use configuration. About 27[^] percent of the District consists of road rights-of-way, although only about 60[^] percent of this acreage actually consists of the paved streets. For instance, road rights-of-way constitute 40[^] percent of Capitol Hill, but most of this land consists of landscaped or bricked front yards along streets with exceptionally wide rights-of-way. ²

Despite the significant number of jobs in Washington, DC, commercial uses represent less than five percent of the District’s land area, and industrial uses represent less than one percent. Commercial uses represent about 14[^] percent of the land area in Central Washington but less than two percent of the land area in Far Southeast/Southwest. Many of the District’s jobs are associated with federal facilities and institutional uses, which together make up about 10[^] percent of its land area. Institutional lands appear throughout the District but are especially prevalent in the four Northwest Planning Areas: Central Washington, Near Northwest, Mid-City, Rock Creek West, as well as in Upper Northeast. ³

Maps 3.2 and 3.3 show estimated population and employment density in Washington, DC and approximate suburbs as of 2017. The data is based on the traffic analysis zones used by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) for transportation modeling. Map 3.2 again illustrates the ring of fairly dense neighborhoods around the District center, and the denser residential development along major corridors like Connecticut Avenue NW and 14th Street NW. It also shows areas of fairly dense development in Wards 7 and 8, primarily associated with large low-rise garden apartment complexes in Far Southeast. Areas like Woodridge, Burrville, and Shepherd Park have low population densities and, in some cases, even lower than the adjacent neighborhoods in suburban Maryland. The contrast is especially stark with the intense residential and commercial development in Silver Spring. ⁴

Map 3.3 shows that employment is highly concentrated in Central Washington. Beyond the District center, other major employment centers include the universities and federal enclaves, the New York Avenue corridor, the West End, the Georgetown waterfront, the Capitol Riverfront area, and several corridors in Upper Northwest. Large concentrations of employment also appear beyond the District limits in Downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring, Maryland, and in Rosslyn, Crystal City, the Pentagon area, and Alexandria, Virginia. ⁵

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Figure 3.1:

Planning Areas 301¹

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Map 3.2:

Population Density 2017 ¹

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Map 3.3:

Employment Density 2017 ¹

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The Land Use Goal is: Ensure the efficient use of land resources to meet long-term neighborhood, District-wide, and regional needs to help foster other District goals; to protect the health, safety, and welfare of District residents, institutions, and businesses; to address past and current inequalities disproportionately impacting communities of color; to sustain, restore, or improve the character, affordability, and equity of neighborhoods in all parts of the District; to provide for additional housing and employment opportunities; and to effectively balance the competing demands for land to support a growing population and the many activities that take place within Washington, DC’s boundaries.

Land Use Goal ¹

Ensure the efficient use of land resources to meet long-term neighborhood, District-wide, and regional needs to help foster other District goals; to protect the health, safety, and welfare of District residents, institutions, and businesses; to address past and current inequalities disproportionately impacting communities of color; to sustain, restore, or improve the character, affordability, and equity of neighborhoods in all parts of the District; to provide for additional housing and employment opportunities; and to effectively balance the competing demands for land to support a growing population and the many activities that take place within Washington, DC’s boundaries. ²

Policies and Actions

LU-1 Shaping Washington, DC ³

This section of the Land Use Element describes the desired pattern of growth and development in the District. Its focus is on the specific areas or types of areas where change is most likely to take place. The section begins with information about supporting growth and guiding policies for the District. It then turns to the large sites where changes are envisioned. This is followed by information about the opportunities for change along corridors and transit station areas. Policies for neighborhood infill development are also included. ⁴

LU-1.1 Supporting Growth ⁵

Washington, DC has been experiencing a shift in growth over the past decade. This growth has occurred in a variety of forms: land development, income, economic strength, population, and innovation. Previous planning efforts focused on retaining residents and attracting growth to strengthen the economy. Since the Comprehensive Plan was developed in 2006, the District’s population has grown almost 20 percent and is anticipated to reach 987,200 residents after 2045. The continued interest in living and working in the District requires a shift in planning efforts to manage such growth and the challenges it brings, while also supporting current residents. The needs and desires of a growing District in the 21st century are different and the approach to how growth is supported reflects that difference. While growth is anticipated as the long-term trend, the District may experience periodic slowdowns or declines during the time horizon of this plan. ⁶

The Comprehensive Plan’s companion document, A Vision for an Inclusive City, sets forth the District’s desire to employ the highest and best use of its

land for the benefit of all residents. Managing growth through an equity lens means providing additional attention and support to communities of color, low-income households, and vulnerable populations and neighborhoods to allow them to share in the prosperity of the District. Vulnerable and underserved communities experience high and rising housing costs, persistent unemployment, worse health outcomes than their higher-income peers, and potential displacement. 304.2

Supporting growth through an equity lens places a different emphasis on development guidance and expectations, as described in section 213.7 of the Framework Element. Growth cannot be ignored, as it is necessary for continued prosperity and revenues to provide for social supports and municipal services. A change in the Future Land Use Map designations can affect the value of the designated and neighboring properties, the capacity of the infrastructure and civic services, and the short- and long-term expectations of development. Previous benefits and amenities used to catalyze growth are now necessities for supporting growth: affordable housing, transportation improvements, infrastructure improvements, open-space development and maintenance, sustainable and resilient design, and arts and culture. Affordable housing is described in detail in the Housing Element. As used here, it is housing available to households earning 80 percent or less of the regional median family income (MFI). Deeply affordable housing refers to units affordable to households earning 40 percent of less of the MFI. 304.3

Growth through an equity lens must address and reduce existing racial inequities resulting from systemic racism and meet the needs of the District’s most vulnerable residents. The District has divides by income and race, a result of factors that include urban renewal, redlining, segregation, restrictive racial covenants, infrastructure development, and disinvestment. Washington, DC has some of the country’s highest disparities in income, education, and access to jobs and housing by race. The District’s Black population saw declines between 1980 and 2010, with the most recent period of decline between 2000 and 2010, where the Black population decreased by 11 percent (39,030 residents). Between 2010 and 2019, the Black population has increased by five percent (14,105 residents). As the Land Use Element guides the direction of future growth, it also affects future access to housing, education, jobs, services, amenities, and transportation and impacts the health and safety of residents. Growth can and must occur in a way that expands access to affordable housing, education, transportation, employment, and services for communities of color, low-income households, and vulnerable populations. Achieving equitable development requires attention to both the context and needs of different planning areas and to District-wide equity issues, described throughout the Comprehensive Plan. 304.4

Washington, DC’s built environment and natural features can buffer against the acute shocks and reduce the chronic stresses the District is facing; conversely, without proper planning or maintenance, the built environment

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and natural features can make communities vulnerable to these shocks and stresses, particularly communities of color and low-income residents. The Land Use Element addresses the provision, preservation, and enhancement of physical assets and critical facilities, including housing, infrastructure and transportation systems, and its natural, historic, and cultural resources to become truly resilient. The vulnerability of buildings, infrastructure, and ecosystems to the adverse effects of climate change is expected to increase due to more days with high temperatures, more flooding caused by heavy rainfall and rising sea levels, and more economic disruption from extreme weather events. 304.5¹

Washington is a city of distinctive neighborhoods. The terms "neighborhood character" and "historic character" are used extensively in the Land Use Element and other elements. Neighborhood "character," however, has been a term associated with exclusion and discrimination by race, income, religion, and other categories. As used in the comprehensive plan, neighborhood "character" and historic "character" reflect the sense of place defined by neighborhood architecture, visual landmarks and vistas, streets, public spaces, and historic or cultural places; for instance, the differences between the Anacostia and Bloomingdale neighborhoods. This term must not be construed to refer to the characteristics of people living and working in these areas. Many policies referencing neighborhood character also speak to the interest in improving affordability and racial equity, recognizing the potential balance needed between policy objectives. 304.6²

Innovations, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), sustainable infrastructure, and smart city technology, will shape growth. The unprecedented impacts of the global pandemic may accelerate or create new changes in land use patterns. The change in retail from brick-and-mortar businesses to online platforms, the mobile workplace, and the increasingly prevalent use of automation across sectors are recent examples of why continuously monitoring and adjusting the understanding of the District and responding to change is needed. 304.7³

Policy LU-1.1.1: Future Planning Analysis and Resilience Focus Areas

The Generalized Policy Map shows areas of large tracts and corridors where future analysis is anticipated to plan for inclusive, equitable growth and climate resilience. Boundaries shown are for illustrative purposes. Final boundaries will be determined as part of the future analysis process for each area. In certain locations, planning efforts will be undertaken to analyze land use and policy impacts and ways to capitalize on, mitigate, and incorporate the anticipated growth. Current infrastructure and utility capacity should be evaluated against full build-out and projected population growth. The planning process will target issues most relevant to the community that can be effectively addressed through neighborhood planning. Planning analyses generally establish guiding documents, such as Small Area Plans,

Development Frameworks, Retail Strategies, or Design Guidelines. Areas anticipated for future planning analysis include the following:

• New York Avenue NE corridor;
• Upper Wisconsin Avenue NW corridor;
• Upper Connecticut Avenue NW corridor;
• Foggy Bottom/West End;
• Benning Road corridor;
• Poplar Point;
• Congress Heights;
• North Capitol Crossroads—Armed Forces Retirement Home; and
• RFK Stadium.

For areas within the 100- and 500-year floodplain, future planning efforts are intended to guide resilience to flooding for new and existing development and infrastructure projects, including public capital projects. Resilience focus areas will explore watershed resilience to encourage the implementation on a neighborhood scale, as well as site-specific solutions, design guidelines and policies for a climate adaptive and resilient District. Watershed resilience analysis areas include the following:

• Georgetown;
• Federal Triangle;
• Hains Point;
• Southwest Waterfront;
• RFK;
• Watts Branch; and
• Poplar Point. ¹

Policy LU-1.1.2: Resilience and Land Use

Implement District-wide, neighborhood-scale, and site-specific solutions for a climate adaptive, emergency responsive, and resilient Washington, DC. ²

Action LU-1.1.A: Resilience Equity and Land Use

Develop projects that decrease the vulnerability of people and places to climate risks and public health emergencies, as well as promote future resilience. Use an equity lens to consider and address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low income and vulnerable residents and communities of color. ³

Please refer to the Implementation Element for additional guidance on the Future Planning Analysis Areas, Small Area Plans, and other planning studies, and periodic progress reports.

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The Penn Quarter is an example of the District’s “Living Downtown.”

Between 2005 and 2025, approximately 30 percent of the District’s housing growth and 70 percent of its job growth occurred, and will have occurred, within the District’s urban core and adjacent close-in areas along the Anacostia River.

⬚ figure Walkable mixed-use development in NoMa

LU-1.2 Strengthening the Core ¹

Key to the Comprehensive Plan is the transformation of Washington, DC’s core (generally referred to throughout the Comprehensive Plan as Central Washington) into a lively, connected urban center. The Central Business District and the Central Employment Area (CEA) may overlap with Central Washington, but do not comprise the total Planning Area. The distinct commercial districts that make up Central Washington already comprise one of the largest central business districts in the United States. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, much of the area lacks the dynamic 24/7 character that defines other great world capitals. For decades, the District’s planners aspired to create a living downtown: a place alive with housing, theaters, retail stores, and restaurants, as well as the vast expanse of office space that defines central Washington, DC today. New neighborhoods such as the area around Gallery Place, Penn Quarter, North of Massachusetts Avenue (NoMa), and downtown have been developed with a mix of uses. Physical barriers, including the Center Leg Freeway and Union Station open railyard, are being bridged over with mixed-use developments that will reconnect the District. These efforts are paying off, but the area has even more potential for lively mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-friendly developments and easy and safe connectivity among neighborhoods. ²

Between 2005 and 2025, approximately 30 percent of the District’s housing growth and 70 percent of its job growth occurred, and will have occurred, within the District’s urban core and adjacent close-in areas along the Anacostia River. After 2025, growth is anticipated to occur throughout Washington, DC, including outside of the urban core. This growth must be accommodated in a way that protects the area’s historic character, including the street and open space frameworks, civic vistas, and monumental spaces established by the Plan of the City of Washington and the 1910 height limit and the concentration of architectural landmarks downtown. Infill and redevelopment will take place within the established business districts west of 5th Street NW, but a majority of downtown Washington, DC’s future growth will be achieved through redevelopment of areas on its east side. ³

NoMa and Capitol Riverfront, two areas adjoining the traditional downtown and each more than 300 acres in size, have accommodated much of the central District’s growth. The former includes land in the triangle bounded by New York Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and the CSX railroad, along with adjacent lands around the New York Avenue Metro station. The latter area includes the South Capitol corridor and Near Southeast, including the Capitol Riverfront area. Whereas much of traditional downtown Washington was redeveloped for single purpose (office) uses during the second half of the 20th century, recent development focused on a walkable and mixed-use environment, including housing, employment, and recreation with an emphasis on modes of transportation other than the individual automobile. ⁴

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As the urban core expands, reinvestment in established business districts, such as the Golden Triangle, the Downtown Core, and the Near Southwest should also continue. These areas are being modernized, better connected to one another, and developed with new infill uses and public improvements. Areas outside the traditional downtown, such as the Florida Avenue Market and Rhode Island Avenue, NE, provide opportunities for revitalization and re-envisioning how people work and live in the District, while smaller sites present the opportunity for new retail, housing, and office development. Across larger and smaller sites, efforts to strengthen the core should serve and attract businesses and people from across the income spectrum, including through the creation and preservation of affordable housing. 305.4¹

Additional information on planning issues in these areas may be found in the Central Washington Area Element, the Upper Northeast Area Element, and the Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Element. These chapters should be consulted for specific policies and actions. 305.5²

Policy LU-1.2.1: Sustaining a Strong District Center

Provide for the continued vitality of Central Washington as a thriving business, government, retail, financial, hospitality, cultural, and residential center. Promote continued reinvestment in central District buildings, infrastructure, and public spaces; continued preservation and restoration of historic resources; and continued efforts to create safe, attractive, and pedestrian-friendly environments, while minimizing displacement of residents and community-focused businesses. 305.6³

Policy LU-1.2.2.: CEA

Continue the joint federal/District designation of a CEA within Washington, DC. The CEA shall include existing core federal facilities, such as the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, and the Supreme Court, as well as most of the legislative, judicial, and executive administrative headquarters of the U.S. government. Additionally, the CEA shall include the greatest concentration of the District’s private office development, and higher-density mixed land uses, including commercial/retail, hotel, residential, and entertainment uses. Given federally imposed height limits, the scarcity of vacant land in the core of the District, and the importance of protecting historic resources, the CEA may include additional land necessary to support economic growth and federal expansion. The CEA may be used to guide the District’s economic development initiatives and may be incorporated in its planning and building standards (e.g., parking requirements) to reinforce urban character. The CEA is also important because it is part of the point system used by the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish federal leases. The boundaries of the CEA are shown in Map 3.4. 305.7⁴

Map 3.4:

Central Employment Area (CEA) Map ¹

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Policy LU-1.2.3: Appropriate Uses in the CEA

Ensure that land within the CEA is used in a manner which reflects the area’s national importance, its historic and cultural significance, and its role as the center of the metropolitan region. Federal siting guidelines and District zoning regulations should promote the use of this area with high-value land uses that enhance its image as the seat of the national government and the center of Washington, DC and that make the most efficient possible use of its transportation facilities. An improved balance in the mix of uses will help to achieve Washington, DC’s aspiration for an even larger living downtown. 305¹

Both the District and Federal Elements include a joint federal/District designation of a Central Employment Area (CEA) within Washington, DC. The CEA includes the existing core of federal facilities, such as the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, as well as the Supreme Court, and most of the legislative, judicial, and executive administrative headquarters of the United States government. The CEA is the District of Columbia’s commercial core where the greatest concentration of employment is encouraged. Additional Federal Employment Areas, such as Parkside, are located in other parts of the District. Federal Employment Areas are also part of the GSA point system used to establish federal leases. 305²

Policy LU-1.2.4: Urban Mixed-Use Neighborhoods

Encourage new mixed-use neighborhoods combining high-density residential, office, retail, cultural, and open space uses in the following areas:

• Mount Vernon Triangle;
• NoMa;
• Downtown East and Pennsylvania Avenue;
• Buzzard Point/National Park/Audi Field;
• Near Southeast/Navy Yard;
• Capitol Crossing (neighborhood between Capitol Hill and Gallery Place);
• Union Station air rights; and
• Near Southwest/Wharf/L’Enfant Plaza Metro Area.

The location of these areas is shown in the Central Washington, and Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Elements. Land use regulations and design standards for these areas should require that they are developed as attractive pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, with high-quality architecture and public spaces. Housing, especially affordable and deeply affordable housing, is particularly encouraged and must be a vital component of the future land use mix. As areas continue to redevelop, community engagement and actions shall be undertaken to retain existing residents, particularly communities of color and vulnerable populations, and enable them to share in the benefits of area redevelopment while addressing adverse short- and long-term impacts. 305³

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New mixed-use neighborhoods like the Wharf offer high quality architecture and public spaces

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Policy LU-1.2.5: CEA Historic Resources

Preserve the scale and character of the CEA’s historic resources, including historic landmarks and districts and the features of the Plan of the City of Washington. Development must be sensitive to the area’s historic character and should enhance important reminders of Washington, DC’s past. 305¹

Please consult the Historic Preservation and Urban Design Elements for related policies

Policy LU-1.2.6: CEA Edges

Support the retention of residential neighborhoods adjacent to the CEA. Appropriate building setbacks, lot coverage standards, and transitions in land use intensity and building height shall be required along the edges of the CEA to protect the integrity and scale of adjacent neighborhoods and to establish a compatible relationship between new structures and the existing neighborhood fabric. 305²

Please refer to the Urban Design Element for additional guidance on the appropriate transition of intensity at the edges of the CEA.

Policy LU-1.2.7: Reconnecting the District Through Air Rights

Support the development of air rights over rail tracks, major corridors, and highways. In several parts of central Washington, DC there is the potential to build over existing railway tracks, major corridors, and highways. These undeveloped air rights are the result of the interjection of massive transportation infrastructure after the establishment and development of the original District. The tracks, major corridors, and highways have created gaps in the historic urban fabric that have left large areas of the center District divided and difficult to traverse. With substantial investment, these sites represent opportunities for development of housing, retail, and commercial buildings, as well as for the reconnection of neighborhoods and the street grid. While maximizing opportunities to provide housing and various amenities, future development should equitably address the potentially adverse impacts of locating housing uses next to active transportation corridors. 305³

Where possible, streets should be reconnected, and air rights development should be constructed at and measured from a grade level consistent with adjacent land. When development at grade level is not physically possible, air rights should be measured by a means that provides for density and height commensurate with the zone district. Establishment of a measuring point for any particular air rights development shall be consistent with the act that regulates the height of buildings in the District of Columbia, approved June 1, 1910 (36 Stat. 452; D.C. Official Code § 6-601.01 et seq., known as the Height Act), and should not be taken as precedent for other development projects in the District. Densities and heights should be sensitive to the

surrounding neighborhoods and developments and be sufficient to induce the investment needed for such construction. 305.15¹

Policy LU-1.2.8: New Waterfront Development

New and renovating waterfront development shall actively address flood risk and incorporate adaptive siting and design measures. 305.16²

Policy LU-1.2.9: Public Space Design

Strongly encourage the design of parks, wetlands, open spaces, natural covers, and rights-of-way that can withstand a 100-year flood event or stricter standards as prescribed by District law while improving quality of life in neighborhoods. 305.17³

Action LU-1.2A: CEA Boundary Work with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to ensure the boundary of the CEA depicted in the Federal Elements matches the boundary shown in the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. 305.18⁴

Action LU 1.2.B Explore Alternative CEA Approaches Considering Washington, DC’s unique role as the seat of federal government and nation’s capital, work with NCPC, GSA, and other stakeholders to consider other approaches to the CEA, including non-contiguous sites, to designate locations for future federal facilities and uses that reflects the diverse missions of federal agencies, security, transportation, and the economic development considerations, existing development constraints, and goals of the District. 305.19⁵

Action LU-1.2.C: Center City Action Agenda Update the 2008 Center City Action Agenda to reflect changing conditions, priorities, and projections (the agenda is Center City’s strategic plan for future growth, improvement, and conservation). The revised agenda should define Center City more broadly to include the multiple business districts that comprise the CEA. 305.20⁶

More specific policies for this area are contained in the Central Washington Area Element and the Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Element.

Action LU-1.2D: Development of Air Rights Analyze the unique characteristics of the air rights development sites within Washington, DC. Development sites should address the growing need for housing, and especially affordable housing, reconnect the L’Enfant grid, and enhance mobility. 305.21⁷

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During the next 20 years, about 15 percent of Washington, DC’s housing growth and 10 percent of its job growth will take place on 11 large sites outside of the CEA. The large sites include properties in federal ownership, District ownership, and private ownership.

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Sites like Poplar Point offer opportunities for exciting new waterfront development and parks.

Action LU-1.2.E: Development on Former Federal Sites

When sites in the CEA shift from federal to private or local use, employ planning and zoning approaches that provide for the integration of the sites into the surrounding fabric. Replace the monumental scale needed for major federal buildings with a scale suitable to the local context by reconstructing historic rights-of-way, dividing superblocks into smaller parcels, and encouraging vibrant contemporary architectural expression. Encourage mixed-use, mixed-income, development with residential, retail, and cultural uses visible from the street and open outside of core business hours, as well as offices, to help support a living downtown. ¹

Action LU-1.2.F Reuse of Existing Buildings

Evaluate opportunities to encourage appropriate use repositioning of existing buildings (for example, from office to mixed housing and retail) to provide varied office and retail space, more housing and especially affordable housing, and a mix of uses that support District goals. ²

LU-1.3 Large Sites and the District Fabric ³

During the next 20 years, about 15 percent of Washington, DC’s housing growth and 10 percent of its job growth will take place on 11 large sites outside of the CEA. The large sites include properties in federal ownership, District ownership, and private ownership. The status of each site varies; redevelopment on a few is imminent, but others may be over a decade away. Some still contain vital, active uses. Others have been dormant for years. ⁴

Four of the 11 sites are owned (at least in part) by the federal government. Consequently, policies in the District Elements for these lands are intended only to express the District’s vision for these properties should they be transferred out of federal ownership or use. In collaboration with the federal government and the community, Washington, DC will make its planning and development decisions regarding these sites to be compatible with adjacent neighborhoods and to further the goals and policies of the District Elements. ⁵

Some large recreational sites owned by the federal government are not intended to be transferred out of federal ownership and are not included in this list. However, the District continues to work with and advocate for community-friendly management of these lands. The golf courses at East Potomac Park, Rock Creek, and the historic Langston Golf Course have the potential to become assets and positive defining features for their neighborhoods. ⁶

The large sites are shown in Map 3.5 and listed in Figure 3.2. The Area Elements should be consulted for a profile of each site and specific policies for its future use. The policies in this section focus on broader issues that apply to all sites. As shown on Map 3.5, several of the sites fall within the boundaries of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI), an economic revitalization and environmental protection program now being implemented by the District government. ¹

Figure 3.2:

Large Sites ²

Policy LU-1.3.1: Reuse of Large Publicly Owned Sites

Recognize the potential for and encourage the reuse of large, government-owned properties to supply needed community services and facilities; provide significant deeply affordable housing and desired housing types such as family housing; create education and employment opportunities; remove barriers between neighborhoods; enhance equity, including racial equity, and inclusion; provide large and significant new parks, including wildlife habitats; enhance waterfront access; improve resilience; and enhance Washington, DC’s neighborhoods. ³

Map 3.5:

Large Sites ¹

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Policy LU-1.3.2: Mix of Uses on Large Sites

Ensure that the mix of new uses on large, redeveloped sites is compatible with adjacent uses and provide benefits to surrounding neighborhoods and to Washington, DC as a whole. The particular mix of uses on any given site should be generally indicated on the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and more fully described in the Comprehensive Plan Area Elements. Zoning should be compatible with adjacent uses but need not be identical. ¹

Policy LU-1.3.3: Federal Sites

Work closely with the federal government and the community on reuse planning for those federal lands where a change of use may take place. Even where such properties will remain in federal use, the impacts of new activities on adjacent neighborhoods should be acknowledged and proactively addressed by federal parties. ²

Policy LU-1.3.4: New Methods of Land Regulation

Recognize the opportunity afforded by large sites for innovative land regulation and the application of sustainable design and resilience principles (green building, biophilic design, and low-impact development) on a large scale. ³

Policy LU-1.3.5: Public Benefit Uses on Large Sites

Given the significant leverage the District has in redeveloping properties that it owns, include appropriate public benefit uses on such sites if and when they are reused, and involve the public in identifying benefits. Examples of such uses are housing, especially deeply affordable housing, and housing serving families, older adults, and vulnerable populations; new parks and open spaces; health care and civic facilities; public educational facilities and other public facilities; and uses providing employment opportunities for District residents. ⁴

Policy LU-1.3.6: New Neighborhoods and the Urban Fabric

On those large sites that are redeveloped as new neighborhoods (such as Reservation 13), integrate new development into the fabric of the District to the greatest extent feasible. Incorporate extensions of the street grid, public access and circulation improvements, and new public open spaces. Establish a compatible relationship between new structures and uses and the existing neighborhood fabric. Such sites should not be developed as self-contained communities, isolated or gated from their surroundings, and they should enhance community resilience, equitable development, and promote inclusion. ⁵

Policy LU-1.3.7: Protecting Existing Assets on Large Sites

Identify and protect existing assets, such as historic buildings, historic site plan elements, important vistas, and major landscape elements as large sites are redeveloped. ⁶

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

Policy LU-1.3.8: Large Sites and the Waterfront

Use the redevelopment of large sites to achieve related urban design, open space, environmental, resilience, equity, accessibility, and economic development objectives along the Anacostia Waterfront, as well as other shoreline areas. Large waterfront sites should be used for water-focused recreation, housing including affordable housing, commercial, and cultural development, with activities that are accessible to both sides of the river. Create opportunities for adjacent communities to benefit from site redevelopment. Large sites should further be used to enhance the physical and environmental quality of the rivers. 306.14¹

Action LU-1.3.A: Federal Land Transfer

Continue to work with the federal government to transfer federally owned sites to local control, long-term leases, or ownership to capitalize more fully on unrealized development and parkland opportunities. 306.15²

Policies and actions for large sites are also contained in the Comprehensive Plan Area Elements.

Action LU-1.3.B: Encouraging Livability of Former Federal Lands

When land is identified to shift from federal to private or local use, develop planning and zoning approaches that provide for, as appropriate, the reconstruction of historic rights-of-way and reservations, integration of the sites into the adjoining neighborhoods, and the enhancement of special characteristics or opportunities of the sites. Foster uses that create jobs. Encourage cultural, residential, open space, recreational, and retail uses to advance mixed-use, and as appropriate, mixed income neighborhoods, even if the site is designated as high- density commercial on the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map. Coordinate with the NCPC as appropriate. 306.16³

LU-1.4 Transit-Oriented and Corridor Development ¹

Over the last five decades, Washington, DC, the federal government, and neighboring jurisdictions have invested billions of dollars in a mass transit system that effectively connects residents in many parts of the District with major employment centers and other destinations. Additional investments in rapid transit, consisting primarily of streetcars, dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and express/limited-stop service, are planned along major corridors. These improvements are essential to enhancing regional mobility and accessibility, responding to future increases in demand, and providing alternatives to single-passenger automobiles. The improvements also create the potential to reinforce one of the signature elements of Washington, DC’s urban form: its major streets and thoroughfares. ²

Fully capitalizing on the investment made in Metrorail requires effective use of the land around transit stations and along transit corridors. While many of the District’s 40 Metrorail stations epitomize the concept of a transit village, with pedestrian-oriented commercial and residential development of varying scales, a few do not. Some stations continue to be surrounded by large surface parking lots and auto-oriented commercial land uses. The same is true for those corridors where premium surface transit service has been implemented or proposed. Some commercial buses pass through fairly dense, walkable neighborhoods. Other station areas consist of long, undifferentiated commercial strips with vacant storefronts, little or no housing, and few amenities for pedestrians. ³

Much of the planning during the last decade has focused on making better use of transit station areas. Plans have been developed for Columbia Heights, Takoma, Anacostia, Georgia Avenue-Petworth, Brookland, Deanwood, Hill East, Southwest, Maryland Avenue NE, Rhode Island Avenue NE/NW, Florida Avenue Market, H Street NE, and Shaw/Howard University. In each case, the objective was to identify ways to better capitalize on Metrorail and more efficiently use land in the station vicinity. One objective of these initiatives has been to strengthen transit stations as neighborhood centers and attract new investment to business districts facing economic challenges. Another important objective has been to accommodate growth in a way that minimizes the number and length of auto-trips generated and reduce household expenses on transportation by providing options for car-free (or one car) living. ⁴

Transit improvements are essential to enhancing regional mobility and accessibility, responding to future increases in demand, and providing alternatives to single-passenger automobiles.

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

Metrorail station area development policies must respond to the unique needs of each community and the unique setting of each station, and seek community and broader public input in station area planning and development.

The District’s Metrorail stations include 15 stations within the CEA and 25 neighborhood stations (see Map 3.6). Looking forward, certain principles should be applied in the management of land around all of the neighborhood stations. These principles include:

• A preference for mixed residential and commercial uses rather than single-purpose uses and in many areas a preference for housing above ground-floor retail uses;
• Providing diverse housing types, including both market rate and affordable units; a mix of unit sizes that can accommodate both smaller and larger households; and housing for older adults and persons with disabilities;
• A priority on attractive, pedestrian-friendly design and a de-emphasis on auto-oriented uses and surface parking;
• Provision of well-designed, well-programmed, and well-maintained public open spaces;
• Appropriate transitions of densities and heights between stations and lower-density uses in the vicinity recognizing, however, that some major corridors well served by transit can support higher-density uses even farther away from the Metrorail station;
• Convenient and comfortable connections to the bus system, thereby expanding access to the stations and increasing Metro’s ability to serve all parts of the District; and
• Pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between the stations and the surrounding neighborhoods. ¹

Beyond these core principles, station area development policies must respond to the unique needs of each community and the unique setting of each station, and seek community and broader public input in station area planning and development. Some station areas wrestle with concerns over too much development, while others experience difficulties attracting development. Moreover, the District’s role in facilitating transit-oriented development (TOD) must vary from station to station. In some parts of Washington, DC, weak demand may require public investment and zoning incentives to catalyze development or achieve the desired mix of uses. In other areas, the strength of the private market provides leverage to require public benefits (such as affordable housing, plazas, parks, and childcare facilities) when development approval is requested. ²

While TOD is most commonly thought of as a strategy for Metrorail station areas, it is also applicable to premium transit corridors. ³

Map 3.6:

Priority Transit Corridors and Transit Stations ¹

⬚ figure

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

The reach of TOD around any given station or along a high-volume transit corridor should vary depending on neighborhood context. While a quarter to a half- mile is generally used across the country to define the walkable radius around each station, and therefore the area in which higher densities may accommodate growth without unacceptable increases in traffic congestion, applying a uniform radius is not always appropriate in the District. The established character and scale of the neighborhood surrounding the station should be considered, as should factors such as topography, demographics, and the station’s or corridor’s capacity to support new transit riders. Many stations abut historic or low-density neighborhoods. Similarly, many priority transit corridors transition to single-family homes or row houses just one-half block or less off the street itself. Careful planning and design to appropriately transition from desired growth around stations and corridors to adjacent neighborhoods is needed when development is planned. 307.8¹

Policy LU-1.4.1: Station Areas as Neighborhood Centers

Encourage the development of Metro stations as anchors for residential, economic, and civic development and to accommodate population growth with new nodes of residential development, especially affordable housing, in all areas of the District in order to create great new walkable places and enhance access and opportunities for all District residents. The establishment and growth of mixed-use centers at Metrorail stations should be supported as a way to provide access to housing opportunities at all income levels and emphasizing affordable housing, improve air quality, increase jobs, provide a range of retail goods and services, reduce reliance on the automobile, enhance neighborhood stability, create a stronger sense of place, provide civic gathering places, and capitalize on the development and public transportation opportunities that the stations provide. Station area development should have population and employment densities guided, but not dictated, by desired levels of transit service. This policy should be balanced with other land use policies, which include conserving neighborhoods. The Future Land Use Map expresses the desired intensity and mix of uses around each station, and the Area Elements (and in some cases Small Area Plans) provide more detailed direction for each station area. 307.9²

Policy LU-1.4.2: Development Around Metrorail Stations

In developments above and around Metrorail stations emphasize land uses and building forms that minimize the need for automobile use and maximize transit ridership while reflecting the design capacity of each station and respecting the character and needs of the surrounding areas. 307.10³

Policy LU-1.4.3: Housing Around Metrorail Stations

Build housing adjacent to Metrorail stations that serves a mix of incomes and household types, including families, older adults, and persons with disabilities, and prioritize affordable and deeply affordable housing

production. Leverage the lowered transportation costs offered by proximity to transit to increase affordability for moderate and low-income households.¹

Policy LU-1.4.4: Affordable Rental and For-Sale Multi-family Housing Near Metrorail Stations

Explore and implement as appropriate mechanisms, which could include community land trusts, public housing, and shared appreciation models, to encourage permanent affordable rental and for-sale multi-family housing, adjacent to Metrorail stations, given the need for accessible affordable housing and the opportunity for car-free and car-light living in such locations.²

Policy LU-1.4.5: Design to Encourage Transit Use

Require architectural and site-planning improvements around Metrorail stations that support pedestrian and bicycle access to the stations and enhance the safety, comfort, and convenience of passengers walking to the station or transferring to and from local buses. These improvements should include sidewalks, bicycle lanes, lighting, signage, landscaping, and security measures. Discourage the development of station areas with conventional suburban building forms, such as shopping centers surrounded by surface parking lots or low-density housing.³

Policy LU-1.4.6: Development Along Corridors

Encourage growth and development along major corridors, particularly priority transit and multimodal corridors. Plan and design development adjacent to Metrorail stations and corridors to respect the character, scale, and integrity of adjacent neighborhoods, using approaches such as building design, transitions, or buffers, while balancing against the District’s broader need for housing.⁴

Policy LU-1.4.7: Parking Near Metro Stations

Encourage the creative management of parking around transit stations, ensuring that multimodal needs are balanced. New parking should generally be set behind or underneath buildings. Parking should be managed and priced to focus on availability and turnover rather than serving the needs of all-day commuters, while considering the commuting characteristics of District residents, such as access to transit stations and mode use, to provide equitable outcomes. As existing parking assets are redeveloped, one-for-one replacement of parking spaces should be discouraged, as more transit riders will be generated by people living, working, and shopping within walking distance of the transit station.⁵

Policy LU-1.4.8: Transit-Oriented Development Boundaries

Tailor the reach of TOD policies and associated development regulations to reflect the specific conditions and community input at each Metrorail

station and along each transit corridor. The opportunity to provide affordable housing and access to employment for low-income households, presence of historic districts, landmark status, and conservation areas should be significant considerations as these policies are applied. 307.16¹

Policy LU-1.4.9: Public Facilities

Encourage the siting (or retention and modernization) of public facilities, such as schools, libraries, and government offices, near transit stations and along transit corridors. Such facilities should be a focus for community activities and enhance neighborhood identity. 307.17²

Policy LU-1.4.10: Co-location of Private and Public Facilities

District-wide, analyze the opportunity to co-locate private and public uses, including multiple public uses, where the District seeks to modernize, expand, or build new public facilities. Co-located uses should align with District-wide priorities and can include affordable housing for older adults and families, affordable multi-family housing, recreation facilities, and health-related facilities. 307.18³

Action LU-1.4.A: Station Area and Corridor Planning

Conduct detailed station area and corridor plans and studies collaboratively with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and local communities that include detailed surveys of parcel characteristics (including lot depths and widths), existing land uses, structures, street widths, potential for buffering, and possible development impacts on surrounding areas. Plans should also address joint public-private development opportunities, urban design improvements, transportation demand and parking management strategies, integrated bus service and required service facilities, capital improvements, neighborhood conservation and enhancement, and recommended land use and zoning changes throughout the District. Conduct studies District-wide but prioritize stations and corridors in Future Planning Analysis Areas. 307.19⁴

Action LU-1.4.B: Zoning Around Transit

With public input, develop and use zoning incentives to facilitate new and mixed-use development, and particularly the provision of new housing, and new affordable housing in high opportunity areas to address more equitable distribution. 307.20⁵

Action LU-1.4.C: Metro Station and Inclusionary Zoning

Encourage developments in and around Metro station areas to exceed the affordable units required by the Inclusionary Zoning Program, with appropriate bonus density and height allowances. Exceeding targets for affordable housing can refer to exceeding the quantity or depth of affordability otherwise required. 307.21⁶

Action LU-1.4.D: Co-Location Opportunity Evaluation

District-wide, encourage the co-location of new development, such as housing or retail, as part of public facilities’ modernization, expansion, and new construction. ¹

LU-1.5 Neighborhood Infill Development ²

Hundreds of small vacant lots across Washington, DC are located away from transit stations and off the major boulevards. Analysis conducted through the Comprehensive Plan revision determined that vacant, residentially zoned lots totaled more than 400 acres in 2005[^.]. Approximately 50 percent of this acreage was zoned for single-family homes, 15 percent was zoned for townhomes and row houses, and 35 percent was zoned for multi-family development. Most of the sites were less than one acre in size. Some of this land may not be developable to the limits allowed by zoning due to site constraints, such as poor access, awkward parcel shapes, and steep topography. ³

Infill development on vacant lots is strongly supported in the District, provided that such development is compatible with its surroundings and consistent with environmental protection and public safety objectives. There are opportunities for change from vacant to vibrant in residential and commercial areas. In residential areas, infill sites present some of the best opportunities for family housing and low-to-moderate-density development, as well as community gardens and pocket parks. In commercial areas, infill development can fill gaps in the street wall and create more cohesive and attractive neighborhood centers. Vacant lots in such settings may also present opportunities for public uses. ⁴

In both residential and commercial settings, infill development must be sensitive to neighborhood context including density and scale. High-quality design standards should be required. ⁵

Infill development may also include the restoration of vacant and abandoned structures. In 2003[^.], there were an estimated 2,700[^.] vacant and abandoned residential properties in the District. While the number has declined since then, some parts of Washington, DC continue to have a relatively higher mount of vacant buildings. ⁶

Accessory dwelling units as part of new infill development can provide opportunities for addressing affordability, aging in community, or help pay a mortgage. ⁷

Policy LU-1.5.1: Infill Development

Encourage infill development on vacant land within Washington, DC, particularly in areas where there are vacant lots that create gaps in the urban fabric and detract from the character of a commercial or residential street. Such development should reflect high-quality design, complement the

In residential areas, infill sites present some of the best opportunities for family housing and low-to-moderate-density development, as well as community gardens and pocket parks. In commercial areas, infill development can fill gaps in the street wall and create more cohesive and attractive neighborhood centers.

established character of the area and should not create sharp changes in the physical development pattern. 308.6¹

Policy LU-1.5.2: Long-Term Vacant Sites

Facilitate the reuse of vacant lots that have historically been difficult to develop due to infrastructure or access problems, inadequate lot dimensions, fragmented or absentee ownership, or other constraints. Explore lot consolidation, acquisition, and other measures that would address these constraints. 308.7²

See the Housing Element for policies on the development of New Communities on the sites of aging public affordable housing complexes and information about the District’s PADD Home Again program for rehabilitating vacant property.

LU-2 Creating and Maintaining Inclusive Neighborhoods ³

This section of the Land Use Element focuses on land use issues within Washington, DC’s neighborhoods. It begins with a set of broad policies, which state the District’s commitment to sustaining neighborhood diversity and enhancing the defining characteristics of each community. This is followed by information about neighborhood appearance, particularly the treatment of abandoned and underused properties. This section then turns to residential land use compatibility issues, followed by neighborhood centers and commercial land use compatibility issues. 309.1⁴

LU-2.1 A District of Neighborhoods ⁵

The same effort given to keep Washington, DC’s monumental core a symbol of national pride must be given to the District’s neighborhoods. After all, Washington, DC’s public image is defined as much by the diversity and vibrancy of its communities, local culture, homes, businesses, streets, and neighborhood spaces as it is by its monuments and federal buildings. For Washington, DC’s residents, the neighborhoods are the essence of the District’s social and physical environment. Strong neighborhoods are key to continued livability in a growing and changing District. Land use policies must seek to ensure that all neighborhoods have adequate access to commercial services, parks, educational and cultural facilities, economic mobility, and sufficient and accessible housing opportunities while protecting their rich historic and cultural legacies. In addition, land use policies and actions must be viewed through a racial equity lens to provide equitable development that provides adequate access to these services and opportunities within neighborhoods of color and low-income communities. 310.1⁶

Today, Washington, DC has no fewer than 130 distinct and identifiable neighborhoods. They range from high-density, urban mixed-use communities like the West End and Mount Vernon Square to quiet, low-density neighborhoods like Crestwood and Spring Valley, providing a wide range of choices for many different types of households. Just as their physical qualities vary, the social and economic characteristics of neighborhoods also vary. In 2001, the DC Office of Planning (OP) studied neighborhoods using a range of social and economic indicators, including income, home value and sales, school performance, crime rates, poverty rates, educational attainment, and building permit activity, among others. While much has changed since 2001, including substantial population growth, the emergence of new residential neighborhoods, and the revitalization of established neighborhoods, the neighborhood data remains instructive for the purposes of land use policy and should be updated when a new Comprehensive Plan is undertaken. 310.2[^310.2]

Many of the District’s planning efforts have focused on transitional, emerging, and underfunded neighborhoods. Land use strategies for these areas have emphasized the reuse of vacant sites, the refurbishment (or replacement) of abandoned or deteriorating buildings, the removal of illegal land uses, and the improvement of the public realm (e.g., streets and public buildings). These strategies have been paired with incentives for the private sector to reinvest in each neighborhood and provide new housing choices and services. A different set of land use strategies has been applied in established neighborhoods, emphasizing commercial enhancement strategies, public space design, neighborhood character, and appropriate infill. Land use policies in these areas have focused on retaining neighborhood character, mitigating development impacts on services and infrastructure, preventing demolition in historic districts, and improving the connection between zoning and present and desired land uses. To advance the vision of an inclusive, equitable city, future planning must guide all neighborhoods to stable, high-opportunity outcomes while addressing issues specific to each area. 310.3[^310.3]

Other planning efforts have focused on reconnecting neighborhoods divided by large transportation infrastructure, such as highways and railyards. This infrastructure, often developed as part of urban renewal, frequently destroyed or physically divided Black and Brown neighborhoods. Reconnection must strengthen and bring benefits to existing neighborhoods and create new neighborhoods to accommodate growth, such as in the NoMa, Capitol Crossing, and Southwest. These planning efforts include framework plans to provide design guidance, define and activate the public realm, support neighborhood sustainability and resilience, and identify retail strategies. 310.4[^310.4]

Continued growth, competing demands for land, and the desire to manage policy priorities across Washington, DC requires renewed attention to all areas in the District. 310.5[^310.5]

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

During the coming decades, the District will keep striving for equity across all neighborhoods in terms of access to housing affordable to a range of incomes and household types, job opportunities, economic mobility, energy innovation, and amenities. This does not mean that all neighborhoods should become the same or that a uniform formula should be applied to each community. Rather, it means that each neighborhood should have certain basic assets and amenities (see What Makes a Great Neighborhood). These assets and amenities should be protected and enhanced where they exist today and created or restored where they do not. 310.6¹

What Makes a Great Neighborhood? 310.8²

An inclusive neighborhood should create a sense of belonging, civic pride, and a collective sense of stewardship and responsibility for the community's future among all residents. Indeed, a neighborhood's vibrancy has to be measured by more than the income of its residents or the size of its homes. The 2004 A Vision for Growing an Inclusive City identified essential physical qualities that all neighborhoods should share. These included the following:

• Transportation options for those without a car, including convenient bus service, carsharing, bicycle facilities, and safe access for pedestrians;
• Easy access to shops and services that meet day-to-day needs, such as child care, groceries, and sit-down restaurants;
• Housing choices, including homes for renters and for owners, and a range of units that meet the different needs of the community;
• Safe, clean public gathering places, such as parks and plazas—places to meet neighbors, places for children to play, and places to exercise or connect with nature;
• Quality public services, including police and fire protection, high-quality, safe, and modernized schools, health services, as well as libraries and recreation centers that can be conveniently accessed;
• Distinctive character and a sense of place defined by neighborhood architecture, visual landmarks and vistas, streets, public spaces, and historic places;
• Evidence of visible public maintenance and investment—proof that the District is responsive to neighborhood needs; and
• A healthy natural environment, with street trees and greenery, and easy access to Washington, DC's open space system.

The understanding of what makes a great neighborhood has evolved, particularly in terms of eliminating existing inequalities by race, income, and geography and promoting equitable development, advancing sustainability, and building community resilience to everyday and long-term challenges, such as environmental and manmade disasters and public health emergencies. Where a resident lives—a person's neighborhood—remains one of the greatest predictors of individual health and economic outcomes. Vibrant neighborhoods have distinct character and can support growth. Investment and development should advance neighborhood vitality, growth, and economic mobility, and increase access, equity, and where appropriate, jobs. The positive elements that create the identity and character of each neighborhood should be preserved and enhanced.

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

Policy LU-2.1.1: Variety of Neighborhood Types

Maintain a variety of neighborhoods, ranging from low-density to high-density. The positive elements that create the identity and design character of each neighborhood should be preserved and enhanced while encouraging the identification of appropriate sites for new development and/or adaptive reuse to help accommodate population growth and advance affordability, racial equity, and opportunity. 310.7¹

Policy LU-2.1.2: Neighborhood Revitalization

Facilitate neighborhood revitalization by focusing District grants, loans, housing rehabilitation efforts, commercial investment programs, capital improvements, and other government actions in those areas that are most in need, especially where projects advance equitable development and racial equity, as described in Section 213 of the Framework Element, and create opportunities for disadvantaged persons and for deeply affordable housing. Engage and partner in these efforts with the persons intended to be served by revitalization, especially residents. Use social, economic, and physical indicators, such as the poverty rate, the number of abandoned or substandard buildings, the crime rate, and the unemployment rate, as key indicators of need. 310.9²

Policy LU-2.1.3: Conserving, Enhancing, and Revitalizing Neighborhoods

Recognize the importance of balancing goals to increase the housing supply, including affordable units, and expand neighborhood commerce with parallel goals to preserve historic resources, advance environmental and sustainability goals, and further Fair Housing. The overarching goal to create vibrant neighborhoods in all parts of the District requires an emphasis on conserving units and character in some neighborhoods and revitalization in others, including inclusive and integrated growth and meeting communities and public facility needs. All neighborhoods have a role to play in helping to meet broader District-wide needs, such as affordable housing, public facilities, and more. 310.10³

Policy LU-2.1.4: Rehabilitation Before Demolition

In redeveloping areas characterized by vacant, abandoned, and underused older buildings, generally encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of architecturally or historically significant existing buildings rather than demolition. 310.11⁴

Policy LU-2.1.5: Support Low-Density Neighborhoods

Support and maintain the District’s established low-density neighborhoods and related low-density zoning. Carefully manage the development of vacant land and alterations to existing structures to be compatible with the general design character and scale of the existing neighborhood and preserve civic and open space. 310.12⁵

⬚ figure

Balancing goals to increase housing supply with goals to preserve historic resources

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

Policy LU-2.1.6: Teardowns and Mansionization

Discourage the replacement of quality homes in good physical condition with new single-family homes that are substantially larger, taller, bulkier or likely to require more energy than the prevailing building stock. 310.13¹

Policy LU-2.1.7: Row House Neighborhood Character

Respect the character of row house neighborhoods by ensuring that infill development is compatible with existing design patterns and maintains or expands the number of family-sized units. Upward and outward extension of row houses that compromise their design should be discouraged. 310.14²

Policy: LU-2.1.8 Explore Approaches to Additional Density in Low- and Moderate-Density Neighborhoods

Notwithstanding Policy LU-2.1.5, explore approaches, including rezoning, to accommodate a modest increase in density and more diverse housing types in low-density and moderate-density neighborhoods where it would result in the appropriate production of additional housing and particularly affordable housing. Build upon the guidance of the April 2020 Single Family Housing Report to diversify the cost of housing available in high-opportunity, high-cost low- and moderate-density neighborhoods, especially near transit. However, neighborhood planning and engagement is a condition predicate to any proposals. Infill and new development shall be compatible with the design character of existing neighborhoods. Minimize demolition of housing in good condition. 310.15³

Policy LU-2.1.9: Alterations to Row Houses and Apartments

Generally discourage alterations to existing row houses and apartments that result in a loss of family sized units. Encourage alterations if it results in an increase in family-sized units. Roof structures should only be permitted if they respect the architectural character of the building on which they are proposed and of other nearby buildings. 310.16⁴

Policy LU-2.1.10: Multi-Family Neighborhoods

Maintain the multi-family residential character of the District’s medium- and high-density residential areas. Limit the encroachment of large-scale, incompatible commercial uses into these areas. Make these areas more attractive, pedestrian-friendly, and transit accessible, and explore opportunities for compatible commercial development which provides jobs for nearby residents. 310.17⁵

Policy LU-2.1.11: Residential Parking Requirements

Parking requirements for residential buildings should respond to the varying levels of demand associated with different unit types, unit sizes, unit locations (including proximity to transit), and emerging transportation trends and new technology (such as the sharing economy and autonomous vehicles (AVs)).

C I T Y W I D E E L E M E N T S

Parking should be accommodated in a manner that maintains an attractive environment at the street level and minimizes interference with traffic flow. Reductions in parking may be considered where transportation-demand management measures are implemented and a reduction in demand can be demonstrated. 310.18

Please refer to the Transportation Element for additional policies and actions related to parking management.

Policy LU-2.1.12: Reuse of Public Buildings

Rehabilitate vacant or outdated public and semi-public buildings for continued use including residential uses, particularly if located within residential areas. Reuse plans should be compatible with their surroundings and co-location of uses considered to meet broader District-wide goals. Reuse of public buildings should implement Small Area and Framework Plans where possible. 310.19

Policy LU-2.1.13: Planned Unit Developments in Neighborhood Commercial Corridors

Planned unit developments (PUDs) in neighborhood commercial areas shall provide high-quality developments with active ground floor designs that provide for neighborhood commercial uses, vibrant pedestrian spaces and public benefits, such as housing, affordable housing, and affordable commercial space. 310.20

Action LU-2.1.A: Residential Rezoning

Provide a better match between zoning and existing land uses in residential areas, with a particular focus on:

• Blocks of well-established, single-family and semi-detached homes that are zoned R-3 or higher;
• Blocks that consist primarily of row houses that are zoned R-5-B or higher; and
• Historic districts where the zoning does not match the predominant contributing properties on the block face.

In all three of these instances, consider rezoning to appropriate densities to protect the predominant architectural character and scale of the neighborhood. 310.21

Action LU-2.1.B: Study of Neighborhood Indicators

Conduct an ongoing review with periodic publication of social and economic neighborhood indicators for the purpose of targeting neighborhood investments, particularly for the purposes of achieving neighborhood diversity, equitable development, and fair housing. 310.22

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

Action LU-2.1.C Study of Land Use Inequalities

Additional study, public engagement, and consideration of the District’s history of systemic racism, distinct land use and housing patterns, and understanding of best practices to address land use inequalities are needed to address housing affordability, meet equitable development objectives, and address past land use practices that segregated areas by race and income.¹

LU-2.2 Maintaining Community Standards²

Community standards encompasses a broad range of topics relating to the physical appearance and quality of neighborhoods. The District maintains planning, building, housing, zoning, environmental, tax, and other regulations and codes aimed at protecting public safety and keeping neighborhoods in first-rate physical condition. However, instances of neglected and abandoned properties, illegal uses, unpermitted construction, and code violations are still common in many parts of Washington, DC. Despite dramatic improvements in code enforcement during recent years and a 50 percent drop in the number of vacant properties since 2000³, more effective and responsive enforcement remains one of the most frequently raised planning issues.⁴

Policy LU-2.2.1: Code Enforcement as a Tool for Neighborhood Stabilization

Recognize the importance of consistent, effective, and comprehensive code enforcement, and enforcement of the higher tax rates applied to vacant and underused property, to the enhancement of neighborhoods. Housing, building, property tax, and zoning regulations must be strictly applied and enforced in all neighborhoods to prevent deteriorated, unsafe, and unhealthy conditions; reduce illegal activities; maintain the general level of residential uses, densities, and heights; provide incentives for rehabilitating property and getting it occupied; and promptly correct health and safety hazards. Efforts should recognize and focus on consistent enforcement in disproportionately affected areas to improve neighborhood outcomes.⁵

Policy LU-2.2.2: Appearance of Vacant Lots and Structures

Maintain and enforce programs that keep vacant lots and buildings free of debris, litter, and graffiti. Such sites must be treated in a way that eliminates underused or under-maintained properties, improves visual quality, and enhances public safety.⁶

Policy LU-2.2.3: Restoration or Removal of Vacant and Abandoned Buildings

Reduce the number of vacant and abandoned buildings through renovation, rehabilitation, and, as necessary, demolition. Implement programs that encourage the owners of such buildings to sell or renovate them, and apply

liens, fines, higher taxes, charges for public clean-up of the property, and other penalties for noncompliant properties. ¹

Policy LU-2.2.4: Neighborhood Beautification

Encourage projects that improve the visual quality of neighborhoods, including landscaping and tree planting, facade improvement, anti-litter campaigns, graffiti removal, murals, improvement or removal of abandoned buildings, street and sidewalk repair, park improvements, and public realm enhancements and activations. ²

Policy LU-2.2.5: Enforcement of Approval Conditions

Fully enforce conditions of approval for new development, reuse and renovation, including design, building, and operating criteria. ³

Policy LU-2.2.6: Public Stewardship

Support efforts by local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs), citizen/civic associations, garden clubs, homeowner groups, and other organizations to initiate neighborhood improvement and beautification programs. Provide information, guidance, and technical assistance to these groups as appropriate or feasible. ⁴

Policy LU-2.2.7: Alley Use

Discourage the conversion of alleys into private yards or developable land when the alleys are part of the historic fabric of the neighborhood and would otherwise continue to perform their intended functions, such as access to rear garages and service areas for trash collection. Support the greening of residential alleys where feasible to enhance sustainability and stormwater management. Encourage potential activation of commercial alleys in business districts through art, programming, and events where not in conflict with the intended function of the alley network. ⁵

Action LU-2.2.A: Vacant Building Inventories

Maintain and continuously update data on vacant and abandoned buildings, follow up on public reports of vacant buildings, and regularly assess the potential for such buildings to support new uses and activities. This should include periodic assessment of vacant building monitoring and taxation programs and exploring creative ways to deal with vacant properties and long-term vacant sites. Strategically purchase such properties at tax delinquency sales when such properties could be put to use for affordable housing. ⁶

Action LU-2.2.B: Education and Outreach on Public Space Maintenance

Develop a public outreach campaign on the District’s public space regulations (including the use of such space for announcements, campaign signs, and advertising) and resident/District responsibilities for maintenance of public space, including streets, planting strips, sidewalks, and front yards. ⁷

CITYWIDE ELEMENTS

In 2016, the Zoning Commission adopted a comprehensive update to the zoning regulations— the first comprehensive revision in more than 50 years. ZR16 is an important step in implementing goals for achieving a healthy, vibrant, diverse, and environmentally sustainable and resilient District.

LU-2.3 Residential Land Use Compatibility ¹

Many of Washington, DC’s neighborhoods were developed before 1920 when its first zoning regulations were applied. As a result, the older neighborhoods tend to have a patchwork pattern of land uses, with business and residential activities sometimes occurring on the same block. While this pattern has created some desirable and interesting neighborhoods, it has also introduced the potential for conflict. Certain commercial and industrial uses may generate noise, odor, traffic, litter, and other impacts that affect the quality of life in adjacent residential neighborhoods. Similarly, introducing new residential uses to commercial or industrial areas can make it difficult for established businesses to operate effectively. ²

Land use compatibility is addressed through the District’s zoning regulations. The regulations list uses that are permitted as a matter-of-right and those that are permitted with a special exception (and in some cases uses that are prohibited) in each zone. Over the years, a variety of standards for external effects have been applied to address the effects of different activities on adjacent uses. In 2016, the Zoning Commission adopted a comprehensive update to the zoning regulations — the first comprehensive revision in more than 50 years. The revised zoning regulations, referred to as ZR16, address land use compatibility issues, more effective use of performance standards, buffering and screening requirements, updated development and design standards, and new standards for parking and loading. ZR16 also includes new definitions, new zones, and changes to matter-of-right and special exception uses. ZR16 is an important step in implementing goals for achieving a healthy, vibrant, diverse, and environmentally sustainable and resilient District. ³

Policy LU-2.3.1: Managing Non-Residential Uses in Residential Areas

Maintain zoning regulations and development review procedures that prevent the encroachment of inappropriate commercial uses in residential areas. Limit the scale and extent of non-residential uses that are generally compatible with residential uses but present the potential for conflicts when they are excessively concentrated or out of scale with the neighborhood. ⁴

Policy LU-2.3.2: Mitigation of Commercial Development Impacts

Manage new commercial development to maximize benefits such as enlivened neighborhoods, tax generation, and job creation, while ensuring that it does not result in unreasonable and unexpected traffic, parking, litter, shadow, view obstruction, odor, noise, and vibration impacts on surrounding residential areas. Establish appropriate requirements for transportation demand management and noise control, parking and loading management, building design, hours of operation, and other measures as needed before commercial development is approved. ⁵

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Policy LU-2.3.3: Buffering Requirements

Buffer new commercial development adjacent to residential areas to avoid adverse effects. Buffers may include setbacks, landscaping, fencing, screening, height step-downs, and other architectural and site-planning measures that avoid potential conflicts. ¹

Policy LU-2.3.4: Transitional and Buffer Zone Districts

Maintain mixed-use zone districts, which serve as transitional or buffer areas between residential and commercial districts and that also may contain institutional, nonprofit, embassy/chancery, and office-type uses. Through application of zoning regulations, consider appropriate height, design, density and operational standards to provide appropriate transitions between districts and enhance neighborhood character in each district. ²

Policy LU-2.3.5: Institutional Uses

Recognize the importance of institutional uses, such as private schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, churches, and similar uses, to the economy, character, history, livability, and future of Washington, DC and its residents. Ensure that when such uses are permitted in residential neighborhoods, their design and operation is sensitive to neighborhood issues and neighbors’ quality of life. Encourage institutions and neighborhoods to work proactively to address issues, such as transportation and parking, hours of operation, outside use of facilities, and facility expansion. ³

Policy LU-2.3.6: Places of Worship and Other Religious Facilities

Recognize places of worship and other religious facilities as an ongoing, important part of the fabric of the District’s neighborhoods. Work proactively with the faith-based community, residents, ANCs, and neighborhood groups to address issues associated with these facilities’ transportation needs, operations, and expansions so that existing and new religious facilities may be sustained as neighborhood anchors and a source of spiritual guidance. Recognize also that places of worship or religious assembly, and some other religious facilities or institutions, are accorded important federal constitutional and statutory protections under the First Amendment (U.S. Const. Amend. I) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, approved September 22, 2000 (114 Stat. 803; 42 U.S.C. 2000cc). The missions of many religious institutions involve service to those in need, and institutions offer important services, such as providing food banks, meals, clothing, counseling services, shelter, and housing. ⁴

Policy LU-2.3.7: Nonconforming Institutional Uses

Carefully control and monitor institutional uses that do not conform to the underlying zoning to promote long-term compatibility. In the event

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Churches and other religious institutions are an important part of the fabric of the city’s neighborhoods.

such institutions are sold or cease to operate, encourage conformance with existing zoning and continued compatibility with the neighborhood. 312[^.9]

Policy LU-2.3.8: Nonconforming Commercial and Industrial Uses

Limit nonconforming uses in residential areas that generate noise, truck traffic, odors, air and water pollution, and other adverse effects. Consistent with the zoning regulations, limit the expansion of such uses and fully enforce regulations regarding their operation to avoid harmful effects on their surroundings. 312[^.10]

Policy LU-2.3.9: Transient Accommodations in Residential Zones

Continue to distinguish between transient uses, such as hotels, bed and breakfasts, and inns, and permanent residential uses, such as homes and apartments in the District’s zoning regulations. The development of new hotels on residentially zoned land should continue to be prohibited, and owner occupancy should continue to be required for transient accommodations in residential zones, consistent with applicable laws. Short-term housing for persons receiving social services is outside the scope of this policy’s prohibition. 312[^.11]

Policy LU-2.3.10: Conversion of Housing to Guest Houses and Other Transient Uses

Control the conversion of entire residences to guest houses, bed and breakfast establishments, clinics, and other non-residential or transient uses. Zoning regulations should continue to allow larger bed and breakfasts and small inns within residential zones through the special exception process, with care taken to avoid the proliferation of such uses in any one neighborhood. Short term rental uses shall conform to existing regulations. 312[^.12]

Please refer to Policy 2.4.11 of this element for additional guidance on hotel uses and the need to address their impact

Policy LU-2.3.11: Home Occupations

Maintain appropriate regulations (including licensing requirements) to address the trend toward home occupations, accommodating such uses but also ensuring that they do not inappropriately impact residential neighborhoods. 312[^.13]

Policy LU-2.3.12: Arts and Culture Uses in Neighborhoods

Recognize the importance of low-profile, neighborhood-serving arts and culture as assets for community preservation and building. Encourage the preservation or expansion of arts and culture in discretionary review of development projects. 312[^.14]

Please refer to the Arts and Culture Element for additional guidance.

Action LU-2.3.A: Analysis of Nonconforming Uses

Complete an analysis of nonconforming commercial, industrial, and institutional uses in residential areas. Use the findings to identify the need for appropriate actions, such as zoning text or map amendments and relocation assistance for problem uses. 312.15

Action LU-2.3.B Short-Term Rental Studies

Conduct periodic studies of short-term rental locations and numbers and examine their impact on neighborhood livability and affordable housing. 312.16

LU-2.4 Neighborhood Commercial Districts and Centers ¹

Commercial uses and local public facilities are an essential part of the District’s neighborhoods. Many of these uses are clustered in well-defined centers that serve as the heart of the neighborhood. These areas support diverse business, civic, and social activities. Each center reflects the identity of the neighborhood around it through the shops and establishments it supports and the architecture and scale of its buildings. These centers are also often connecting points for public transit lines—in fact, many originated around streetcar stops and continue to be important transit points today. 313.1

Since 2006, the District has experienced significant population growth with the emergence of new neighborhoods and revitalization of existing ones. Growth of commercial centers has favored walkability and a retail mix led by food establishments and neighborhood shopping options. Residential growth has also spurred local commercial growth, buoying the success of more commercial centers and alleviating the District’s long-standing retail gap. These changes have reshaped the retail landscape. Established retail areas have new competition while new opportunities emerged in underused centers. Commercial centers in neighborhoods provide amenities to residents, help to define public life, and provide community anchors and places for social interaction. Planning areas east of the Anacostia River remain underserved by retail and grocery stores, limiting access and options for the predominantly Black communities in these areas. Online retail and other emerging issues, some created or accelerated by the pandemic, will also shape future commercial development. 313.2

In 2012, OP developed the DC Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit to help community and business leaders maximize the potential of their commercial centers with a road map based on extensive market research. The most important factor for vibrant commercial districts is support from a management organization, such as a business improvement district (BID), Main Street, merchants’ association, or other community group. Management organizations present a unified identity and efficiently communicate the center’s interests and needs. 313.3

The structure of retail space is another important factor. Retail space is most likely to be most vibrant when it is contiguous with other retail spaces, ceilings are at least 12 feet high, storefronts are transparent, and sidewalks are at least eight feet wide. Each commercial center has its own market position based on numerous factors, including the characteristics of the residential and daytime populations, function and composition of nearby centers, and accessibility. The type of retail mix and amount of space that can be supported depends on a center’s market position, which can change by increasing housing and jobs in or near the center and/or increasing access to the center. 313[^.4]

Improving access to neighborhood commercial centers for pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists, and drivers is an important factor for vibrant retail operations. Pedestrian access is the most important accessibility factor for all commercial centers because it is the common thread that connects retail space with patrons using all other modes. 313[^.5]

Curbside management is another major factor for vibrant commercial areas. Manage the curbside of streets in commercial centers to promote greater access and turnover for customers. Curbside management may be done through strategies such as adjusting parking prices and time limits. Curbside lanes are used for multiple purposes, including parking, loading, bicycle lanes, and transit movements. All such uses should be carefully considered when determining how to manage access in each commercial center. Additionally, management organizations should manage off-street parking in commercial centers to promote shared parking among different uses at different times of day and days of the week. 313[^.6]

Even the most inclusive neighborhood centers have to deal with land use conflicts. Areas with a high prevalence of bars, liquor stores, fast-food outlets, convenience stores, and similar uses are causes for concern regarding noise, litter, traffic, and other sources of potential conflict in almost every part of the District. Commercial parking demand affects nearby residential streets around many centers. In some locations, commercial and residential rear yards abut one another, causing concerns over rodents, odors, noise, shadows, view obstruction, and other effects. Effective zoning and buffering requirements are important in addressing such concerns while accommodating growth, enhancing local amenities, and protecting neighborhood character. Zoning has been used in some commercial districts to limit the range of allowable uses and reduce the likelihood of external impacts. 313[^.7]

Not all commercial uses occur in defined centers. Many thoroughfares are lined with strip commercial development, much of it auto-oriented and not particularly focused on residents of the adjacent neighborhoods. Activities such as auto dealerships and repair services, motels, and similar uses can be important contributors to the economy. Again, zoning regulations establish

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where these uses are appropriate and should set buffering and screening requirements and other standards that improve the compatibility of such uses with their surroundings. ¹

Policy LU-2.4.1: Promotion of Commercial Centers

Promote the vitality of commercial centers and provide for the continued growth of commercial land uses to meet the needs of residents, expand employment opportunities, accommodate population growth, and sustain Washington, DC’s role as the center of the metropolitan area. Commercial centers should be inviting, accessible, and attractive places, support social interaction, and provide amenities for nearby residents. Support commercial development in underserved areas to provide equitable access and options to meet the needs of nearby communities. ²

Policy LU-2.4.2: Hierarchy of Commercial Centers

Maintain and reinforce a hierarchy of neighborhood, multi-neighborhood, regional, and main street commercial centers in the District. Activities in each type of center should reflect the center’s intended role and market area, as defined in the Framework Element. Established centers should be expanded in areas where the existing range of goods and services is insufficient to meet community needs. ³

Policy LU-2.4.3: Regional Centers

Support and enhance the District’s regional commercial centers to help serve area shopping needs that are not met downtown. Permit the District’s two established regional commercial centers, at Georgetown and Friendship Heights, to develop and evolve in ways that are compatible with other land use policies, including those for accommodating population growth and increasing affordable housing, especially along corridors; strengthening commercial vitality; maintaining established neighborhoods; mitigating negative environmental impacts; strengthening transit options; managing parking; and minimizing adverse transportation impacts. Promote equitable access to regional shopping by encouraging the continued development of the emerging regional centers at Minnesota-Benning and Hechinger Mall in a manner that is consistent with other policies, including those noted above, in the Comprehensive Plan. ⁴

Policy LU-2.4.4: Heights and Densities in Regional Centers

Provide heights and densities in established and proposed regional centers that provide daytime and residential populations to support successful retail and services, allow for additional housing, and offer employment opportunities. Use buffer areas, siting, massing, design, and other strategies to compatibly transition to adjoining residential neighborhoods. ⁵

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Effective zoning and buffering requirements may reduce conflict between incompatible uses

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18th Street in Adams Morgan

Policy LU-2.4.5: Encouraging Nodal Development

Discourage auto-oriented commercial strip development and instead encourage pedestrian-oriented nodes of commercial development at key locations along major corridors. Zoning and design standards should ensure that the height, mass, and scale of development within nodes respects the integrity and character of surrounding residential areas and does not unreasonably impact them.¹

Policy LU-2.4.6: Scale and Design of New Commercial Uses

Develop new uses within commercial districts at a height, mass, scale, and design that is appropriate for a growing, densifying Washington, DC, and that is compatible with surrounding areas.²

Policy LU-2.4.7: Location of Nightclubs and Bars

Provide zoning and alcoholic beverage control laws that encourage a mix of ground-floor uses in commercial areas, creating stronger retail environments and minimizing potential negative effects of liquor licensed establishments (e.g., nightclubs and bars) in neighborhood commercial districts and adjacent residential areas. New uses that generate late-night activity and large crowds should be prioritized downtown, in designated arts or entertainment districts, and in areas where there is a limited residential population nearby.³

Policy LU-2.4.8: Addressing Commercial Parking Impacts

Apply zoning and other regulations, and as needed develop new regulations, to consider the transportation and parking impacts of different commercial activities and include provisions to mitigate the parking demand and congestion problems that may result as new development occurs, especially related to loading and goods delivery.⁴

Please refer to the Transportation Element, Section 3.2 for additional policies and actions related to parking.

Policy LU-2.4.9: High-Impact Commercial Uses

Limit the location and proliferation of fast-food restaurants, sexually oriented businesses, late-night alcoholic beverage establishments, 24-hour mini-marts and convenience stores, and similar high-impact commercial establishments that generate excessive late-night activity, noise, or otherwise affect the quality of life in nearby residential neighborhoods. Efforts should recognize and focus on consistent enforcement in disproportionately affected areas to improve neighborhood outcomes.⁵

Policy LU-2.4.10: Use of Public Space within Commercial Centers

Carefully manage the use of sidewalks and other public spaces within commercial districts to avoid pedestrian obstructions and to provide an attractive and accessible environment for shoppers. Continue to encourage

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the identification and transition of excess public right-of-way into temporary or permanent plazas that contribute to social interaction within commercial centers. Where feasible, the development of outdoor sidewalk cafes, flower stands, and similar uses that animate the street should be encouraged. Conversely, the enclosure of outdoor sidewalk space with permanent structures should generally be discouraged. 313.18¹

Policy LU-2.4.11: Hotel Impacts

Manage the impacts of hotels on surrounding areas, particularly in the Near Northwest neighborhoods where large hotels adjoin residential neighborhoods. Provisions to manage truck movement and deliveries, overflow parking, motor coach parking, and other impacts associated with hotel activities should be developed and enforced. 313.19²

Please refer to Policies 2.3.9 and 2.3.10 of this element for additional guidance on hotel uses within residential neighborhoods.

Policy LU-2.4.12: Monitoring of Commercial Impacts

Maintain a range of monitoring, inspection, and enforcement programs for commercial areas to ensure that activities are occurring in accordance with local planning, building, zoning, transportation, health, alcoholic beverage control, and other District rules and regulations. Prompt and effective action should be taken in the event non-compliance with these rules and regulations is observed. 313.20³

Policy LU-2.4.12: Commercial Uses Outside Designated Centers

Not all commercial uses can be appropriately sited within designated neighborhood, multi-neighborhood, and regional centers. For example, automobile sales, nurseries, building supply stores, large nightclubs, hotels, and similar uses may require locations near parking and major roads. Retain and support such uses and accommodate them on appropriately located sites. 313.21⁴

LU-3 Balancing Competing Demands for Land 314⁵

This section of the Land Use Element addresses five specific activities that require a greater level of direction than can be covered in the neighborhood policies listed and described in the previous sections. These activities are an essential part of Washington, DC and are vital to the District’s future. Each of these uses presents a unique set of challenges and land use compatibility issues. They include:

• Public works and industrial uses that are essential to government operations and the local economy but also create external impacts and face displacement for higher value land uses;

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Provisions to manage truck movement and deliveries, overflow parking, motor coach parking, and other impacts associated with hotel activities should be developed and enforced.

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Approximately 333 acres of land in Washington, DC are zoned for industrial uses. PDR areas support a variety of uses, many of which are essential to the delivery of municipal services or that are part of the business infrastructure that underpins the local economy.

• Institutional uses, including places of worship and other religious facilities that seek vacant land or developed properties for expansion but where expansion is limited because the properties are hemmed in by adjacent neighborhoods;
• Foreign missions—namely, the chanceries and embassies of foreign governments that seek to locate or expand in some of the District’s most vibrant neighborhoods;
• Federal facilities that often operate in immediate proximity to residential neighborhoods, creating the need for sensitive planning as these uses expand, contract, and implement new security measures. ¹

LU-3.1 Public Works and Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) Land Uses ²

Approximately 333 acres of land in Washington, DC are zoned for industrial uses. PDR areas support a variety of uses, many of which are essential to the delivery of municipal services or that are part of the business infrastructure that underpins the local economy. Furthermore, PDR businesses and uses create opportunities for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and higher-paying jobs than comparable jobs for similar education attainment in economic sectors like retail and health care. It is estimated that nine percent of the employment in the District is in PDR industries. These jobs are often accessible to residents with lower education attainment and returning citizens. In 2005, the inventory of private industrial floor space in the District was approximately 13 million square feet. ³

Washington, DC’s industrial land exists in part because of historic development factors that made certain areas suitable for these uses or unsuitable for residential and commercial development. Such factors include proximity to road, rail, or water routes needed to transport heavy goods, relative isolation from residential areas, and effects of noisy or noxious uses and infrastructure. Where these factors remain, PDR facilities are likely to continue to be an appropriate use of this land. Since much of this land has always been devoted to industrial use, many of Washington, DC’s prominent examples of historic industrial architecture are located here. Of the 25 properties identified as potentially significant in the DC State Historic Preservation Office’s 1991-1992 historic resources study of District warehouses and workshops, 16 have received historic designation. ⁴

Additionally, racial discrimination including local and federal policies affected the site selection of industrial uses in the District. A challenge today is recognizing that industrial land is almost entirely located proximate to predominantly low-income (i.e. Black) neighborhoods. Accordingly, there are racial equity and environmental justice concerns about the use of PDR lands. ⁵

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Some of the municipal activities housed on industrial land include trash transfer and hauling, bus storage and maintenance, vehicle impoundment, police and fire training, street repair and cleaning equipment storage, and water and sewer construction services. Private activities on industrial lands include food and beverage services, laundries, printers, concrete and asphalt batching plants, distribution centers, telecommunication facilities, construction contractors and suppliers, and auto salvage yards, to name only a few. The contribution and importance of these uses to the economy is covered below and in the Economic Development Element of the Comprehensive Plan. 315¹

Given the lenient zoning standards within industrial areas (most of which actually favor commercial uses over industrial uses), as well as the market pressure to provide additional residential housing, much of the industrial land supply is at risk. In addition, many of the public works uses that take place on industrial land are not optimally organized, resulting in inefficient use of space. Plans to reorganize and consolidate many of these activities have been developed. The repositioning of these resources should result in more effective service delivery reduced impacts to nearby properties, provision of amenities for surrounding neighborhoods, and creation of jobs on land freed up for further public or private investment. 315²

Some historically industrial areas now have mixed-use land use designations that combine PDR with commercial and/or residential uses. These designations indicate that PDR uses with lower impacts, such as maker space, beverage manufacturing and food preparation should be integrated with a broader range of uses including housing. The intent is to support community revitalization while supporting existing PDR uses and encouraging new PDR businesses and more affordable housing. 315³

In areas not identified by mixed-use land use designations, the District should continue to review PDR zoning, to encourage needed and efficiently developed production, distribution, and repair uses. This approach reflects increasing clarity within land use policy on where PDR uses should be accompanied by other uses while recognizing that the District benefits from focused areas where higher- impact commercial and governmental activities can occur. 315⁴

In 2005, the District commissioned an analysis of industrial land supply and demand to provide a framework for new land use policies (see text box). In 2014, another industrial land study was released by the District: Ward 5 Works: Ward 5 Industrial Land Transformation. This study furthered the findings in 2005 with particular emphasis on the Upper Northeast area where approximately 50 percent of the District’s industrial uses are located. The recommendations of these studies are incorporated in the policies and actions that follow. 315⁵

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One of the most important findings of the 2005 industrial land use analysis was an immediate unmet need of approximately 70 acres for municipal-industrial activities. Facility needs range from a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Evidence Warehouse to replacement bus garages for WMATA. Several agencies, including the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), indicate that their acreage needs will increase even more in the next 10 years. At the same time, efficiencies could be achieved through better site layouts and consolidation of some municipal functions, particularly for vehicle fleet maintenance. The findings provide compelling reasons to protect the limited supply of industrial land and to organize municipal-industrial activities more efficiently. One example of this approach is showcased in the Department of Public Works (DPW) Campus Master Plan, a study conducted as a recommendation from the 2014 Ward 5 Works Industrial Land Transformation Study. The DPW Campus Master Plan aims to consolidate operations and administrative offices to a new state-of-the-art campus at West Virginia Avenue NE that would transform the current site into a neighborhood asset while efficiently using the District-owned industrial land. 315.9

Taking a Hard Look at the District’s Industrial Lands ¹

The 2005-2006 Industrial Land Use Study classified DC’s industrially zoned lands into four categories:

Areas for Retention and Reinforcement have healthy PDR uses and have good prospects for hosting such uses in the future.

Areas for Intensification/Evolution will continue to be desirable for PDR activities but show patterns of underuse and opportunities for intensified uses. Some non-PDR activities may take place in these areas in the long-term future.

Areas for Strategic Public Use are needed to accommodate municipal and utility needs.

Areas for Land Use Change are areas where a move away from PDR uses may be appropriate due to a lack of viable PDR businesses and the desirability of these sites for other uses. In some of these areas, the District may let the market take its course. In others, pro-active measures such as rezoning may be in order.

The District developed criteria for evaluating rezoning requests, which reflect these typologies and further consider the land use, transportation, and environmental context of each site, its unique characteristics, and its potential need for future municipal purposes. 316.1

Policy LU-3.2.1 Retain Areas for Industrial Uses

Retain an adequate, appropriate supply of industrial land designated for the range of Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) uses to meet the District’s current and future PDR activities and economic needs. These

needs include public works functions, retail warehousing, transportation storage and maintenance, construction staging, such as concrete manufacturing, and back-office service needs. These services are essential to support the local economy. This policy recognizes that these services are a benefit to the entire District, yet impacts are disproportionately borne by those residents living in close proximity to industrial uses; therefore, opportunities to reduce or eliminate environmental impacts, abate nuisances, and ensure residents have neighborhood services and amenities shall be considered. The supply of areas designated for PDR on the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) should not fall below its current level, unless the land is designated for mixed uses including PDR through a Small Area Plan (including those changes made to the FLUM as a result of a Small Area Plan). Efforts to convert areas except as just stated to other designations must be resisted. Any further designation of PDR land must consider the racial impact, and ideally should be designated throughout the District. Zoning regulations and land use decisions shall continue to preserve active and viable PDR land uses while considering compatible uses and development under standards established within PDR zoning. Economic development programs should work to include the retention of PDR uses.¹

Policy LU-3.2.2 Retain Areas for High-Intensity Industrial Activities

Within the supply of land designated for PDR uses on the FLUM, ensure adequate areas are provided for essential and high impact PDR uses such as municipal services, utilities, and asphalt and concrete batch plants. Unless land is designated for mixed uses, including PDR, on the FLUM, uses such as retail, office, or residential must be accessory to these high impact PDR uses and must not overwhelm the PDR use or pose potential conflicts in use. Users of these areas must minimize any adverse impacts on adjacent areas that have more restrictive land uses.²

Policy LU 3.2.3: Retain and Support PDR Uses in Areas Designated for Mixed PDR Uses

To promote long term retention of PDR uses, development on areas striped to include PDR on the Future Land Use Map must include industrial space intended for use during the life of the project, and on sites containing existing industrial space the amount of industrial space on-site should be substantially preserved. The mix of uses and site design of these areas must support the long-term retention of PDR uses, and minimize potential conflicts with PDR uses. PDR uses that are less intense and/or have less impacts may be more appropriate for areas striped to include PDR. The Florida Avenue Market Study area shall be subject to the industrial use concepts set forth in that Small Area Plan but is not subject to this policy. Use the Ward 5 Industrial Land Transformation Study recommendations to guide current and future uses and redevelopment in that area.³

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Policy LU-3.2.4: Redevelopment of Obsolete Industrial Uses

Encourage the reuse of nonproductive industrial sites, such as vacant warehouses and open storage yards, with higher value PDR uses, including public works facilities, and other activities that support the core sectors of the District economy (federal government, hospitality, higher education, etc.). 316¹

Policy LU-3.2.5: Location of PDR Areas

Accommodate PDR uses, including municipal public works facilities, in areas that are well buffered from residential uses (and other sensitive uses such as schools), easily accessed from major roads and railroads, and characterized by existing concentrations of PDR and industrial uses. Such areas are generally designated as PDR on the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map. 316²

Policy LU-3.2.6: Rezoning of Industrial Areas

Allow the rezoning of industrial land for non-industrial purposes only when the land can no longer viably support industrial or PDR activities is located such that industry cannot co-exist adequately with adjacent existing uses. Examples include land in the immediate vicinity of Metrorail stations and small sites in the midst of established residential neighborhoods. In the event such rezoning results in the displacement of active uses, assist these uses in relocating to designated PDR areas. 316³

Policy LU-3.2.7: Mitigating Industrial Land Use Impacts

Mitigate the adverse impacts created by industrial uses through a variety of measures, including buffering, site planning and design, strict environmental controls, performance standards, and use of a range of industrial zones that reflect the varying impacts of different kinds of industrial uses. Industrial uses shall meet all environmental and operational requirements to reduce or eliminate impacts such as pollution to the surrounding neighborhoods and to the environment. Uses shall provide buffers, screening, operational strategies and other measures to reduce or abate nuisances including noise, light, odor, vibration, and trash to adjacent residential communities. As appropriate, create amenities for adjacent residents through art, creative uses, retail, and other services. Encourage continuing outreach to adjoining neighborhoods to identify and reduce impacts. 316⁴

Policy LU-3.2.8: Siting of Industrial-Type Public Works Facilities

Use performance standards (such as noise, odor, and other environmental controls), minimum distance requirements, and other regulatory and design measures to ensure the compatibility of industrial-type public works facilities, such as trash transfer stations with surrounding land uses. Improve the physical appearance and screening of such uses and strictly

regulate operations to reduce the incidence of land use conflicts, especially with residential uses. ¹

Policy LU-3.2.9: Promote Efficient and High-Performing PDR Uses

Promote new, and transform existing, PDR uses to achieve high environmental performance and be efficient, sustainable, and resilient in design and operations. Encourage pro-active facility management and continuous improvements to reduce impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods. ²

Policy LU-3.2.10: Cottage Industries and Makers

Support low-impact cottage industries and makers in neighborhood commercial districts and on appropriate industrial lands. Maintain zoning regulations that regulate such uses in residential areas to avoid land use conflicts and negative business-related impacts while allowing residents to explore low-impact entrepreneurship in or near their homes. ³

Policy LU-3.2.11: Optimizing Municipal Public Works Functions

Strategically manage District-owned land in industrial areas to improve operational capacity, use land effectively, incorporate principles of environmental stewardship, resilience, and sustainability, and create community amenities and job opportunities. Demonstrate leadership in effective, exemplary measures to address impacts to adjacent neighborhoods. This approach may include the consolidation of public works activities on a smaller number of sites, enabling vacated sites to be repurposed for other PDR uses, or high-priority, but hard to site, public uses. Use the Ward 5 Industrial Land Transformation Study recommendations to guide current and future uses and redevelopment in that area. ⁴

See also the Infrastructure Element, for additional information

Policy LU-3.2.12: Land Use Efficiency Through Technology

Encourage the more efficient use of PDR land through the application of technologies that reduce acreage requirements for public works. Examples of such applications include the use of diesel-electric hybrid or electric buses (that can be accommodated in multilevel garages), using distributed power generation rather than large, centralized facilities, and emphasizing green building technologies to reduce infrastructure needs. ⁵

Policy LU-3.2.13: Infrastructure Adequacy

The District and utility providers shall seek to provide adequate, equitable levels of infrastructure District-wide currently, and appropriately plan and develop infrastructure to address existing service deficiencies and meet the future needs of growing and existing neighborhoods. As needed, upgrades to ensure infrastructure adequacy and reliability should occur in tandem with proposed development. Infrastructure upgrades should be developed

to achieve multiple objectives, such as sustainable development, green buildings, or undergrounding. 316¹

Action LU-3.2.A: Industrial Zoning Use Changes

Provide a new zoning framework for industrial land, including:

• Prohibiting high-impact heavy industries in low intensity PDR zones to reduce the possibility of land use conflicts;
• Prohibiting certain civic uses that detract from the industrial character of exclusively PDR areas and that could ultimately interfere with business operations;
• Requiring special exceptions for potentially incompatible large retail uses in the PDR zones to provide more control over such uses without reducing height and bulk standards. Avoid displacing existing PDR uses or foreclosing opportunities for future PDR uses. Where appropriate, encourage retail or commercial uses that are accessory to PDR uses as a way to activate ground floors;
• Limiting non-industrial uses in high-intensity PDR areas to avoid encroachment by uses that could impair existing industrial and public works activities (such as trash transfer); and
• Creating a mixed-use district where residential, commercial, and lesser-impact PDR uses are permitted, thereby accommodating live-work space, artisans and studios, and more intensive commercial uses.

Once these changes have been made, update zoning as appropriate. The zoning changes should continue to provide the flexibility to shift the mix of uses within historically industrial areas and should not diminish the economic viability of existing industrial activities or the other compatible activities that now occur in PDR areas. 316²

Action LU-3.2.B: Joint Facility Development

Actively pursue intergovernmental agreements to develop joint facilities for District and federal agencies (such as the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and National Park Service (NPS)), District and transit agencies (DPW and WMATA), multiple public utilities, and multiple District agencies performing different public works functions. 316³

Action LU-3.2.C: Inventory of Housing in Industrial Areas

Compile an inventory of existing housing units within industrially zoned areas to identify pockets of residential development that should be rezoned (to mixed-use or residential) to preserve the housing stock. 316⁴

Action LU-3.2.D: DPW Co-location and Campus

Actively pursue funding resources or allocation for the implementation of the West Virginia Avenue DPW Campus Master Plan study that was conducted by District agencies in 2015. 316⁵

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Action LU-3.2.E: Ward 5 Works Industrial Land Transformation Study

Implement the recommendations provided in the Ward 5 Works Industrial Land Transformation Study released in 2014.¹

Action: LU-3.2.F PDR Land Use Retention Study

Prepare a study for submittal to the Council on the following: (1) identification of the amount, location, and characteristics of land sufficient to meet the District’s current and future needs for PDR land; (2) quantifiable targets for PDR land retention; and (3) identification of strategies to retain existing and accommodate future PDR uses, particularly for high impact uses. Any strategies to expand PDR land designations or accommodate future PDR uses shall prioritize areas that do not currently have a disproportionate amount of PDR-designated land. Strategies should consider technological advances or efficiency measures to utilize PDR land more effectively. The study shall incorporate racial equity analyses. Further, the study will address the Council’s concern that mixing other uses, particularly residential, with PDR uses will create economic conditions and land use conflicts that will reduce areas available for PDR uses. Any industrial zoning use changes as identified in Action LU-3.2.A must be informed by this study.²

Please see the Economic Development, Environment, and Urban Design Elements for additional policies and actions related to industrial uses. Please see the Infrastructure Element for additional policies and actions related to infrastructure adequacy.

LU-3.3 Institutional Uses³

Institutional uses occupy almost 2,300 acres—an area larger than all of Washington, DC’s retail, office, and hotel uses combined. These uses include colleges and universities, private schools, childcare facilities, places of worship and other religious facilities, hospitals, private and nonprofit organizations, and similar entities.⁴

The District is home to about a dozen colleges and universities, enrolling more than 85,000 students. There are also nearly 70 non-local college and university programs that occupy space in Washington, DC. The District contains more than a dozen hospitals, some located on the campuses of its universities and others occupying their own campuses or federal enclaves. Hundreds of nonprofit and private institutions also operate within the District, ranging from private schools and seminaries to historic home museums and the headquarters of leading international organizations. Major institutional uses are shown on Map 37.⁵

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Map 3.7:

Colleges, Universities, and Hospitals ¹

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Institutions make an important contribution to the District economy and are an integral part of Washington, DC’s landscape and history. The colleges and universities alone employ 29,682 workers. Through partnerships with government and private industry, museums, higher education, and health care institutions provide services and resources to the community that could not possibly be provided by the government alone. ¹

Private institutions are stewards of historic and architecturally distinguished campuses. Several of these campuses are already recognized by historic designations but other historically significant campuses are not. ²

The growth of private institutions has generated significant concern in many neighborhoods. These concerns relate both to external impacts, such as traffic and parking, and broader concerns about the character of communities where institutions are concentrated or expanding. ³

Please see the Educational Facilities Element for additional policies and actions related to colleges and universities

Policy LU-3.3.1: Transportation Impacts of Institutional Uses

Support ongoing efforts by institutions to mitigate their traffic and parking impacts by promoting ridesharing, carpooling, public transportation, shuttle service and bicycling; providing on-site parking; and undertaking other transportation demand management measures. ⁴

Policy LU-3.3.2: Corporate Citizenship

Support continued corporate citizenship among large institutions, including colleges, universities, hospitals, private schools, and nonprofits. Given the large land area occupied by these uses and their prominence in the community, institutions (along with the District itself) should be encouraged to be role models for smaller employers in efforts to improve the physical environment. This should include a continued commitment to high-quality architecture and design on local campuses, expanded use of green building methods and low-impact development, and adaptive reuse and preservation of historic buildings. ⁵

Please see the Economic Development Element for additional policies and actions related to encouraging corporations to support the local economy through hiring and contracting.

Policy LU-3.3.3: Nonprofits, Private Schools, and Service Organizations

Plan, design, and manage large nonprofits, service organizations, private schools, seminaries, colleges and universities, and other institutional uses that occupy large sites within residential areas in a way that minimizes objectionable impacts on adjacent communities. Expansion of these areas should not be permitted if the quality of life in adjacent residential areas is significantly adversely impacted. ⁶

Institutions make an important contribution to the District economy and are an integral part of Washington, DC’s landscape and history. The colleges and universities alone employ 29,682 workers.

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There are more than 170 countries across the globe with foreign missions in Washington, DC. These missions assist the U.S. government in maintaining positive diplomatic relations with the international community.

LU-3.4 Foreign Missions ¹

There are more than 170 countries across the globe with foreign missions in Washington, DC. These missions assist the U.S. government in maintaining positive diplomatic relations with the international community. By international treaty, the U.S. government is obligated to help foreign governments in obtaining suitable facilities for their diplomatic missions. This obligation was reinforced through the Foreign Missions Act of 1982, which established an Office of Foreign Missions within the Department of State and empowered the secretary of state to set criteria relating to the location of foreign missions in the District. As noted in the section entitled Washington’s Foreign Missions, foreign missions are housed in many different types of buildings, ranging from row houses and mansions to custom-designed office buildings. ²

The number of foreign missions in the District is dynamic, with some growth likely. In addition, some of the existing missions are likely to relocate as they outgrow their facilities, respond to increased security requirements, and move beyond their traditional diplomatic functions. The Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan indicate that sites for as many as 100 new and relocated chanceries may be needed during the next 25[^p58-2] years. The availability of sites that meet the needs of foreign missions within traditional diplomatic areas is limited and the International Chancery Center on Van Ness Avenue has no available sites remaining. A portion of the Walter Reed campus is planned for chancery use, but additional areas may be needed for chancery use, and it may be necessary for foreign missions to look beyond traditional diplomatic enclaves. ³

The facilities that house diplomatic functions in Washington, DC are commonly referred to as embassies. To differentiate the functions that occur in buildings occupied by foreign missions, a variety of designations are used:

• Chanceries, colloquially referred to as embassies, are the principal offices used by a foreign mission.
• Chancery annexes are used for diplomatic purposes in support of the mission, such as cultural attaches or consular operations.
• Ambassadors’ residences are the official homes of ambassadors or chiefs of missions. ⁴

Many foreign governments occupy chanceries, chancery annexes, and ambassador’s residences in more than one location. In 2004[^p58-4], the federal government indicated that there were 483[^] separate facilities in the District serving these functions. ⁵

Since 1982[^p58-2], chanceries have been allowed to locate in most of Washington, DC’s non-residential zone districts as a matter-of-right. They are also permitted in higher-density residential and special purpose (SP) zones, as well as in less dense residential areas covered by a diplomatic overlay district. ⁶

Historically, chanceries have been concentrated in Northwest Washington, particularly along Massachusetts Avenue NW (also known as Embassy Row), and in the adjacent Sheridan-Kalorama and Dupont Circle neighborhoods. There are also 16 chanceries on a large federal site adjacent to the Van Ness-UDC Metro station, specifically created to meet the demand for foreign missions. 318.6¹

The Foreign Missions Act of 1982 established procedures and criteria governing the location, replacement, or expansion of chanceries in the District. The act identifies areas where foreign missions may locate without regulatory review (matter-of-right areas), including all areas zoned commercial, industrial, waterfront, or mixed-use. These areas are located in all quadrants of Washington, DC, and include large areas south of the National Mall and in Wards 7 and 8. The 1982 act also identifies areas where foreign missions may locate subject to disapproval by the District of Columbia Foreign Missions Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA). These include areas zoned medium-high and high-density residential, SP, and areas within a diplomatic overlay zone. 318.7²

As a result of the analysis accomplished in support of the Foreign Missions Act, a methodology was developed in 1983 to determine the most appropriate areas for foreign missions to locate, subject to FMBZA review. The 1983 methodology allows foreign missions to locate in low- and moderate-density District blocks (squares) in which one-third or more of the area is used for office, commercial, or other non-residential uses. In some cases, a consequence of the square-by-square determination has been an unanticipated increase in chanceries. 318.8³

In 2015, NCPC updated the Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan, including the Foreign Missions and International Organization Element. The Foreign Mission Element recognizes “a key challenge with locating chanceries is balancing the need to plan secure locations for diplomatic activities while being sensitive to residential neighborhoods.” The Foreign Mission Element acknowledges that the State Department is preparing a master plan for a new foreign mission center to be developed on the former Walter Reed Medical Center site and suggests that new chanceries be encouraged to locate first in areas where their use is considered a matter-of-right under local zoning. Working with NCPC and the State Department, clarified zoning regulations were written regarding applications to locate, replace, or expand a chancery use not otherwise permitted as a matter-of-right. The new zoning standards were adopted as part of the 2016 amendments to the zoning regulations. 318.9⁴

Policy LU-3.4.1: Chancery Encroachment in Low-Density Areas

Encourage foreign missions to locate their chancery facilities where adjacent existing and proposed land uses are compatible (i.e., office, commercial, and mixed-use), taking special care to protect the integrity of residential areas.

Discourage the location of new chanceries in any area that is essentially a residential use area to the extent consistent with the Foreign Missions Act. 318.10

Policy LU-3.4.2: Target Areas for New Chanceries

Encourage the development of new chancery facilities in locations where they would support neighborhood revitalization and economic development goals, particularly in federal enclaves and east of 16th Street NW. Work with the Department of State, the NCPC, and other organizations to encourage foreign missions to locate in these areas. 318.11

Policy LU-3.4.3: Compatibility of New Chanceries

Promote the design and maintenance of chanceries in a manner that protects open space and historic resources, mitigates impacts on nearby properties, is compatible with the scale and character of its surroundings, and enhances Washington, DC’s international image as a city of great architecture and urban design. 318.12

Action LU-3.4.A: Foreign Mission Mapping Improvements

On an ongoing basis, accurately inventory foreign mission locations, distinguishing, chanceries, ambassador’s residences, and institutional land uses. 318.13

LU-3.5 Federal Facilities [^p60-319]

When streets and highways are subtracted out, about one-third of the land area of the District is owned by the federal government. Most of this land is managed by the NPS, but a significant amount—more than 2,700 acres—consists of federal installations, offices, military bases, and similar uses. This acreage includes nearly 2,000 buildings, with more than 95 million square feet of floor space. Federal uses occupy a range of physical settings, from self-contained enclaves, such as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, to grand office buildings in the heart of Downtown Washington, DC. Federal uses operate in all quadrants of the District, often amid residential neighborhoods. Since they are largely exempt from zoning, coordination and communication are particularly important to ensuring land use compatibility. 319.1

Many of the District’s federal uses have unique security requirements and operational needs. This became particularly apparent after September 11[^2001], as streets around the U.S. Capitol were permanently closed and major federal offices and monuments were retrofitted to improve security. Security needs are likely to create further changes to the District’s landscape; the ongoing relocation of thousands of Homeland Security workers to the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital is just one example. 319.2

The size of the federal workforce in the District is not expected to grow substantially during the next decade, following more than 25[^years] of downsizing. The District supports continued adherence to a 1968 federal policy to maintain 60 percent of the region’s federal employees within

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Washington, DC. At the same time, the federal government is in the process of transferring several tracts of land to the District, potentially reducing the land area for expansion. This suggests the need for even greater coordination on the planning and development front. Several successful joint planning efforts have recently been completed, including plans for the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Poplar Point, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Efforts like these must continue as the future of other federal sites is resolved.¹

Major federal activities in the District are shown on Map 3.8. Priorities for the use of these lands are expressed in the Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. The Federal Workplace Element of that Plan includes policies to reinforce the preeminence of the monumental core through future siting decisions, give preference to urban and transit-served sites when siting new workplaces, and emphasize the modernization of existing structures before building new structures. The Federal Elements include guidelines on the types of federal functions that are appropriate within the Capitol Complex, CEA, federal installations, and other areas within the District, as well as elsewhere in the region.²

Policy LU-3.5.1: District/Federal Joint Planning

Coordinate with NCPC, NPS, GSA, AOC, and other federal agencies to address planning issues involving federal lands, including the monumental core, the waterfront, and the park and open space network. Encourage the use of master plans, created through participatory planning processes, to guide the use of large federal sites.³

Policy LU-3.5.2: Federal Sites and Adjacent Neighborhoods

Support expansion of the federal workforce and redevelopment of federal sites in a manner that is compatible with neighborhood revitalization, urban design, housing, economic development, environmental quality, and socioeconomic equity goals. Federal land uses should strive to maintain land use compatibility with adjacent neighborhoods.⁴

Policy LU-3.5.3: Recognition of Local Planning and Zoning Regulations

Encourage the federal government to abide by local planning and zoning regulations to the maximum extent feasible. Ensure federal partners are aware of local priorities and goals, and when decisions require the input or actions of federal agencies, encourage swift decision-making so as not to delay achievement of local goals.⁵

Policy LU-3.5.4: Federal Workplaces and District Goals

Strongly support the implementation of Federal Element policies for federal workplaces calling for parking guidelines that align with local guidelines, sustainable design, energy conservation, additional low- and

The size of the federal workforce in the District is not expected to grow substantially during the next decade, following more than 25 years of downsizing. The District supports continued adherence to a 1968 federal policy to maintain 60 percent of the region’s federal employees within Washington, DC.

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Federal uses occupy a range of physical settings, from self-contained enclaves like Bolling Air Force Base to grand office buildings in the heart of Downtown Washington.

Map 3.8:

Federal Lands, 2017 ¹

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moderate-income housing, and creation of job opportunities in underserved communities within the District. 319¹

Policy LU-3.5.5: Neighborhood Impact of Federal Security Measures

Consistent with the Federal Elements, ensure that federal security measures do not impede the District’s commerce and vitality, excessively restrict or impede the use of public space or streets, or affect the health of the existing landscape. Additional street closures are to be avoided to the maximum extent possible. 319²

Policy LU-3.5.6: Reducing Exposure to Hazardous Materials

Avoid locating and operating federal facilities that produce hazardous waste or increase the threat of accidental or terrorist-related release of hazardous materials in heavily populated or environmentally sensitive areas. 319³

Actions relating to federal facility sites may be found in the Comprehensive Plan Area Elements.

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