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Welcome to the DC Office of Planning's (OP) inaugural newsletter! I am happy to share the exciting work that is happening at OP. This is one of a number of ways that we are working to better meet you and other stakeholders where you are by providing ongoing information and updates. I hope you find this newsletter informative and beneficial and welcome any feedback you may have.
Many of you already know that OP plans for our residents through the lens of our neighborhoods and ensures the long-term growth of the District of Columbia advances our values of an inclusive and vibrant city. We plan for a positive future in which all District residents can thrive, regardless of income, race, age, or background. OP guides development in the District of Columbia’s distinctive neighborhoods by engaging stakeholders and residents, performing research and analysis, and publishing planning documents, including the Comprehensive Plan.
Since I started at OP a bit over six months ago, I have worked with the team toward three top priorities. First and foremost, we know that the Comprehensive Plan amendment process is critical to complete and that there is a great deal of interest among numerous stakeholders. While we continue to focus on the Comprehensive Plan, including supporting the Council to quickly pass the Framework Element introduced in February 2018, OP must also work on other critical planning efforts. Housing is the top of these. We are working to help everyone answer the Mayor’s call to not only produce 36,000 more homes by 2025, but to ensure that all parts of the District are part of this effort. The third priority is a focus on community planning. We plan to both support the implementation of existing plans as well as to update or create new community plans in neighborhoods that are facing change or that are facing ongoing barriers to vibrancy.
As you will see below, I am proud to say that we are making significant progress on many of our priorities and we look forward to sharing milestones and achievements with you through our monthly newsletter.
Sincerely,
Andrew Trueblood
Director, DC Office of Planning
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Today, our city is over 700,000 Washingtonians strong. That’s 700,000+ reasons to love DC, and 700,000+ old and new dreams for the future of our city. Let’s bring them together - with the Comprehensive (Comp) Plan as our guide.
For the past three years, through the [PLAN] DC amendment process, the Bowser Administration and the Office of Planning (OP) have talked to stakeholders, collected proposed amendments, and conducted an in-depth analysis of the current Comp Plan. Now, after hearing and learning from the voices of DC residents, we are designing an amended Comp Plan that is by and for all DC residents. And we want to know if we heard right.
While we wait for the DC Council to review and vote on the Framework Element of the Comp Plan, we’ve taken the challenges and questions posed by the DC community and turned them into eight tangible values that are the essence of what makes DC home for everyone. These values will guide our decision-making process and help to determine what issues to prioritize through the amended Comp Plan.
Do these values align with yours?
- Accessibility
- Diversity
- Equity
- Livability
- Opportunity
- Resiliency
- Safety
- Prosperity
OP has released a community survey to gain feedback on the values to make sure DC residents are satisfied with the direction of the Comprehensive Plan amendments.
For more information on the values and to take the survey, please visit www.dc2me.com.
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 On May 10, 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a Mayor’s Order on housing directing District agencies to identify new policies, tools, and initiatives to begin fulfilling her bold goal of creating 36,000 new housing units, 12,000 of them affordable, by 2025. The Order lays out initial steps to better serve the District’s lower income residents, not just with housing, but with greater access to opportunity, as well as broadening affordability for all District residents. It challenges District agencies to find new ways to grow our supply of housing through a deeper understanding of the underlying impediments to production and affordable housing. The effort will use that knowledge to tailor specific approaches designed to overcome those impediments and achieve a fair and inclusive supply of housing in all areas across the District.
The Order focuses on key areas such as:
- Increasing production and accelerating delivery of housing by analyzing housing trends, needs, capacity, and impediments to housing in order to identify housing targets and policies
- Identifying policies and that incentivize the producing of housing, removing regulatory obstacles, and preserve existing affordable units
- Promoting fair housing by identifying ways to create an equitable distribution of affordable housing across the District
- Creating homeownership opportunities
- Directing all District agencies to support the goals of Homeward DC
- Improving resident housing experience by directing Lab @ DC to create a unified “front door” for residents to access affordable housing opportunities and programs
- Creating a connection with larger initiatives by directing District agencies to work with our partners within the region, including major employers, to promote housing production and access.
The Office of Planning, in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development, is tasked with developing a Housing Framework for Equity and Growth - an in-depth housing systems analysis to address the directives of the Mayor’s Order.
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 On May 16, 2019, Mayor Bowser officially kicked off the District’s 2020 Census efforts by presenting a proclamation to honor the selection of her Complete Count Committee.
“Getting an accurate count is critical for DC to get the resources it needs to give everyone living in our city a fair shot,” said Mayor Bowser. “Despite efforts by the federal government seeking to intimidate our most vulnerable communities, the District is committed to counting all of our residents in an easy and secure process. We assure all DC residents that there is no risk to responding to the questionnaire, and that it is illegal for information to be shared with federal law enforcement.”
Mayor Bowser included $2.5 million in her Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal to support the District’s Census efforts. The engagement process starts almost one year in advance of Census Day (April 1, 2020) and the Census and will continue through early 2020.
For the first time, Census questionnaires can be filled out online. Residents will also have the option to provide their information by phone or request a paper questionnaire. A postcard will be sent to each District household in March 2020, with instructions to go online and fill out the questionnaire.
The federal government uses Census data to distribute over $3 billion annually to the District for vital programs, such as:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Section Eight Housing Choice Vouchers
- Children’s Health Insurance
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Census data is also used to update Ward and ANC boundaries, and DC Government agencies rely on the data for budgeting, planning and decision making.
The Complete Count Committee – comprised of a cross section of DC Agency leadership, community and non-profit organizations, as well as representatives from higher education organizations and the private sector – will help DC Government spread awareness about the importance of the Census and overcome any barriers to counting residents in all eight wards. The Committee will also educate residents about what the government is legally allowed and not allowed to do with the information collected through the Census, especially in regard to the fact that it is illegal for the any of the information to be shared with law enforcement agencies.
For more information on how to get involved, please visit dccensus2020.dc.gov.
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The DC Historic Preservation Office, with in OP, in partnership with the DC Preservation League and the Daughters of the American Revolution, presented the District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation at DAR Constitution Hall on the evening of Wednesday, May 8, 2019.
Since 2003, the District government has honored over 235 outstanding projects, programs and individuals for exemplary work and commitment to historic preservation in Washington, DC. This year’s awards recognize 38 individuals, businesses, government agencies and local organizations.
The 2019 awards were presented in the categories of Volunteerism and Community Involvement, Archaeology, Education, Design and Construction, State Historic Preservation Officer’s Award, HPRB Chair’s Award, and Individual Lifetime Achievement Award. For a full list of 2019 awardees, please visit planning.dc.gov/page/preservation-awards.
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Sustainable DC 2.0
The Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan, released on April 23, 2019, has been updated to be more innovative and more inclusive.
Sustainable DC is our plan to make DC the healthiest, greenest, and most livable city for all District residents. The new plan contains full sections on equity, climate, economy, education, health.
Sustainable DC 2.0 is a result of the continued close partnership between the DC Office of Planning and the District Department of Energy and the Environment, as well as close collaborations with other agencies and residents from across the District. Sustainable DC 2.0 started by having 3,000 conversations with residents to better understand community priorities. In total, the process took place over 20 months with more than 4,000 people participating.
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DC’s First-Ever Cultural Plan
On April 4, 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser released the District’s first-ever Cultural Plan. The DC Cultural Plan outlines 23 policies and eight investment recommendations to address issues of affordability, access, and sustainability and to strengthen the people, places, communities, and ideas that define Washington, DC. The Plan’s recommendations are designed to promote shared stewardship of culture, organizational innovation, and leveraged funding to sustain the city’s cultural core and create new opportunities for historically under-represented creators and communities.
Mayor Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal invests in several of the Cultural Plan’s recommendations for first-year implementation, including establishing a new Cultural Facilities Fund, a new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, a Public Space Security Fund, and a new Center for Cultural Opportunities to provide business development-related resources and trainings.
The Plan was led by Office of the Planning in partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment and incorporates insight and feedback from more than 1,500 residents and cultural stakeholders.
For more about the DC Cultural Plan, visit www.dcculturalplan.org.
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DC Public Space Activation & Stewardship Guide
The Office Planning published the DC Public Space Activation & Stewardship Guide to help District stakeholders foster vibrant public spaces throughout the city. This guide lays out specific strategies, handy models, and innovative best practices to demonstrate how people can successfully activate a range of places to advance creativity, community, and culture. Individuals and groups who are considering activation projects can find a set of tools that walk them through the spatial and cultural considerations of public space and help them to navigate the regulatory processes.
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