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January 27, 2019
Happy 2020, friends of OP! As we kick off this new decade, we continue to work each day support the Mayor’s vision for a vibrant and equitable city. We are moving forward each of our top three priorities:
- We are on track toward Council passage of Comp Plan update in 2020. Currently, we are in the final stages of public review of, having heard from over 1,000 residents before the public deadline of January 10. ANCs have until February 14 to provide their official feedback and OP is on track to submit the Mayor’s proposal Council this Spring, which would provide DC Council time to have their hearings prior to summer recess. You can learn more by visiting plandc.dc.gov.
- Along with our housing agency partners, we continue to support Mayor Bowser’s bold goal of 36,000 new housing units by 2025, with our latest efforts shared below. #36,000by2025.
- We are working to make sure every DC resident counts in DC Census 2020, which will occur on April 1. We need your help in making sure we get the word out and supporting our residents in completing their Census form. You can learn more and get involved by visiting dccensus2020.dc.gov.
OP’s three priorities are closely aligned with Mayor Bowser’s 2020 Accountability Report, released on January 13, 2020, which provides a comprehensive look at the District’s priorities and achievements.
Please feel free to share this newsletter with others, who can sign up here. In addition, you can follow our work on Twitter at @OPinDC. Let us know how we’re doing!
Sincerely,
Andrew Trueblood
Director, DC Office of Planning
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On Friday, January 17, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, John Falcicchio were joined by several District agencies to continue the conversation on housing at the “New Year, New Housing,” event. Over 300 residents and stakeholders previewed the tools and actions from each agency necessary to achieve Mayor Bowser’s goal of producing 36,000 units by 2025, 12,000 of which will be affordable.
OP’s shared how the Housing Equity Report and the draft Comprehensive Plan proposal will continue to help drive important decisions around housing. The Housing Equity report establishes goals specific to each planning area of the city, making Washington, DC among the first cities in the nation to create area-specific goals for affordable housing and dedicate an entire initiative to examining the barriers and opportunities within each area. The Draft Comp Plan proposes one necessary step to achieve these goals through much-needed housing opportunities across the District, especially with proposed additional density along major corridors and in high opportunity areas.
This year, OP and our partner agencies will continue to offer several opportunities to engage the public on why the production of new housing in every part of the District is so important and closely tied to addressing housing affordability for DC residents. These meetings are designed to interact with the public by sharing fresh ideas around housing production and equity, as well as to find solutions to address challenges that the District is facing. Mayor Bowser’s third, “Continuing Conversations on Housing,” town hall event is planned for February 8, 2020 at the Howard Theatre!
In addition, Mayor Bowser’s Budget Engagement Forums on February 10, 18, 20, and 22 will provide opportunities to discuss how we can work together as a community to build the types of housing our families and residents need in neighborhoods across DC.
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Proposal to Expand Inclusionary Zoning Aims to Create More Affordable Units Through Additional Density
On January 3, as part of the effort to build 36,000 new homes by 2025, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Office on Planning proposed a bold new application to a decade-old program that would establish an increased Inclusionary Zoning requirement of up to 20% of residential gross floor area when additional residential density is requested through a zoning map change.
Inclusionary zoning requires residential projects with 10 units or more to provide 8-11% of its residential square footage as affordable housing. Expanded Inclusionary Zoning (aka “IZ Plus”) would increase this scale to require 10-20% affordable housing for changes to the zoning map that provide greater density. The Office of Planning has filed the program proposal with the Zoning Commission for consideration and public comment this Spring.
This effort builds on the momentum of Mayor Bowser’s bold goal of building 36,000 new homes, including 12,000 homes affordable to low-income residents, by 2025. In October, the Mayor set housing targets by neighborhood through her Housing Equity Report, making DC the first city in the nation to set explicit neighborhood goals aimed at combatting the history of racially-discriminatory housing policies. The report provides an analysis of current affordable housing distribution and proposes specific targets by planning area. The report and more information can be found at housing.dc.gov.
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The Bowser Administration is also kicking off a new year focused on the Mayor’s bold goal of building 36,000 new homes by 2025 by highlighting new population data recently released the by the U.S. Census Bureau. The new data puts the District’s population at 705,749 as of July 1, 2019, up 4,202 people over the previous year. While population growth has slowed in recent years, the population has risen every year since 2006 and has grown by 104,000 people since the 2010 Census.
Between July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019, population growth in the District was due to gains from net natural increase (births minus deaths; 3,816) and net migration (401). During this period, more than 9,493 babies were born in the District, continuing the increase in DC’s population of young children. In fact, net natural increase accounted for 91 percent of the net population growth.
A net loss of 2,203 residents to other states brings into focus what needs to be done in terms of policies to retain existing residents and attract new residents. Maryland and Virginia have also seen domestic migration turn negative over the past several years.
Population trends in the District mirror national trends. While natural increase continues to be the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has slowed over the last five years. In addition, the Northeast region, of which the District is a part, saw population decrease for the first time this decade. This decline was due to net domestic migration which offset population gains from natural increase and net international migration. However, net international migration has been gradually decreasing each year, as well.
This data comes out four months before 2020 Census efforts. To ensure the District gets an accurate population count, all residents are encouraged to participate fully in the census and to fill out their census forms either online, by mail, or by phone. For more information, visit dccensus2020.dc.gov.
To derive the population estimates, the U.S. Census Bureau uses a cohort component method which incorporates births and deaths from administrative records as well as estimates for net domestic and international migration. The Office of Planning State Data Center serves as the District’s official liaison with the U.S. Census Bureau. The State Data Center makes DC data available to the public through population and demographic data tables and analytical reports posted on OP’s website at planning.dc.gov.
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