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Season’s Greetings!
As we close out a 2020 for the history books, the team at the Office of Planning (OP) is proud of what we have accomplished this year. From Comp Plan to housing to COVID-19 response and recovery, we adapted our workplans to continue to deliver on the needs of residents by planning for a more equitable and resilient DC that will stand up against the challenges we face today and beyond.
This important work will continue in 2021 with our new community-based initiatives. Over the past four years we have engaged residents through the Comprehensive Plan update to advance a vision of an equitable city where all residents can thrive, regardless of income, race, age, or background. We are excited to launch a series of new initiatives and to partner with residents and community stakeholders to develop community-focused plans that can support neighborhood-level needs and goals in the context of the needs of our city, region, and the globe. Please read below for more about OP’s community planning efforts. As shared in more detail below, this presents the opportunity for OP to hire planning contractors to assist with these efforts.
2020 has been a year full of challenges and uncertainty but I am proud of how we have adapted and pushed through. I am excited for what 2021 holds for all of us and our city. I hope for a transformative year of healing, recovery, and revival. I wish you all a safe and wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year!
Sincerely,
Andrew Trueblood
Director, DC Office of Planning
Stay tuned as future newsletters promise to be full of updates and planning news. Feel free to share our newsletter with others, who can sign up here and follow our work on Twitter at @OPinDC.
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#CompPlan2020: Despite extended deadlines for community feedback and the onset of COVID-19, OP met its timeline to submit the Mayor’s Proposed Comprehensive Plan update in April. This effort is the outcome of hard work by OP and DC government agencies as well as the contributions of thousands of District residents and stakeholders. The Comprehensive Plan serves as a critical anchor to help the District move toward its goals based on its underlying values of equity, resilience and shared prosperity, which remain unchanged during unexpected and tragic events of this year. This Comp Plan proposal reflects the best analysis, policies and actions that will prepare DC to manage our future. Onward toward adoption and implementation in 2021!
#36000by2025: OP continues to pursue new ways to advance Mayor Bowser’s housing goals of 36,000 new housing units, with 12,000 affordable, by 2025. This year, OP proposed Expanded Inclusionary Zoning (or IZ Plus) program to increase the percentage of affordable housing, targeting high opportunity areas and areas proposed for change in the Comp Plan Update. We will continue to work with the Zoning Commission in 2021 to update and revise IZ to ensure it meets the housing and economic goals of the District.
#DCHOPE: OP worked to support the ReOpen DC Advisory Group and the District Economic Recovery Team to advance recovery in line with the District’s values of hope, opportunity, prosperity, and equity. Just a few of the ways that the OP team supported recovery and reopening efforts included working with District agencies to create guidance for restaurant and retail expanded outdoor seating, farmers markets, colleges and universities. In September 2020, the Food Policy Team released Food Access & Food Security in the District of Columbia: Responding to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, which presented the current state of food security. The report evaluates and makes recommendations to address food access needs during and following the public health emergency.
#GetCountedDC: This year was a big year for the 2020 Census and OP was committed, through the very end of the census operations, to ensuring a complete count of all residents. Even with the obstacles of the public health emergency, the DC Census team turned to new and creative ways to reach residents in all eight wards. The 2020 Census contact-less campaign included novel outreach approaches such as a go-go float and use of QR code posters to connect District residents with the Census. In 2021, we will receive the new data and work to ensure it can inform policymaking across the District government.
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On December 1st, OP announced five new community planning initiatives across the District. As the DC Council moves to approve the proposed Comprehensive Plan update, these plans will use the update to further vibrant, equitable and resilient neighborhoods with access to housing, amenities and public resources for all residents.
OP’s Fiscal Year 2021 priorities include the following community planning initiatives:
Congress Heights Small Area Plan
The Congress Heights Small Area Plan, kicking off this month, is an equitable development plan for Congress Heights and adjacent neighborhoods in Southeast, DC. By working with the residents and community stakeholders, the effort will use the racial and socio-economic equity goals established in the Comprehensive Plan update to establish a vision for the future of Congress Heights, serve as a toolkit for Congress Heights stakeholders to lead conversations around equitable community development, and guide District implementing agencies and developers on community needs and priorities.
Residents and stakeholders interested in getting involved can sign up for email updates at publicinput.com/congressheightsplan.
Pennsylvania Ave SE Small Area Plan
The Pennsylvania Avenue SE Small Area Plan will develop a vision for a gateway corridor that is economically vibrant and meets neighborhood needs. Building on the 2008 Pennsylvania Avenue SE Corridor Land Development Plan, this plan will focus on implementation efforts on the length of the corridor East of the River. OP will work with community stakeholders and interagency partners to develop recommendations that support economic development, an inviting public realm, and neighborhood livability, and reflect OP’s commitment to racial equity as outlined in the Comprehensive Plan Update.
Interested residents and stakeholders can sign up to receive email updates on the project at publicinput.com/pennaveseplan.
Southwest Resilience Strategy
OP, in collaboration with several District agencies, will engage community stakeholders in Southwest and Buzzard Point in the creation of a Flood Resilience Strategy (the Strategy). The goal of the strategy is to re-design public parks and roadways to better serve the community’s needs while also protecting residents from the hazards of climate-related flood events. This strategy builds on the Resilient DC Plan, the Southwest Small Area Plan, the Buzzard Point Vision Framework + Design Review Guide, Climate Ready DC Plan, flood hazard analyses underway by DOEE and DDOT, and planning for Resilience Focus Areas introduced in Comprehensive Plan update.
Chevy Chase/Upper NW Small Area Plan
The Chevy Chase Small Area Plan, kicking off in early 2021, will establish a guiding vision for Chevy Chase, focusing on creating a vibrant, mixed-use gateway corridor. In addition to support for walkable retail and businesses, it will examine opportunities for civic infrastructure and housing. Working with the neighborhood, OP will explore opportunities to help to realize land use changes proposed in the Comprehensive Plan update and to advance the goals in Mayor Bowser’s Housing Equity Report.
Interested residents and stakeholders can sign up to receive email updates on the project at publicinput.com/chevychase.
North Capitol Crossroads
The Comprehensive Plan update envisions transforming the North Capitol Crossroads area around North Capitol Street, Irving Streets, and Michigan Avenue into a connected, well-designed, and multi-modal neighborhood to include large properties like the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Washington Hospital Complex, and the former McMillan Sand Filtration site. In FY21, OP, along with the District Department of Transportation is leading an urbanization study of the cloverleaf-shaped road infrastructure located on the North Capitol Street Corridor.
To learn more about OP’s work in neighborhood planning, please visit planning.dc.gov/neighborhoodplanning.
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OP’s Historic Preservation Office released new ArcGIS StoryMaps that tell the African American and Civil Rights histories of two mid-20th century segregated communities – Barry Farm Dwellings and Kingman Park.
Barry Farm Dwellings: A Struggle for Civil Rights in Southeast DC tells a story of housing struggles for African Americans for over 150 years, from the establishment of Barry Farm as a freedmen’s village in 1867, through its development as public housing during World War II. It is a story of the resilience of the residents who, in spite of racial segregation and municipal neglect, built a rich and close-knit community.
Kingman Park: A Segregated Community and Center for Civil Rights relates the history of Kingman Park, a segregated neighborhood in northeast Washington, developed in the years between World Wars I & II when black Washingtonians struggled to find decent housing. As no racially restrictive covenants were imposed on the new housing in Kingman Park, house sales took off, attracting an exclusively African American population, who in turn established churches, businesses, and other institutions, all of which were segregated. To fight racial injustices, residents banded together. Several sites in Kingman Park became important scenes of civil rights demonstrations and activities contributing to the end of legally sanctioned segregation practices in the city and nationwide.
The StoryMaps were made possible by a African American Civil Rights Grants award from the National Park Service. Both StoryMaps are an extension the 20th Century Civil Rights Tour, Washington, D.C., a virtual tour of 100 historic sites in DC associated with the Civil Rights Movement, also made possible by this same grant.
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On December 11th, Mayor Bowser announced that Washington, DC, through OP, has joined 17 cities to launch Students Reinventing Cities, a pioneering competition that will enable students and universities from across the globe to share their vision for green and thriving neighborhoods. The competition is being led by C40 Cities, the global network of cities committed to bold climate action.
“Washington, DC is proud to be a leader in sustainable green solutions that prioritize issues of equity and equality,” said Mayor Bowser. “It’s particularly important for our youngest residents – those who will be most impacted by the climate crisis – to be engaged and help us rethink the future of cities and neighborhoods. It’s going to take all of us working together at the local, national, and global level to keep building a greener and more sustainable world.”
The C40 Students Reinventing Cities Competition is dedicated to transforming cities in the face of the climate crisis by driving an active collaboration between cities and academia on climate action. The competition will inspire creative, innovative, and tangible ways to reduce carbon emissions, as well as to support a thriving and resilient life for local communities.
The District is inviting academics and students to share their creative vision and fresh ideas in line with the city’s climate and housing priorities. Mayor Bowser’s Comprehensive Plan proposal has identified the area of New York Avenue, NE as a key location for future planning and analysis. This competition will help the District identify opportunities to realize several priorities for the New York Avenue, NE corridor, which include to: reduce emissions; promote climate resilience; strengthen connectivity and walkability; establish urban design transitions to adjacent communities; expand civic facilities, public amenities, and open space networks; and foster racial and social equity.
Other cities participating in the competition include; Athens, Auckland, Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Dakar, Delhi, Dubai, Madrid, Melbourne, Montréal, Paris, Quezon City, Quito, Reykjavík, and Seattle.
Students interested in entering the competition can find out more at www.c40reinventingcities.org. The deadline for entries is March 2021. Finalists will be selected and invited to submit their final proposals by May 2021. A panel of judges from the District and C40 Cities will select a winner for each city site, which will be announced at a ceremony in July 2021.
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As our community planning efforts continue, OP is looking for highly qualified CBEs with expertise in urban design, equity, and engagement.
RFQ - Equity Expertise for Small Area Plans
OP is seeking proposals for social and racial equity training and consulting for multiple ongoing Small Area Plans. More information is available in the Scope of Work. Bids are due by January 11, 2021, at 2:30 pm. To submit a response, please visit planning.dc.gov/release/rfq-equity-expertise-small-area-plans.
RFQ - Transportation Analysis and Modelling for the Pennsylvania Avenue SE Small Area Plan
OP is seeking proposals for transportation analysis and modelling services for the ongoing Pennsylvania Avenue SE Small Area Plan. More information is available in the Scope of Work. Bids are due by January 11, 2021, at 2:00 pm. To submit a response, please visit planning.dc.gov/release/rfq-transportation-analysis-and-modelling-pennsylvania-avenue-se-small-area-plan.
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