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As Fiscal Year 2021 comes to a close, we are looking forward to embarking on a significant Fiscal Year 2022. Across all of our work is implementation of the Comprehensive Plan Update, which went into effect in August. This is especially important as it supports Mayor Bowser’s bold goals around 36,000 homes by 2025, with 12,000 of those affordable. The Mayor and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) took a critically important step toward this yesterday with their release of a consolidated Request for Proposals that includes over $400 million in funding for affordable housing. This NOFA builds on the Mayor’s Housing Equity goals by prioritizing an equitable distribution of affordable housing across all 8 Wards of the District.
This Fiscal Year, OP will also continue to support economic recovery initiatives through our Streets for People work to ensure our city remains economically and socially vibrant. Of course, we are also excited to continue neighborhood-level planning efforts in every Ward of the District. Please stay tuned, as we will continue to provide updates on all of these efforts as we look to support our shared values and goals. As always, we encourage you to share our newsletter with others, who can sign up here. In addition, you can follow our work on Twitter under @OPinDC.
Sincerely,
Andrew Trueblood
Director, DC Office of Planning
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On September 16th, the U.S. Census Bureau officially transmitted to Mayor Muriel Bowser the results of the 2020 Census. With these results, the DC Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting announced the start of the once-a-decade redistricting process. The DC Office of Planning (OP), which houses the DC State Data Center, released an online tool to help interested stakeholders participate in the redistricting process by creating their own maps to submit to the Subcommittee.
“This step begins the important process of redrawing legislative boundaries,” said Andrew Trueblood, Director of OP. “As we support the Subcommittee by providing the right data analyses and tools to ensure an efficient redistricting process, we also recognize the importance of community input throughout the process.”
Redistricting is the process by which census data is used to redraw the boundaries of legislative districts within a state or jurisdiction with the aim of giving residents a fair and equal voice in the way they are governed. For the District of Columbia, the 2020 Census data will serve as the building block to redraw the eight wards, 40 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) and 296 Single-Member Districts (SMDs). The goal is to ensure each district has approximately the same number of people.
OP launched the new online tool in an effort to have a robust and inclusive redistricting process. Residents are encouraged to register for training, create an account to access the District’s online tool, and begin creating, sharing, and submitting proposed plans for new legislative boundaries.
The redistricting data release revealed changes in the size and distribution of the population across the District. While, in total, the District grew by 87,800 people or 14.6% between 2010 and 2020, the top areas of growth occurred in Wards 1, 5 & 6. Ward 1 grew by 14.5%, Ward 5 grew by 20.3% and Ward 6 grew by 41.9%. All other Wards also saw population increases but at lower levels over the past decade. In addition, the new data shows that the District is becoming increasingly diverse. Changes in the racial composition of DC residents contributed to the District being ranked fifth most diverse among states. The District had a diversity index of 67.2% in 2020, which is up by 5.3% since 2010. The racial distribution shows 41.4 % Black alone, 39.6% White alone, 4.9% Asian alone, 6% other races alone, and 8.1 % two or more races. The Hispanic population, which can be of any race, made up 11.3% of the total District population.
For more information related to 2020 Census data and legislative redistricting, please visit planning.dc.gov/publication/2020-census-information-and-data.
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Learn more and get involved in our community planning projects:
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Congress Heights Small Area Plan
Draft recommendations for the Congress Heights Small Area Plan are listed under the Recommendations tab at www.publicinput.com/CongressHeightsPlan. Developed in collaboration with partner agencies, these recommendations center the community feedback collected over a number of public workshops, pop up engagements, and thousands of survey responses online. OP will continue to seek feedback on draft recommendations through the fall, and the project team is preparing for a community design charrette that will help shape future zoning and development decisions in the community. Have questions about the plan? Email CongressHeightsPlan@dc.gov or call 855-925-2801 (pin: 9965).
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Chevy Chase Small Area Plan
Draft Vision and Goals for the Chevy Chase Small Area Plan are now available online for community feedback through October 8, 2021. The draft Vision and Goals were developed by OP based on robust community engagement between the months of March and June in 2021, anchored by a series of virtual Visioning Workshops and an online Visioning Survey. In addition to these public engagements, the draft Vision and Goals were developed in collaboration with partner District agencies and feedback from the Chevy Chase SAP Community Advisory Committee. The Vision and Goals will be used to inform the next phase of the Chevy Chase SAP in the fall of 2021, which will focus on urban design and developing specific recommendations intended to realize the vision and goals through the framework of the built environment. Have questions about the plan? Reach out at ChevyChasePlan@dc.gov.
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Pennsylvania Ave East Small Area Plan
This month, OP hosted two recommendation workshops where community members had the opportunity to weigh in on the plan’s draft vision statements and recommendations. Draft vision statements are listed online at www.publicinput.com/PennAveRecommendations and are open to public comment. OP will continue to seek feedback on draft recommendations through the fall and will host a virtual Town Hall on October 20th. The town hall will be another opportunity for community members to weigh in on plan recommendations. Head to www.publicinput.com/PennAveSEPlan to sign up for planning updates and meeting announcements. Have questions about the plan? Reach out online at PennAveSEplan@dc.gov or on the phone at 855-925-2801 (pin: 9252).
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OP’s Historic Preservation Office was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Park Service (NPS) to develop a Historic Context Study of women’s history and suffrage in the District of Columbia. Nonprofit partner, DC Preservation League (DCPL) and DC-based consulting partner, Quinn Evans, are managing the grant. DCPL and Quinn Evans shared a timeline and a partial draft of the study at a public meeting held in mid-September. Residents are encouraged to provide feedback here and give input on places and people that should be featured in the study or considered for historic landmark status.
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Open Streets returns to Georgia Avenue NW, Saturday, October 2 from 10 am to 3 pm. During the event, the District will close three miles of Georgia Avenue NW, between Barry Place NW and Missouri Avenue NW, to cars. The corridor will be open to residents and visitors to walk, bike, run, and scooter through, and provide opportunities to support local businesses and participate in a range of activities related to travel, fitness, and fun.
OP team will be out on Georgia Ave NW near the intersection with Kennedy St NW, stop by our table and connect with us! Open Streets is a FREE event and is happening rain or shine!
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DC food business interested in financing, technical assistance, or grant support are invited to attend the Nourish DC virtual launch event to learn about the Nourish DC Collaborative and how it can support your food business. Details on loan products, technical assistance, and grants offered to food businesses will be provided. All are welcome, including food businesses, organizations that work with food entrepreneurs, and ecosystem partners.
The Nourish DC Collaborative, led by Capital Impact Partners and funded by a grant from the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), aims to support the development of a robust ecosystem of locally owned food businesses, neighborhood vibrancy, and health equity in Washington, DC communities, especially in neighborhoods underserved by grocery stores and other food businesses. Nourish DC provides flexible loans, client-focused technical assistance, and catalytic grants to emerging and existing food businesses in the District, with a preference for businesses located in or owned by residents of underserved neighborhoods.
This virtual launch event will feature Nourish DC Collaborative partners including Ona Balkus, Food Policy Director at OP and Director of the DC Food Policy Council, Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif), the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), EatsPlace, and Dreaming Out Loud (DOL).
Nourish DC Collaborative Launch: Financing DC Food Businesses to Expand Economic Prosperity
Date: Thursday, October 7th Time: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
REGISTER
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