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Season’s Greetings!
I want to start my final newsletter by thanking all of you who I have had the pleasure of working with during my time as Director of the Office of Planning (OP) and in my longer DC government career. I must also thank the tireless and incredibly talented staff of OP, who have pushed through numerous critical priorities, often at the same time, to ensure we are providing the necessary support for the District’s most pressing priorities and needs. I knew I could start my next chapter because the entire staff, including an immensely talented leadership team, will be here to continue to push the agency’s work to new heights.
As we close out 2021, the team is looking back at what we have accomplished this year. The Comprehensive Plan Update 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 took a critically important step in furthering housing equity this month with the release of the Rock Creek West Roadmap which outlines how we can produce over 2,000 additional affordable housing units in high-opportunity areas west of Rock Creek. In 2021, OP moved forward with the Zoning Commission critical expansions of the inclusionary zoning regulations to produce more affordable housing as we continue to look for innovative ways to support the Mayor’s Housing Equity goals that prioritize an equitable distribution of affordable housing across all 8 Wards of the District. We also engaged residents and stakeholders from across the District as part of our community planning efforts and our three ongoing Small Area Plans are nearing completion. This year, OP also launched a new Demographic Data Hub and played a critical role in supporting the DC Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting.
This important work will continue in 2022. OP will continue to support economic recovery initiatives through our Streets for People work to revitalize our downtown public spaces to support economic recovery and vibrancy. Of course, we are also excited to continue neighborhood-level planning efforts in every Ward of the District. Over the past five 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 were excited to launch a series of new neighborhood planning 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 beyond.
Though we continue to face challenges and uncertainty due to the ongoing global pandemic, I am proud of how we have adapted and pushed through. I am excited for what 2022 holds for all of us and our city. 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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On Thursday, December 16th, as part of #FairShot Week, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), in collaboration with the Office of Planning (OP) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), released the Rock Creek West Roadmap which outlines how we can produce over 2,000 additional affordable housing units west of Rock Creek. Mayor Bowser also announced the upcoming release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to pilot a program, to be called Cash 2 Covenant (C2C), that will offer multi-family property owners of existing, vacant units a financial incentive to put an affordability covenant on their property. Mayor Bowser also released a new Request for Applications (RFA) for the implementation of a program supporting at least 10 qualified faith-based institutions in developing affordable housing on their real estate.
“We need people who sincerely believe – like I do, like my team at DC Government does – that we can change the trajectory of housing in DC,” said Mayor Bowser. “We have bold housing goals in DC; we also have vision and a plan for how to get there. This work is important and urgent, and the tools we’re announcing today will give the community more ways to support our efforts to add 12,000 affordable homes by 2025.”
Mayor Bowser’s 2019 Housing Equity Report established goals for total housing units and dedicated affordable units for each of the District’s 10 Planning Areas. Achieving these goals will relieve housing burdens that many District residents are experiencing citywide. In Rock Creek West, realizing the affordable housing goals also means that households will be connected to amenities and social and economic opportunities that exist in high-opportunity areas.
The Rock Creek West Roadmap includes a combination of key District tools and programs, including updated Comprehensive Plan land use guidance; neighborhood-based plans; housing tools, such as inclusionary zoning; and targeted investments, such as the Housing Production Trust Fund, as critical to reaching the District’s housing equity goals in the Rock Creek West planning area. Nearly three-fourths of the projected housing units are located in areas designated by the Comprehensive Plan for future planning analysis. Therefore, District-led activities such as the Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework and the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park Development Guidelines Study, both launching in 2022, are critical steps to realize the Rock Creek West housing goals.
“This document sets the path forward for creating affordable housing, increasing the overall housing supply, and supporting more vibrant, inclusive and equitable neighborhoods in Rock Creek West,” said OP Director Andrew Trueblood. “The Roadmap shows us how everyone – residents, non-profit organizations, faith-based institutions, housing providers, District government, and other stakeholders – can work together to achieve the ambitious housing equity goals in Rock Creek West.”
The Cash 2 Covenant (C2C) pilot program will be yet another tool in our toolbox to increase affordable housing in the District. Multifamily property owners with vacant units in the Rock Creek West planning area will be able to submit proposals to an RFP to be released by DHCD in January 2022 for a financial incentive to place an affordability covenant on their property. Units covenanted under the program will remain affordable for at least 15-years and be affordable at or below 80% of the Median Family Income (MFI). A formula will consider affordability, covenant duration, and unit characteristics among other factors to determine how much financial incentive will be provided for a particular unit.
“In October of 2019, Mayor Bowser made DC the first jurisdiction in the country to have affordable housing goals by neighborhood. We are making strides in creating affordable housing in all our planning areas but have the furthest to go in Rock Creek West,” said Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio. “The Rock Creek West Roadmap shows us how we can meet our goals with intentionality, investment and imagination. The outcome will not just be new units of affordable housing but the true impact will be greater opportunity for the residents who will live there.”
With the release of the Faith-Based Housing RFA, DHCD invites qualified applicants, capable of structuring, administering, and funding a program, to support faith-based institutions, such as churches, synagogues, mosques, and others in the development of affordable housing. Through this RFA, the District will award a grant to the successful applicant that must be used to support a minimum of 10 Faith-based institutions. The RFA grantee will fund assistance (predevelopment grants or loans, and technical assistance) to faith-based institutions to assist these organizations in moving an idea to a concept plan for building affordable housing on their real estate.
“The goal of this initiative is to support faith-based institutions interested in using their real estate to develop affordable housing for District residents” said DHCD Interim Director Drew Hubbard. “With over six million square feet of potential land in DC, faith-based institutions represent a significant opportunity for the development of affordable housing, and we’re excited to help them realize this opportunity together.”
At the start of her second term, Mayor Bowser set a bold goal to deliver an additional 36,000 units of housing – including at least 12,000 units of affordable housing – by 2025. By distributing these goals across the District’s 10 planning areas, Mayor Bowser made DC the first jurisdiction in the nation to create affordable housing goals by neighborhood. From January 2019 through November 2021, the District has produced 20,251 net new units, of which 3,578 are affordable. You can track the District’s progress toward #36000by2025 at open.dc.gov/36000by2025.
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The DC Office of Planning (OP) has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Streets for People Grant Program that will provide funding to Business/Commercial Improvement Districts (BIDs/CIDs) to activate public spaces in the Central Washington area. The program aims to catalyze economic recovery and support local businesses by attracting workers, residents, and visitors to a vibrant area of activated blocks, sidewalks, streets, and parks.
“Since the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency, Mayor Bowser has challenged us to re-imagine our streets and public spaces to safely meet the needs of residents while keeping our neighborhoods and commercial corridors vibrant and thriving,” said OP Director Andrew Trueblood. “From public space activation guides for residents and communities to public life studies and streateries, we have been thinking innovatively to support a robust public life for District residents and the Streets for People Grant will build on these efforts.”
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted the numbers of office workers, residents, and visitors along major commercial corridors in Central Washington. Reduced foot traffic in these areas has disrupted retail, hospitality, and arts and entertainment venues; driving many businesses to close or modify operations.
The goals for the Streets for People Grant Program are to encourage the retrofitting of streets and sidewalks to allow for the temporary conversion of streets in Central Washington to places for pedestrian-based activities on a recurring basis; encourage the activation of streets and sidewalks to increase daytime and nighttime foot traffic; and encourage the public to dine and shop at local restaurants and retailers and contribute to the economic recovery of Central Washington.
Eligible applicants include the DC BID Council, Mount Vernon Triangle CID, Downtown BID, Golden Triangle BID, Dupont Circle BID, and Adams Morgan Partnership BID. The submission deadline is January 4, 2022 at 5:00 pm.
For more information, please visit planning.dc.gov/streetsforpeople.
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On December 6th, the DC Office of Planning (OP) released The Road Ahead: 2021 Update on Food Access & Food Security in the District of Columbia, a report that details the state of food security and food access in the District. This report is an update to the September 2020 Food Access & Food Security in the District of Columbia report, providing updates on data and key recommendations in the previous report.
“During the unprecedented public health emergency, the District government and community partners came together to respond to increased food insecurity needs with wide-reaching efforts focused on our most vulnerable residents,” said Andrew Trueblood, Director of the DC Office of Planning. “Now, as we continue our economic recovery, we are expanding the reach of our federal and local nutrition programs and investing in our residents, local businesses, and nonprofits to create a more resilient, healthy, and equitable food system for the District.”
As the District advances an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency, the overall food insecurity rate for the District in 2021 is 11%, which is a near return to the pre-COVID-19 food insecurity rate of 10.6% in 2019. However, this generalized data hides the continued elevated needs of Black and Latinx households, households with children, and seniors, which all remain at higher risk of food insecurity than the general District population. The persistent elevated levels of food insecurity – defined by the USDA as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life – among these populations reflects the systemic challenges of the racial wealth gap, high costs of living, and historic disinvestments in communities of color which require increased strategic investment and support.
“Food insecurity continues to remain a critical priority even after the public health emergency has begun to subside,” said Ona Balkus, Food Policy Director at the DC Office of Planning. “As we continue to implement our strategic emergency response, the District is focused on equitable solutions that bring new investments to communities of color to support long-term sustained change for residents.”
To that end, Mayor Bowser recently announced a $58 million investment to increase food access in areas where structural racism and disinvestment have led to low food access in the District. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) will manage the Food Access Fund to provide capital investments to increase equitable access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food by closing the grocery gap and strengthening grocery access programs. The investment also includes $4 million for the Nourish DC Fund which supports small food businesses through grants, loans, and technical assistance.
The District’s emergency food programs, which were created in response to increased food insecurity resulting from COVID-19, provided much needed help to residents during the height of the public health emergency. Through the GetHelp Hotline, the District delivered nearly 12,000 grocery boxes to residents quarantined at home. And, through its Grocery Distribution Program, the District provided over 1,000,000 pounds of free groceries, mostly fresh produce, at 13 DC Public Schools locations.
To date, the District has implemented several of the recommendations in the 2020 report, including to continue our emergency response efforts, increase investments for funding to Black- and Latinx-led organizations, expand investments in urban agriculture, and develop a comprehensive resiliency plan to prepare for future food and water emergencies. District agencies continue to work hard to ensure that all eligible residents are actively participating in the expanded federal nutrition assistance programs. The District has also adapted programs to ensure that school meals and senior meals and groceries have continued to be available and accessible throughout the public health emergency.
The Food Security Report is available at dcfoodpolicy.org/foodsecurity2020. For more information on COVID-19 food resources, visit coronavirus.dc.gov/food.
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