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Happy 2022, OP friends and stakeholders! As we kick off the new year, you will see below that the OP team has been busy on various efforts to support the Mayor’s vision for a vibrant and equitable city. We also have a significant year ahead of us where housing, economic vibrancy, and resilience and sustainability will be at the forefront.
In my new role at OP, as Interim Director, I look forward to advancing implementation of the updated Comprehensive Plan, community plans, and zoning and preservation initiatives that support District goals around COVID-19 recovery, housing equity, resilience, civic resources and racial justice. I have had the privilege of collaborating with many of you as I oversaw OP’s work on neighborhood planning and urban design and I am excited, now, to engage with you in my new capacity.
Stay tuned as future newsletters promise to be full of milestones and planning news. Please feel free to share with others, who can sign up here. In addition, you can follow our work on Twitter under @OPinDC.
Sincerely,
Anita Cozart
Interim Director, DC Office of Planning
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Maps of the new 2022 ward boundaries can be viewed and downloaded at planning.dc.gov/maps-wards-2022. The boundaries of the eight Wards of the District of Columbia, along with those of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) and Single Member Districts (SMDs), are updated every ten years, based on the results of the latest decennial Census.
The once-a-decade redistricting process presents an opportunity to engage communities across the District of with the goal of establishing equitable political representation for the next decade. In support, OP established an online mapping tool that enables government officials, advocates, and residents to develop and share redistricting plans. An overwhelming 1,325 users registered to use the redistricting tool, and 230 ward redistricting plans were submitted to the DC Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting.
OP will continue to work with the Subcommittee and residents across all eight wards in the next phase, ANC and SMD redistricting.
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Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Office of Planning (OP) awarded more than $2.8 million in grants to eligible Business Improvement Districts and Community Improvement Districts in Central Washington through the Streets for People Grant Program. The Streets for People grants will fund organizations to temporarily retrofit streets, sidewalks, and alleys to allow people to gather safely and enjoy civic spaces, cultural amenities, and retail located downtown and nearby areas. The activities funded through these grants will attract 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 our downtown area.
The grant recipients are:
- Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District
- DowntownDC Business Improvement District
- Dupont Circle Business Improvement District
- Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
- Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District
Read the full Press Release.
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As part of our continued efforts to support Mayor Bowser’s housing equity goals, OP will work with the Zoning Commission to implement a series of zoning text amendments with the goal of making it easier to build housing in more areas across the District. OP is advancing changes to zoning regulations to remove barriers to the conversion of underutilized office buildings to residential, and to clarify the applicability of Inclusionary Zoning to these conversions. OP will establish criteria to allow as a matter of right, the development of small apartment buildings in the low-density RA-1 residential zones. OP will make recommendations to the Zoning Commission so that homeowners can more easily develop accessory apartments and to allow for residential buildings to be developed on alley lots.
Faith-based institutions represent a significant opportunity for the development of affordable housing with an estimated 6 million square feet of underutilized land in the District. OP is advancing zoning changes that will expand the range of options for faith-based properties to develop affordable housing. These changes complement other supports that the District offers to faith-based institutions including a pilot program from the Department of Housing and Community Development that provides pre-development assistance to support Faith-Based Institutions in developing affordable housing.
OP will bring forward map amendments to implement recent changes to the Future Land Use Map in the updated Comp Plan, such as changes to support increased development along Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue, as well as changes related to planning studies nearing completion. Finally, OP continues to examine the zoning regulations to make them clearer, and easier for the public to use and understand.
View OP’s presentation to the Zoning Commission on Zoning Initiatives for Affordable Housing in FY 2022.
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The DC Office of Planning (OP) is pleased to make the entirety of the District’s updated Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) available for viewing online at planning.dc.gov/comprehensive-plan beginning February 7, 2022. The Comp Plan, approved in August 2021, is a high-level guiding document that sets a positive, long-term vision for the District of Columbia through lens of its physical growth, equity, and change. This updated Comp Plan, a product of unprecedented public engagement, will allow the District to meet challenges and opportunities in critical areas such as housing and economic recovery with a focus on equity and resilience.
In addition to the Comp Plan chapters, supporting documents, such as the Future Land Use Map, General Policy Map and summary documents, will also be available on the OP website. The previous project website, plandc.dc.gov, will no longer be active and all key documents will be housed on the Comp Plan page of the OP website. Hard copies of the Plan will also be available at every DC library for onsite review beginning February 7th.
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Learn more and get involved in our community planning projects:
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OP is looking to hire a Community Planner to join our Neighborhood Planning team. Learn more about the position and apply today!
Apply Now
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