Section 10-A107. HOW THIS PLAN WAS PREPARED

 

107.1This Comprehensive Plan is the outcome of a four-year revision process. 107.1

 

107.2In 2002, the Mayor and Council deferred the regularly-scheduled amendment of the District Elements and instead asked the Office of Planning to conduct a Comprehensive Plan assessment. A 29-member citizens task force was convened to advise the District as it evaluated changes that would improve the Comp Plan’s effectiveness, organization, and format. The Comprehensive Plan Assessment Report, issued in February 2003, recommended a major Plan revision and fundamental changes to the document’s structure. The report also suggested that the first step in the revision should be to develop a broad vision for the city’s future. 107.2

 

107.3A “Vision for Growing an Inclusive City” was developed in response. The Vision included an appraisal of the District’s major planning issues and articulated goals for addressing these issues in the future. Its content was shaped by position papers on topics ranging from education to housing, workshops with department heads and civic leaders, and input from more than 3,000 District residents at the Mayor’s Citizens Summit in November 2003. The Vision was endorsed by the Council in June 2004. 107.3

 

107.4Work on the Comprehensive Plan revision began in Fall 2004. With the Vision’s directive to “grow an inclusive city,” the revision was designed to be an “inclusive” process. The goal of this process was not merely to involve the public in creating the Plan-it was to build a constituency for the Plan to advocate for more effective implementation in the future. Thus, education and outreach about the Plan became as important as public input. 107.4

 

107.5This is the District’s first Comprehensive Plan prepared during the “digital” era and as such, a host of new tools were used to reach the community. The project website www.inclusivecity.org was used to publicize meetings, display information, provide drafts for comment, and receive feedback through bulletin boards and e-mail. The website received more than 1.3 million “hits” over the course of the project. Television and radio were also used, drawing residents to town meetings, workshops, and public hearings. 107.5

 

107.6The Comprehensive Plan’s content was also shaped by a Plan Revision Task Force. The 28-member Task Force represented diverse interests and geographic areas, and advised the Office of Planning on the Comprehensive Plan’s content as well as its maps and place-specific recommendations. Similarly, an Interagency Working Group representing more than 20 District and federal agencies was convened throughout the process to provide policy feedback and technical assistance. Small Group Discussions, attended by stakeholders and others with a particular interest in plan topics, were convened on specific issues such as higher education and environmental quality. 107.6

 

107.7Large community workshops were also essential to the Plan revision. Three “rounds” of workshops were held, each comprised of four to eight interactive meetings or gatherings. In all, the workshops drew more than 1,500 participants, with virtually every neighborhood of the city taking part. The workshops were supplemented by dozens of meetings with Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, Citizen and Civic Associations, interest groups, and individuals. 107.7

 

107.8While public involvement was the “driver” behind the Plan’s content, its policies and actions have also been shaped by many other sources. Foremost among these is the prior Comprehensive Plan; many of its policies have been edited and carried forward. Similarly, recent plans and planning efforts, including the newly updated Federal Elements, also guide the Comprehensive Plan’s content. Finally, an enormous amount of data collection and analysis underpins the Plan’s recommendations. This data was largely absent from the prior plan, leading to findings and recommendations that were not always supported by fact. 107.8

 

107.9This Comprehensive Plan was presented to the DC Council in the summer of 2006, with Council public hearings held in the fall. Revisions to the draft plan were made based on Council comments and public testimony, and the document was adopted in December, 2006. 107.9

 

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.