Section 10-A1507. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

 

1507.1Several Comprehensive Plan workshops took place in the Capitol Hill Planning Area during 2005 and 2006. These meetings provided an opportunity for residents to discuss both citywide and neighborhood planning issues. There were also well-attended briefings to the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals, and the local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. In addition, recent Small Area Plans-including the H Street Planning program and the Reservation 13 planning process-involved many Hill residents and addressed long-range planning issues such as land use, traffic, housing needs, and public facilities. 1507.1

 

1507.2The community delivered several key messages during these meetings. These are summarized below. 1507.2

 

a.Capitol Hill residents are concerned about the effects of growth on quality of life and community character. One resident described the neighborhood as being in the “vice grip” of development, noting that large-scale changes were planned on the northwest flank (in NoMA), the eastern flank (at Reservation 13), and the southern flank (the Near Southeast and Stadium Areas). Although changes in the heart of Capitol Hill during the next 20 years will be limited, development on the perimeter will generate traffic, increased demand for community services, and the potential for land use conflicts. These issues must be dealt with proactively, recognizing that the Hill is a fine-grained 19th century neighborhood that has evolved over two centuries. In some respects this is a testament to its endurance, but in other respects the neighborhood remains fragile and vulnerable to change. Conflicts between the booming NoMA area and nearby row house neighborhoods are of particular concern.

 

b.In addition to concerns about development on the perimeter, there is unease about the effects of future infill development within the neighborhood itself. Over the next 20 years, additional measures may be needed to conserve the moderate density row house character that defines most Capitol Hill neighborhoods. This could include the designation of additional areas as historic districts and further limits on alley closures. Future development should be directed to the H Street corridor and to a limited number of Metroaccessible sites along the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor. These areas are already zoned for commercial use and their redevelopment could reinforce the fabric of the neighborhood and provide needed housing and retail services. The renewal of H Street, in particular, has been long awaited. Conversely, the “upzoning” of developed residential land should be avoided, recognizing that the Hill is already one of the densest communities in the District of Columbia.

 

c.Historically, Capitol Hill has had a large number of older schoolhouses and public works buildings. Some of these facilities, like the Bryan School on Independence Avenue and the streetcar barn on East Capitol Street, have been adaptively reused for housing. Such reuse has preserved important architectural landmarks; however, there are concerns that surplus schools and public buildings will be demolished and replaced with much higher-density housing in the future. Residents at Comp Plan meetings were clear that any future development on surplus public property should conform to the prevailing density and architectural fabric of the surrounding community. There is a particular interest in retaining row houses and building new row houses to keep the Hill an attractive place for families. The redevelopment of the Ellen Wilson and Kentucky Courts public housing projects were both cited as positive examples, to be emulated elsewhere.

 

d.Compared to neighborhoods in Northwest Washington, Capitol Hill is underserved by retail stores and services. Basic neighborhood services, like groceries, hardware stores, clothing stores, drug stores, movie theaters, banks, and restaurants, are in short supply in the commercial districts, and many residents travel to Pentagon City or elsewhere to shop. On the other hand, the community has long sought to control the proliferation of drive-through fast food restaurants and mini-marts along thoroughfares like Pennsylvania Avenue. As much-needed retail is finally arriving on Capitol Hill, new issues have emerged. For example, Barracks Row is seeking to balance its role as a local-serving shopping district with its potential to draw from a regional market attracted by its historic ambiance. On H Street, there are tensions as long-time businesses feel the pressure of changing consumer tastes and expectations. At Potomac Avenue, a new upscale grocery store will provide a needed retail anchor but also has raised fears of gentrification. On the other hand, some of the Hill’s commercial districts, such as Benning Road, have yet to see significant reinvestment.

 

e.While the upgrading of retail services in established commercial districts is a positive sign, there continue to be fears about the encroachment of non-residential uses into row house neighborhoods. This has historically been an issue around the U.S. Capitol, where many small row houses have been converted to offices, national associations, and non-profits. More recently, other issues related to the federal presence have emerged-such as street closures and new security measures around government buildings. Commercial encroachment has also become a concern along 2nd and 3rd Streets northeast of Union Station.

 

f.A different but related issue has emerged along 11th Street and 15th Street. In the early 20th century, these streets were active neighborhood commercial districts, with many small shops and businesses. These districts are now primarily residential in character, with only a few small businesses and corner stores remaining. There is some interest among the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and residents in rezoning these areas from commercial to residential use. This would provide assurance that future development is compatible with surrounding uses, but it could also create non-conforming commercial uses. As the future of these commercial areas is considered, however, attention should also be given to preserving the small businesses and corner stores that now serve the community.

 

g.Capitol Hill’s parks and open spaces contribute to neighborhood stability and are an important amenity. But there are too few parks to meet neighborhood needs. Some of the community’s most important open spaces, like Lincoln Park and Stanton Park, were designed to be ornamental squares rather than active recreational areas. Many of the parks are small triangles with no room for recreational facilities. The new Sherwood Recreation Center has been a much-needed improvement but primarily serves the northwest part of the Hill. Similar improvements are needed elsewhere. The community needs to be better connected to the Anacostia River, with its vast open spaces and waterfront amenities. As Reservation 13 is redeveloped and as the future of the RFK Stadium complex is debated, opportunities for new large parks serving Capitol Hill should be recognized. The community must be provided with a high level of access to the planned network of shoreline parks and trails, and to existing and planned boating facilities.

 

h.As a historic community, Capitol Hill faces unique urban design issues. These issues relate to the design of new buildings and infill development, the alteration of existing structures, and the treatment of public spaces like Metro plazas and streets. As noted in the Historic Preservation Element of the Comprehensive Plan, contemporary architecture can fit within the fabric of an historic community, but issues relating to scale, texture, materials, and context must be reconciled. Historic places like Eastern Market, the Sewell-Belmont House, and Friendship House should be protected from nearby development that would reduce their architectural and design integrity. Elsewhere, greater steps may be needed to avoid “demolition by neglect” and to ensure that historic preservation regulations are enforced to the greatest extent possible. The public realm also needs improvement, particularly along H Street, Benning Road, and Pennsylvania Avenue. Detailed guidelines may be needed to ensure that lighting, building materials, street furniture, signage, sidewalk materials, street trees, landscaping, trash containers, and other aspects of the streetscape are appropriately designed.

 

i.Issues of housing affordability and displacement are present in Capitol Hill, as they are in many other parts of the District of Columbia. The pressures are particularly significant in the Near Northeast area (between H Street and Florida Avenue), where home prices tripled between 2000 and 2005. In some respects, Capitol Hill may be better equipped to handle rising housing costs than other parts of the city-the prevalence of row houses with rentable basements creates affordable housing options for renters and extra income for owners. Nonetheless, some longtime homeowners have “cashed out” while some renters have moved elsewhere in search of more affordable housing. The 208-unit Potomac Gardens public housing project has been identified as a possible “new community” site, raising further fears of displacement and the loss of one of the few remaining affordable housing developments in the area. If the site is redeveloped, one-for-one replacement of the public housing units will be an important prerequisite.

 

j.Parking remains an issue on Capitol Hill, especially on the western edge of the area near the U.S. Capitol and in the Eastern Market Barracks Row area. The reopening of RFK Stadium has created parking problems on nearby residential streets in Hill East, and the prospect of a revitalized H Street and emerging NOMA business district may bring future parking problems to nearby residential side streets. These problems are complicated by the fact that many of the homes and apartments on Capitol Hill do not have dedicated off-street parking spaces. Curb cuts serving new development have further reduced the supply of on-street spaces. Residential permit parking has achieved some success in the area, but there are issues related to enforcement and abuse of parking privileges.

 

k.As already noted, Capitol Hill is intersected by major commuter routes serving the Maryland suburbs and areas east of the Anacostia River. Its neighborhoods are also vulnerable to overflow traffic when the freeways are congested. Residential north-south streets are often clogged with “cut-through” traffic as commuters weave between the east-west arterials. This creates noise, air pollution, and safety issues for residents. One-way streets have been established to facilitate traffic flow but the streets are not always paired, leading to circuitous travel and high volumes of fast-moving commuter traffic. Street and lane closures, illegal parking, and poorly timed signals contribute to congestion problems. At one time, a freeway link was proposed between I-295 and I-395 via Barney Circle, but this project was cancelled in the 1990s. A more recent proposal calls for removal of a portion of the Southeast/Southwest Freeway, its replacement with an at-grade roadway between Barney Circle and 8th Street, and a tunnel in lieu of the elevated freeway between 8th Street and South Capitol Street. While this would remove a barrier between Capitol Hill and the waterfront, there are many questions yet to be answered about the effects on traffic and adjacent land uses.

 

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.