Section 10-A1707. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

 

1707.1Four Comprehensive Plan workshops took place in Far Northeast and Southeast during 2005 and 2006. These meetings provided an opportunity for residents to discuss both citywide and neighborhood planning issues. The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and groups such as the Ward 7 Leadership Council also provided a voice for local priorities and concerns. There have also been many meetings in the community not directly connected to the Comprehensive Plan, but focusing on long-range planning issues. These meetings have covered topics such as Kenilworth Avenue road improvements, the future of Watts Branch, reuse plans for Skyland Shopping Center, and the upgrading of “Great Streets” like Pennsylvania Avenue SE. 1707.1

 

1707.2The community delivered several key messages during these meetings, summarized below: 1707.2

 

a.The low density character that typifies most Far Northeast and Southeast neighborhoods should be maintained. While it is recognized that the area contains much vacant land with the potential for infill development, this development should generally be similar in density to what exists today. This is one of the few areas in the city with opportunities to build three- and four bedroom homes suitable for families with children. Whereas the neighborhood lost families to Prince George’s County and elsewhere in the past, it may gain families from these areas in the future if it builds appropriately designed housing, provides quality schools, and improves public services.

 

b.While protecting established single family neighborhoods is a priority, Far Northeast and Southeast recognizes the need to provide a variety of new housing choices. More density is appropriate on land within one-quarter mile of the Metro stations at Minnesota Avenue, Benning Road, and Deanwood, and on the District side of the Southern Avenue and Capitol Heights stations. The commercially zoned land along the Nannie Helen Burroughs, Minnesota Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue “Great Streets” corridors also offer opportunities for somewhat denser uses than exist today. These areas may provide opportunities for apartments, condominiums, townhomes, assisted living facilities and other types of housing, provided that measures are taken to buffer adjacent lower density neighborhoods, address parking and traffic issues, and mitigate other community concerns.

 

c.The neighborhood is underserved by retail stores and services, including the “basics” such as sit-down restaurants, banks, hardware stores, drug stores, and movie theaters. These uses should be accommodated in the future by encouraging both public and private reinvestment in the established commercial districts. The upgrading of Skyland and development of Capitol Gateway should go a long way toward meeting these needs—but these centers are not conveniently located for everyone in the community. Neighborhoods like Deanwood and Fairlawn would benefit from additional quality retail services. The Minnesota-Benning commercial district, in particular, should evolve into a stronger, more vital shopping district in the future, attracting customers from both sides of the Anacostia River.

 

d.Renovation and rehabilitation of the housing stock should continue to be a priority, especially for the aging post-war apartment complexes and for developments with subsidized units. Steps should be taken to preserve affordable units in these complexes as they are renovated. In some cases, as was the case at East Capitol Dwellings and Eastgate Gardens, the best approach may be to replace deteriorated multi-family housing with new housing that better meets community needs. In other cases, the renovation of older apartments could be coupled with conversion to owner-occupancy, with provisions to help tenants become homeowners.

 

e.Code enforcement continues to be one of the top issues in the community. Residents are concerned about illegal dumping and unpermitted construction, inadequate notification of zoning changes, and the need for clean-up of blighted and abandoned properties. While these are operational issues that cannot be resolved through the Comprehensive Plan, the District must strive toward responsive, effective enforcement, maintenance, and customer service in the future.

 

f.More steps should be taken to improve environmental quality, especially along Watts Branch. Far Northeast and Southeast was impacted for years by the now defunct Benning Road incinerator and continues to face noise, air pollution, and truck traffic from I-295 and other thoroughfares. Programs to reduce these impacts, while improving physical connections to the Anacostia River, the Fort Circle Parks, and other open spaces in the area are high priorities. Indeed, much of the discussion at public meetings during the Comprehensive Plan revision focused on the need for better parks, cleaner streams, and more trees. While the community has more green space than many other parts of the District, this space has been neglected. Greater stewardship by Far Northeast and Southeast residents, coupled with more attention from the District and federal governments, will help restore the natural landscape as a place of beauty, spiritual enrichment, and diverse habitat

 

g.Additional improvements are needed to reduce traffic congestion, especially around the I-295/Pennsylvania Avenue intersection and along Kenilworth Avenue. Parts of Far Northeast and Southeast are more than one mile from Metrorail and need better, more reliable bus connections to Metro. The safety of pedestrians and bicyclists continues to be an issue in many neighborhoods and at many intersections.

 

h.Schools, libraries, recreation centers, and other public facilities in Far Northeast and Southeast must be upgraded to meet the needs of a community on the rise. The recent modernizations of Kelly Miller Middle School and Randle Highlands Elementary School are a promising start, but there is much more to accomplish. Investment in schools should take place in tandem with investment in new housing, shopping, libraries, and other services, as it is at Eastgate Gardens, to create “whole” communities and not simply tracts of homes.

 

i.With an unemployment rate that is twice the citywide average, more must be done to strengthen the occupational skills of the Far Northeast and Southeast labor force. Job training, adult education, and vocational education programs are an essential part of the equation. Good access to Metrorail is also critical, to connect residents to jobs Downtown and elsewhere in the region. As noted in the citywide elements of the Comp Plan, establishing a community college or branch campus of the University of the District of Columbia east of the Anacostia River would go a long way toward helping Far Northeast and Southeast youth prepare for good, quality jobs in the District economy.

 

j.Additional facilities and services for children and youth are needed in the Far Northeast/Southeast Area. More than one in four residents of the Planning Area are under 18. Further increases in the number of children are likely as additional family housing is completed. New and expanded recreation centers, playgrounds, child care facilities, and similar facilities are urgently needed today and will continue to be needed in the future. The District must place a high priority on investment in these facilities to create a healthy environment for children as well as adults.

 

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.