Section 10-A1907. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

 

1907.1Planning issues along the Anacostia Waterfront were discussed at many of the Comprehensive Plan workshops held in 2005 and 2006, particularly at meetings conducted on Capitol Hill and in Southwest DC. Priorities for this area were more explicitly stated during the previous three-year process that led to the development of the Anacostia Waterfront Framework plan. Concurrent planning programs for the Southwest Waterfront, Reservation 13, and the Near Southeast in the early 2000s involved hundreds of District residents. Since 2000, several citizens advisory groups, focus groups, and design charettes have been convened, providing additional opportunities to identify key issues and goals. 1907.1

 

1907.2The Comprehensive Plan responds to the key messages provided by the community at these meetings. These are summarized below: 1907.2

 

a.The river has come to symbolize the widening social and economic divide in the city, separating “east” from “west” and presenting a challenge to the city’s goal of growing more inclusively. It should instead become a unifier and a source of economic opportunity for the neighborhoods on its shores. The waterfront should unite the city physically, economically, and socially. This will require redefining its image and identity, and fundamentally redirecting growth patterns in the city toward emerging waterfront areas.

 

b.Revitalizing the waterfront must not be done at the expense of the established communities that exist near its shoreline. Existing neighborhoods and important community institutions should be conserved, and should be the focus of reinvestment during the coming years. Residents must have a say in the future of the waterfront and should be protected from displacement as change occurs. Within new neighborhoods, diverse housing choices should be provided so that a mix of household types and incomes are accommodated. Affordable housing for working families and for the city’s poorest residents must be part of this equation. Social and economic diversity must be respected.

 

c.The river provides a unique setting for monuments, memorials, and signature features that can potentially shape and redefine Washington’s identity in the 21st Century. This potential should not be squandered. The Potomac River is already a celebrated waterfront, but its character is distinctive in its own way. The Anacostia should be unique, with activities that invigorate urban life. New destinations should celebrate the cultural heritage of the city and the nation. As cultural facilities are developed, the extraordinary and unheralded stories of the neighborhoods along the river should be told.

 

d.M any of the great open spaces and parks of the Anacostia Waterfront are hard to find, underutilized, and neglected. These areas should be better connected to one another, and to the neighborhoods they adjoin. A variety of park environments should be created, from lively urban waterfront plazas to serene natural settings. Trails and promenades are needed to provide better access along the shoreline, and to make the waterfront more accessible to surrounding communities. New parks, recreational areas, and cultural facilities should be developed.

 

e.Urban development and natural resource conservation should not be mutually exclusive but should go hand in hand. Development on the waterfront-and throughout the watershed-should be environmentally sustainable and designed to minimize negative effects on water quality and ecological resources. In some cases, plans to reduce sewage overflows into the river should be accompanied by restoration of wetlands and buried streams, and conservation of natural habitat. From a regional perspective, additional density along the waterfront is one of the best examples of “smart growth.” It can curb urban sprawl by channeling more housing demand back toward the center city. More density near the waterfront can also be used to leverage the creation of additional waterfront parks and open spaces.

 

f.Access between the east and west sides of the river should be improved. “Human” scale crossings should be emphasized, rather than the existing freeway bridges which are almost exclusively oriented toward cars and trucks. The design of transportation infrastructure should be rethought to better serve waterfront neighborhoods, reduce barriers to waterfront access, and create gateways to waterfront parks. Bridges should be regarded as opportunities for great civic architecture. In general, transportation design should strive for a better balance between the needs of cars, and the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. The river itself should be seen as a transit opportunity, with water taxis and ferries providing easy access across the river and to riverfront designations like Georgetown and Alexandria.

 

g.Development along the waterfront must be designed to respect the scale and integrity of adjacent neighborhoods. As the city works to create distinct waterfront destinations, it should also restore and rehabilitate historic structures, protect views and sunlight, reinforce existing neighborhood commercial centers, and enhance the quality of life for existing residents. While densities in new waterfront communities are likely to be higher than those in adjacent communities, they should not be visually overwhelming. This is particularly true where new development sites abut fine-grained row house neighborhoods that have existed for more than a century. Planning for large-scale development must be responsive to local concerns about traffic, crowd-control, displacement, community service impacts, and changing neighborhood character.

 

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.