Section 10-A2007. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

 

2007.1Three Comprehensive Plan workshops took place in Mid-City during 2005 and 2006. These meetings provided an opportunity for residents to discuss both citywide and neighborhood planning issues. The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions provided an important voice in this discussion, particularly on the Future Land Use Map. There have also been many meetings in the community not directly connected to the Comprehensive Plan, but relating to other planning topics. These meetings have covered topics such as public realm and transportation improvements in Columbia Heights, revitalization of Georgia Avenue, redevelopment of McMillan Reservoir, parking and traffic issues in Adams Morgan, and the arts districts along U Street and in the greater Shaw area. 2007.1

 

2007.2The community delivered several key messages during these meetings, summarized below: 2007.2

 

a.The distinct and eclectic character that defines Mid-City neighborhoods should be protected as infill development takes place. The communities of the Mid-City welcome community reinvestment, but are worried that the rapid pace of redevelopment may be changing the fabric of the community too quickly. The loss of neighborhood diversity was the greatest concern expressed at almost every Comp Plan meeting in the Mid-City area, and was raised in many different contexts-from the need for affordable housing to concerns about the influx of chain stores and decline of neighborhood businesses

 

b.Housing opportunities should be increased for people at all income levels so that Mid-City can remain a diverse neighborhood. The citywide run-up in housing prices has particularly impacted Mid- City, as costs have soared beyond what many local residents can afford. Working families and lower income residents are being priced out of the area, and there are concerns that the community is becoming affordable only to upper income professionals. Preserving the existing stock of affordable units is important, either through rehabilitation or replacement of subsidized housing projects with new affordable units. The type of new housing being built in the area should be more varied. In particular, more three- and four-bedroom units are needed to attract and retain families.

 

c.New condos, apartments and commercial development should be directed to the areas that are best able to handle increased density, namely areas immediately adjacent to Metrorail stations or along high volume transit corridors. These areas are generally located around 14th and Park, along the 14th Street corridor, along U Street-especially around the Metro station, along 7th Street and Georgia Avenue-especially west of Howard University, and in the southeastern corner of the Planning Area near the New York Avenue Metro station. Mixed use development, with multi-story housing above retail shops and services, is desirable in these locations and would reinforce the Mid-City’s character as a vital, pedestrian oriented neighborhood.

 

d.The row house fabric that defines neighborhoods like Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Pleasant Plains, Eckington, and Bloomingdale should be conserved. Although Mid-City includes six historic districts (Greater U Street, LeDroit Park, Mount Pleasant, Strivers’ Section, Washington Heights and Kalorama Triangle), most of the row houses in Mid-City are not protected by historic district designations. Some are even zoned for high-density apartments. A variety of problems have resulted, including demolition and replacement with much larger buildings, the subdivision of row houses into multi-unit flats, and top story additions that disrupt architectural balance. Intact blocks of well-kept row houses should be zoned for row houses, and not for tall apartment buildings, and additional historic districts and/or conservation districts should be considered to protect architectural character.

 

e.The community is in dire need of additional parkland. Mid-City is the densest part of the city, but the ratio of park acreage per resident is among the lowest in the city. Rock Creek Park is a great resource, but is a long way from the eastern part of the Planning Area and is primarily a passive open space. The Area has a shortage of active play fields and recreational facilities, especially east of 16th Street. In many cases, schools are the only open spaces in the neighborhood, but access to school grounds may be restricted, and the school facilities themselves are suboptimal. Sites like the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration site offer the promise for additional neighborhood open space. New development there and elsewhere should set aside land for parks, while development along the area’s commercial streets and around Metro stations should include pocket parks and plazas. Throughout the community, innovative approaches such as land trusts and easements should be considered to improve open space access.

 

f.Language barriers should be broken so that more foreign-born residents can get a proper education, find suitable housing, find a decent job, and participate in community life and civic affairs. With a growing population of immigrants and non-English speaking residents, the Planning Area needs alternative education options and better access to literacy and language programs. If residents are to fill the good quality jobs to be created in the new economy, better vocational training and bilingual services are needed. Local public schools, charter schools, universities, and non-profits should be integral partners in these efforts.

 

g.The arts should be recognized as an essential part of community life. While this is true in all parts of Washington, it is especially true in the multi-cultural neighborhoods of the Mid-City. The Planning Area has been the home of many ethnic and racial groups for more than 100 years, and has long been a center of creative expression and cultural diversity. The area should celebrate its past through heritage trails and historic exhibits, and celebrate its present through indoor and outdoor performance, art, and music. New cultural facilities must also be part of the area’s future.

 

h.Better economic balance should be achieved in the neighborhood. The neighborhood centers on the west side of the Mid-City Planning Area are generally successful, with strong demand for commercial space. Neighborhood business districts on the east side, particularly along Georgia Avenue and North Capitol Street, are still struggling. There are numerous vacant and boarded up properties, along with concerns about fire safety, blight, and crime. Commercial gentrification is also an issue. Small corner stores and other businesses that are unique to the neighborhood are having a harder time getting by. The area’s restaurants, ethnic establishments, and iconic neighborhood businesses are an important part of what defines this community. They should be strongly supported in the future.

 

i.Pedestrian safety, improved traffic operations, and parking management are all high priorities. Increased density within this already dense Planning Area creates busier streets-both for cars and for people. Despite its proximity to Metro, Columbia Heights will become more congested as 700 new housing units and 500,000 square feet of new retail space come on line. Parking demand will continue to exceed supply in Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant. Commuter traffic along North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue will continue to burden side streets in Eckington and Bloomingdale. New solutions and strategies to traffic management are needed. Increasing transit service and improving pedestrian safety are important parts of the equation, but they must not be the only parts.

 

j.Public facilities in Mid-City need improvement. Many of the area’s schools, libraries, and recreation centers are outdated and do not meet the needs of the community. At the same time, residents are concerned about proposals to use private development to leverage public facility replacement. A key concern is that public facilities are not rebuilt at the expense of neighborhood open space, which is already in very short supply. While Mid-City has several outstanding new facilities, including the Girard Street Playground, the Columbia Heights Community Center, and Bell-Lincoln Multicultural Middle/ High School, there are still unmet needs.

 

k.Mid-City needs “greening.” This Planning Area has a very high percentage of impervious surface coverage and lost much of its tree cover during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Tree planting is needed to reduce urban runoff, create shade, remove air pollutants, and create beauty in the neighborhoods. Future development should incorporate green roofs and other methods to reduce resource consumption, conserve energy and water, and be more environmentally-friendly.

 

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.