Section 10-A2307. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

 

2307.1Three large Comprehensive Plan workshops took place in Rock Creek West during 2005 and 2006. These meetings provided a chance for residents and local businesses to discuss both citywide and neighborhood planning issues. Many smaller meetings on the Comprehensive Plan also took place in the community, including briefings and workshops with Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and neighborhood organizations. 2307.1

 

2307.2There have also been many meetings in the community not directly connected to the Comprehensive Plan, but focusing on related long-range planning issues. These meetings have covered topics such as the future development of Upper Wisconsin Avenue, streetscape improvements along the Glover Park commercial corridor, and proposals for individual properties. 2307.2

 

2307.3The community delivered several key messages during these meetings, summarized below.

 

a.Residents of the Rock Creek West Planning Area remain deeply concerned about growth. While there is support for development on underutilized sites along the major corridors, issues of height, scale, character, and density remain a source of concern as well as a source of debate within the community. The relatively low-density commercial zoning on most of the corridors has not provided the predictability that many residents seek. The reliance on planned unit developments (PUDs) has brought neighborhood amenities but has also resulted in density “bonuses” that are beyond what many residents find acceptable. The potential impact of density increases on schools, emergency response and safety, infrastructure, traffic, parking, environmental health and neighborhood character lead residents to conclude that the only acceptable growth rate is one which matches infrastructure capacity.

 

b.Rock Creek West has the unique characteristic of containing some of the city’s most dense and least dense neighborhoods-sometimes side by side. Along parts of Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues, multi-story apartment buildings abut single family homes along rear lot lines. These uses successfully co-exist in part because of the significant buffering effects of open space, parking lots, alleys, mature trees and shrubbery, changes in topography, and other screening and site planning measures. Neighborhoods seek assurances that existing buffers will be maintained and that additional buffers, setbacks, and a “stepping down” in building heights will be provided if and when infill development occurs along the corridors.

 

c.Like the rest of the District of Columbia, Rock Creek West is facing an affordable housing crisis. Home prices here are the highest in the city and many residents could not afford the homes they live in now if they were first-time buyers today. The conversion of formerly modest apartments to upscale condominiums has created a burden for low- and moderate-income renters, seniors, and young workers just entering the job market. On the other hand, these conversions have provided a more affordable alternative to individuals and families that would otherwise have been priced out of the community entirely. There is broad support for requirements to include affordable or “workforce” housing units within new market-rate projects, but the prospect of “density bonuses” and other zoning flexibility in exchange for these units continues to raise objections. While there is support for development on underutilized sites along the major corridors, issues of height, scale, character, and density remain a source of concern as well as a source of debate within the community.

 

d.A better variety of retail choices is needed in some parts of the Planning Area. It is acknowledged that the area does not need public action or the involvement of non-profit community development corporations to attract retail in the same way that other parts of the District do. However, some neighborhoods still lack the range of goods and services needed to support the basic needs of local residents. High costs are having a negative effect on some of the area’s small businesses, leading to a loss of small “mom and pop” businesses and family-owned neighborhood institutions. The community continues to favor neighborhood-serving retail rather than office space along the corridors, both to meet community needs and to avoid uses that would generate commuter traffic.

 

e.Some of the area’s commercial streets lack the vitality and elegance of great pedestrian-oriented neighborhood shopping streets. Recent efforts to renovate existing commercial buildings in Friendship Heights have generally been well-received and have created a more vibrant pedestrian environment. There is support for development that emphasizes walkability over auto-orientation, provided that height, scale, parking, infrastructure capacity, and other issues can be reconciled.

 

f.Traffic congestion and pedestrian safety are also major problems. The radial street pattern results in very high volumes along major corridors, particularly Connecticut, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Western Avenues, MacArthur Boulevard, Military Road, River Road, and Canal Road. Local trips combine with commuter traffic to and from the Maryland suburbs and I-495, pushing many intersections beyond their design capacities. As is the case in many parts of the city, major arterials are at Level of Service “D” or “E” during the peak hours, with stop and go traffic. The prior Ward Plan for this area suggested that traffic be restored to Level of Service “B” or “C”-yet such conditions could never be attained without massive road reconstruction and removal of major trip generators. This is neither a realistic or desirable solution. Consequently, more integrated solutions to traffic control, including bus improvements, bicycle improvements, transportation demand management programs for new development, and more efficient use of existing roadways (such as synchronized traffic signals), are needed.

 

g.Parking is also an issue. On-street parking has been removed in some locations to facilitate traffic flow, which has exacerbated parking needs on side streets. Residential permit parking has helped, but additional parking management measures are needed. Some residents have suggested municipal parking garages. Others have called for limits on development as a way to control parking demand. Still others have suggested that developers build more parking spaces than are required by law, or that the District limit the issuance of residential parking permits. There are clearly pros and cons to these options. One downside of building more parking garages is that they may attract yet more non-local traffic to the area, particularly near Metro stations.

 

h.The community’s public facilities are experiencing the strains of age and increased demand. While enrollment has fallen at DC Public Schools in other parts of the city, many of the schools in Rock Creek West are over capacity. Some of these schools are experiencing physical deterioration and are in need of modernization. The Tenley-Friendship Library has been closed since December 2004, depriving the community of a vital gathering spot. There continue to be concerns about fire and rescue services, and the difficulties associated with renovating historic fire stations to modern standards. The projected addition of nearly 3,000 households in Rock Creek West by 2025 will likely mean that additional fire and emergency management services may be needed, and that library services may need to be expanded. Some of the recreation centers in the area are also substandard and amenities found in other parts of the city are lacking or are insufficient. The planned new recreation center at Stoddert will provide a much needed facility not only for the community, but for children at Stoddert Elementary.

 

i.The character of new development is an issue, particularly as more modest homes are expanded or torn down and replaced with larger homes. While many decry “tear downs” and “mansionization,” others believe the District should not overly restrict the scale or design of new homes. Communities like the Palisades have expressed interest in the “conservation district” concept-preserving neighborhood identity without regulating each detailed aspect of architectural design. Related issues confront the older apartment buildings along Connecticut Avenue and some of the historic estates in the community. These properties may have the capacity for additional development under zoning, but such development could reduce the integrity of the sites or structures and compromise the features that allow them to coexist so well with adjoining single family homes.

 

j.The preservation of the natural environment and improvement of environmental health remain top priorities. Like the rest of the city, Rock Creek West includes areas where storm sewers and sanitary sewers are combined, leading to sewage overflow problems during heavy rains. Tree removal and development on steep slopes in areas such as the Palisades and Forest Hills continues to cause erosion, despite tree and slope overlay regulations. Spring Valley continues to contend with the effects of discarded chemicals and munitions from World War I-era weapons testing. Residents in the westernmost part of the Planning Area are concerned about proposed dewatering facilities at Dalecarlia Reservoir, while those in Tenleytown are concerned about the health effects of communication antennas. Residents in Friendship Heights continue to be concerned about emissions and ground pollutants from the WMATA Western Bus Garage. Along major corridors throughout the Planning Area, residents contend with air and noise pollution due to cut-through traffic and idling vehicles.

 

k.A esthetic improvements are needed along some of the area’s roadways so that they can become the gracious gateways to the nation’s capital they were intended to be. In other areas, aesthetic qualities are already outstanding, and must be protected from future degradation. This is true on roads traversing national parklands such as Canal Road, Dalecarlia Parkway, and Rock Creek Parkway.

 

l.There are far fewer community-based residential facilities (CBRFs) in Rock Creek West than other parts of the city. There is no question that the community must share in the social challenges of the city, but the high cost of land and limited availability of sites continues to make this difficult. There is support in the community for scattering small-scale homeless shelters (which is actively being promoted in churches), providing social service facilities on the commercial corridors, and accepting small community residence facilities within single family neighborhoods.

 

m.Institutional uses, including private schools, non-profits, large nursing homes, colleges, hospitals, and religious establishments, are part of the fabric of the Rock Creek West community. In fact, they comprise almost 660 acres in the Planning Area, almost one-third of the citywide total. Local institutions provide a resource for local families, and include some of the most architecturally distinctive buildings and attractive settings in the community. Yet many of these facilities have structures that do not conform to the underlying zoning. In some instances, tensions have arisen between institutions and surrounding neighbors due to noise, parking, traffic, and other issues. Pursuant to the District’s zoning regulations, the compatibility of these uses must be maintained, their expansion carefully controlled, and conversion to other non-conforming uses avoided. Solutions to traffic, parking, and other issues must continue to be developed so that the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods is not diminished.

 

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.