Section 10-A515. H-4.1 INTEGRATING SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS

 

515.1One of the basic premises of the city’s Vision is that special needs housing should be accommodated in all neighborhoods of the city and not concentrated in a handful of areas, as it is today. The current distribution is uneven. Some neighborhoods have as many as 11 Community Based Residential Facilities while others have none. While it would be unrealistic to propose that each neighborhood should have an identical number of such facilities, more can be done to avoid over-concentration. 515.1

 

515.2Steps can also be taken to reduce the stigma associated with special needs housing, and to improve its compatibility with the surrounding community. This will become even more important in the future, as displacement pressures Downtown and elsewhere threaten some of the city’s emergency shelters and special needs service providers. Given limited budgets, the rising cost of land tends to drive special needs housing to the most affordable areas of the city; the very places where these uses already are concentrated. 515.2

 

Working together, the Human Rights Act of 1977, Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 effectively prohibit housing discrimination.

 

515.3Policy H-4.1.1: Integration of Special Needs Housing

 

Integrate special needs housing units throughout the city rather than segregating them into neighborhoods that already have high concentrations of such housing. 515.3

 

515.4Policy H-4.1.2: Emphasis on Permanent Housing

 

Emphasize permanent housing solutions for special-needs populations rather than building more temporary, short-term housing facilities. Permanent housing is generally more acceptable to communities than transient housing, and also is more conducive to the stability of its occupants. 515.4

 

515.5Policy H-4.1.3: Coordination of Housing and Support Services

 

Coordinate the siting of special needs housing with the location of the key services that support the population being housed. The availability of affordable public transportation to reach those services also should be considered.

 

515.6Policy H-4.1.4: Protecting the Housing Rights of Persons with Special Needs

 

Protect the housing rights of all residents with special needs through laws pertaining to property taxes, evictions, and affordable tenancy. 515.6

 

Please consult Land Use Element Section LU-3.4 for additional policies and actions on Group Homes and Community Housing.

 

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.