Section 11-1700. GENERAL PROVISIONS (DD)

 

1700.1The Downtown Development (DD) Overlay District is applied to the core of the Downtown area, including subareas identified in the Comprehensive Plan as the Downtown Shopping District (Retail Core), the Arts District, Gallery Place, Chinatown, Pennsylvania Quarter, Convention Center, and Mount Vernon Square, and areas designated for historic preservation and housing mixed use, which areas overlap geographically with the subareas. All street locations in this overlay district are in Northwest Washington.

 

1700.2The purpose of the DD Overlay District is to help accomplish the land use and development policies of the Comprehensive Plan relating to the affected Downtown sectors. The adopted planning policies for this area are primarily contained in 10 DCMR, Chapter 9, entitled "Downtown Plan Element," and 10 DCMR, Chapter 11, entitled "Land Use Element," as amended.

 

1700.3The most important general purposes include the following:

 

(a)To create a balanced mixture of uses by means of incentives and requirements for critically important land uses identified in the Comprehensive Plan, including retail, hotel, residential, entertainment, arts, and cultural uses;

 

(b)To guide and regulate office development, which is generally favored by market forces over the other desired uses, so as to further the land use objectives for retail, hotel, residential, entertainment, arts, and cultural uses;

 

(c)To protect historic buildings and places while permitting sensitive and compatible new development subject to the historic preservation review process of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-144, as amended; D.C. Official Code, §§ 6-1101 to 6-1115 (2001) (formerly codified at D.C. Official Code §§ 5-1001 to 5-1015 (1994 Repl. & 1999 Supp.)));

 

(d)To substantially achieve the specific land use and development policies for the following Downtown subareas: Retail Core, Gallery Place, Convention Center, Chinatown, Pennsylvania Avenue West, Pennsylvania Quarter, Mount Vernon Square, and Judiciary Square;

 

(e)To guide the design of buildings to be generally consistent with the urban design, street orientation and design, and historic preservation policies of the Downtown Plan Element of the Comprehensive Plan;

 

(f)To foster growth opportunities for and retention of small and minority businesses; and

 

(g)To provide adequate and visually acceptable short-term parking and consolidated loading facilities having access primarily from streets other than F, G, and 7th Streets.

 

1700.4The DD Overlay District and the underlying zoning together constitute the zoning regulations for the geographic area referred to in § 1700.1. Wherever there are conflicts between this chapter and the underlying zoning, the provisions of the DD Overlay District shall govern.

 

1700.5The requirements and incentives of this chapter apply to all new buildings and to all other buildings where any additions, alterations, or repairs within any twelve-month (12) period exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the assessed value of the building as set forth in the records of the Office of Tax and Revenue as of the date of the building permit application; provided:

 

(a)The cost basis for alterations or additions to an existing building shall be the amount indicated by the applicant on the application for a building permit;

 

(b)The assessed value of the building shall be the value set forth in records of the Office of Tax and Revenue as of the date of the building permit application; and

 

(c)In the case of an addition, the requirements and incentives of this chapter apply only to the addition.

 

1700.6An applicant for a building permit or a certificate of occupancy involving ten thousand square feet (10,000 ft.2) or more of gross floor area within the DD Overlay District shall provide a copy of the application, or of those portions of the application affected by the DD Overlay District provisions to the Director of the D.C. Office of Planning, at the time of filing with the Zoning Administrator; the Director shall, within ten (10) days of the filing, provide the Zoning Administrator with a memorandum setting forth the Director's interpretation of DD Overlay District requirements, incentives, and other effects.

 

1700.7A Planned Unit Development (PUD) in the DD Overlay District shall be subject to the following provisions in addition to those of Chapter 24 of this title:

 

(a)The PUD shall only be granted for projects that are superior in achieving the purposes of this chapter and the adopted objectives and policies of the Downtown Plan Element of the Comprehensive Plan;

 

(b)The PUD process shall not be used to reduce requirements in this chapter for housing or preferred uses, specifically retail, service, entertainment, arts, and residential uses;

 

(c)Except as provided in § 1706.7, the guideline floor area ratio (FAR) for a PUD may be granted only after the applicant has demonstrated to the Zoning Commission that transferable development rights have been purchased to the maximum feasible extent prior to the request for additional density in excess of that amount; and

 

(d)Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, if a PUD is proposed to govern the following, the PUD shall be guided by the applicable policies of the Comprehensive Plan pertaining to the development of:

 

1)The University of the District of Columbia campus and other uses in Squares 401, 402, 425, and 426, and

 

2)A convention center headquarters hotel on square 370.

 

 

authority

The Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia (the “Commission”), pursuant to its authority under §§ 1, 3, and 8 of the Zoning Act of 1938, approved June 20, 1938 (52 Stat. 797, 798, and 799; D.C. Official Code §§ 6-641.01, 6-641.03, and 6-641.07).

source

Final Rulemaking published at 38 DCR 612 (January 18, 1991); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 46 DCR 1016, 1017 (February 5, 1999); and Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 9741-43 (December 8, 2000), incorporating by reference the text of Proposed Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 8335, 8471-72 (October 20, 2000); as amended by Final Rulemaking and Order No. 08-05 published at 56 DCR 3120 (April 24, 2009); as corrected by Errata Notice published at 58 DCR 4314, 4315 (May 20, 2011); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 4203 (March 22, 2013).