Section 11-I100. PURPOSES OF DOWNTOWN (D) ZONES

100.1 The purposes of the Downtown (D) zones (D-1-R, D-2, D-3, D-4, D-4-R, D-5, D-5-R, D-6, D-6-R, D-7, and D-8) are to provide for the orderly development and use of land and structures in areas the Comprehensive Plan generally characterized as:

(a) Central Washington; or

(b) Appropriate for a high-density mix of office, retail, service, residential, entertainment, lodging, institutional, and other uses, often grouped into neighborhoods with distinct identities. 

100.2 The provisions of this subtitle are intended to:

(a) Create a balanced mixture of land uses by providing incentives and requirements for retail, residential, entertainment, arts, and cultural uses the Comprehensive Plan identifies as essential to a successful downtown, and by guiding and regulating office development;

(b) Protect historic buildings and places while permitting compatible new development, subject to the review process of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978;

(c) Guide the design of buildings into being not inconsistent with the policies of the Central Washington Element and other relevant elements of the Comprehensive Plan;

(d) Provide for the return of historic L’Enfant streets and rights-of way;

(e) Establish design or use requirements for the ground-level of buildings facing certain streets that are of high priority for furthering retail, pedestrian or historic purposes contained in the Comprehensive Plan;

(f) Encourage the development of publicly-accessible open space;

(g) Encourage the development of housing, including the development and preservation of affordable housing, in Central Washington consistent with the policies of the Central Washington Element and other relevant elements of the Comprehensive Plan;

(h) Provide incentives and flexible mechanisms for achieving the retail, residential, historic, and open spaces goals through the generation and use of density credits that can be traded within defined areas;

(i) Ensure a continued mix of retail and residential development in the Comprehensive Plan’s Chinatown policy focus area;

(j) Promote the growth of a well-design mixed-uses and streetscapes on portions of M Street, S.E., South Capitol Street, and properties now devoted to federal offices in Southwest, including a mechanism for selective design review by the Zoning Commission; and

(k) Provide for adequate and visually acceptable parking and consolidated loading facilities that do not interfere with active, pedestrian-oriented sidewalks and the flow of vehicular traffic. 

 

 

authority

§ 1 of the Zoning Act of 1938, approved June 20, 1938 (52 Stat. 797, as amended; D.C. Official Code § 6-641.01 (2012 Repl.)).

source

Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 2447, 3041 (March 4, 2016 – Part 2).