Zoning for Alley Lots
The DC Office of Planning (OP), at the direction of the DC Zoning Commission and at the request of property owners, studied potential amendments to the zoning regulations governing alley lots. This included:
- Minimum alley width necessary to create a new alley record lot
- Minimum alley width necessary to establish a residential use on an alley lot
- Uses generally on alley lots
- Height of alley lot buildings
We submitted proposed changes to the Zoning Commission on May 19, 2025. View our report on the proposed zoning text amendment. The Zoning Commission reviewed the proposed changes at their May 29, 2025 public meeting and scheduled the application for a public hearing on November 13, 2025.
The proposed changes would have more relevance to some ANCs than others, as some neighborhoods have many alley lots, but others have almost none. Neighborhoods with the highest concentration of alley lots include Capitol Hill, Georgetown, and the neighborhoods immediately north of downtown. Please refer to the table of alley lots by ANC at the bottom of this page.
What is an Alley Lot?
An alley lot is a lot that has no frontage on a street, only frontage on an alley. Alley lots have a variety of configurations and relationships to street-facing lots. See two examples illustrated on the right. These proposed zoning text changes only apply to alley lots. Alleys themselves will not be created or closed through this process.
What is Not an Alley Lot?
A lot that has frontage on a street is not an alley lot. An alley lot is not a garage or other accessory building that may face an alley, but that is on a street-facing lot. Any proposed zoning text changes would not affect street-facing lots or accessory buildings on street-facing lots.
Public Engagement and Next Steps
Before filing the proposal, we spoke with alley lot property owners and ANC Commissioners to solicit their feedback. 
See below for links to meeting recordings, transcripts, and presentations. We will hold additional ANC open houses in October 2025, in advance of the Commission's November 13, 2025 public hearing. The hearing itself will be an additional opportunity for public comment.
Check the Office of Zoning's Case Report Page for details and scheduled meetings on this project.
See below for a link to a previous presentation to ANCs, as well as transcripts and recordings from those meetings.
- April 1, 2025: View meeting recording and transcript
- April 3, 2025: View meeting recording and transcript
- Presentation
Contact Information
Contact the project team at [email protected].
Summary of Current and Proposed Alley Lot Regulations
| Existing | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Subdivision |
Lot size as prescribed by the zone; 24 ft. alley width minimum |
No change to lot size; 15 ft. alley width minimum; Special exception process for BZA review of lots not meeting matter-of-right requirements |
| Possible Uses |
R-1 and R-2 zones: agriculture, artist studio, camping, community solar facility, vehicle parking, storage, NOT residential R-3, RF, and RA zones: uses in R-1 or R-2 plus single-family residential |
R-1 and R-2 zones: Residential permitted All zones: Same uses plus home occupations |
| Conditions for Residential Use |
Existing lot of 450 sq. ft. or more; Matter-of-right: the lot is on an alley of 24 ft. wide minimum, or 15 ft. minimum within 300 ft. of a public street; special exception for smaller alleys |
No change to lot size; Matter-of-right: 15 ft. minimum alley width; continue special exception for smaller alleys |
| Maximum Height | 20 ft.; no penthouse permitted | 22 ft.; no penthouse permitted |
| Yards and Lot Occupancy |
No yard required adjacent to other alley lots; five ft. required adjacent to street-facing lots; High percentage of lot occupancy for all alley lots |
Larger yards for R-1 and R-2 zones; More restrictive lot occupancy in R-1 and R-2 zones |
Estimated Number of Alley Lots by ANC:
| ANC | Estimated # of Alley Lots | ANC | Estimated # of Alley Lots | ANC | Estimated # of Alley Lots | ANC | Estimated # of Alley Lots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 34 | 3A | 17 | 5A | 2 | 7B | 24 |
| 1B | 64 | 3B | 19 | 5B | 44 | 7C | 31 |
| 1C | 14 | 3C | 51 | 5C | 13 | 7D | 140 |
| 1D | 11 | 3D | 21 | 5D | 26 | 7E | 2 |
| 1E | 26 | 3E | 25 | 5E | 35 | 7F | 3 |
| 2A | 41 | 3F | 19 | 5F | 88 | 8A | 12 |
| 2B | 39 | 3/4G | 27 | 6A | 134 | 8B | 4 |
| 2C | 9 | 4A | 20 | 6B | 198 | 8C | 49 |
| 2D | 8 | 4B | 61 | 6C | 129 | 8D | 1 |
| 2E | 180 | 4C | 59 | 6D | 2 | 8E | 1 |
| 2F | 23 | 4D | 64 | 6E | 4 | 8F | 2 |
| 2G | 53 | 4E | 68 |