The Office of Planning will host a virtual public roundtable to receive comments about ways to encourage housing and affordable housing throughout the District and in the downtown, deepening affordability and providing off-site affordable housing units on November 1 at 4:00 PM.
Background
The 2021 Comprehensive Plan (“Comp Plan”) includes policies for leveraging inclusionary zoning, providing affordable housing in high opportunity areas and talks to targeted household incomes (Comp Plan/Housing Element).
The Comp Plan set a goal of a minimum 15% affordable housing units by 2050 for each Planning Area, including Central Washington. The Central Washington Planning Area includes the core of DC’s office market, where it has historically been difficult for housing, and especially affordable housing, to be built. The downtown presents opportunities for new housing as recent changes in demand for office space are leading some commercial property owners to consider redeveloping properties into residential. However, this opportunity is coupled with challenges for the application of Inclusionary Zoning because there is limited capacity for bonus density.
The Office of Planning will host a roundtable to invite ideas and comments about ways to encourage housing and affordable housing throughout the District and in the downtown, and proposals to leverage inclusionary zoning and other tools to expand the supply of housing and affordable housing. Following the roundtable discussion, OP will analyze the ideas and comments presented and report back to the Zoning Commission and the public on the feedback it received as well as next steps for the Commission’s consideration.
Several recent ZC cases have been filed that are related to the topic of this roundtable. They include
Z.C. Cases 21-23, 21-24, and 21-25, which can be viewed online at the Office of Zoning website, through the Interactive Zoning Information System (“IZIS”), at https://app.dcoz.dc.gov/Content/Search/Search.aspx.
Roundtable Guidance
Participants are requested to focus comments on the topic identified in this notice.
How to Participate - Oral Presentation
Interested persons or representatives of organizations may be heard at the virtual roundtable. All individuals, organizations, or associations wishing to testify at the virtual roundtable are strongly encouraged to sign up to testify at least 24 hours prior to the start of the hearing by sending an email to [email protected].
All witnesses are requested to prepare their testimony in writing, submit the written testimony prior to giving statements, and limit oral presentations to summaries of the most important points. The following time limits are requested for oral testimony:
- Organizations 5 minutes each
- Individuals 3 minutes each
How to Participate as a Witness - Written Statements
Written statements, in lieu of personal appearances or oral presentation, may be submitted for consideration. The public is encouraged to submit written testimony by email to [email protected]. Please include in the subject line “Proposed IZ Text Amendment by OAG” in your email submission.
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