The Office of Planning (OP) had a busy 2019, focusing on the Comprehensive Plan, the Housing Framework for Equity and Growth, and Census 2020, among many other projects. This was an eventful year for the Comp Plan Update, with Council adopting the Framework Element and OP releasing the draft of the remaining elements in October. Following the release of the full draft, OP staff spent the fall and winter months conducting the public review process, with a series of community and ANC meetings in all eight wards of the District. The deadline for the public review period is January 10, 2020 for residents and February 14, 2020 for ANCs, after which point feedback will be reviewed and incorporated as appropriate into the Mayor’s submission to DC Council.
One of OP’s biggest projects of the year was the Housing Framework for Equity and Growth report, which was kicked off when Mayor Bowser set a goal for the District to have 36,000 new housing units by 2025. In October, OP, with support from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), released the Housing Equity Report, which included an inventory of affordable units in each planning area and made the District the first city in the nation to set affordable housing targets by neighborhood. We held two community conversations on housing and are currently in the process of conducting a housing experience and design analysis that will inform opportunities and recommendations into 2020.
Lastly, as we close out another year, OP has spent the past year preparing for the DC Census 2020. The Census is used for the distribution federal funding, local budgeting and planning decisions, and updating Ward and ANC boundaries. Therefore, it is crucial that every District resident is counted, and this will continue to be a priority for OP as we get closer to the Census release in March!
Beyond these three projects, OP had many important successes this year, such as releasing the District’s first Cultural Plan, launching a data visualization portal, creating the African American Civil Rights Trail, and releasing the Sustainability Guidelines for Older and Historic Properties.
See what else we've been up to in December below. See you all in 2020!
Stay tuned as future newsletters promise to be full of updates and planning news. Please feel free to share with others, who can sign up here. In addition, you can follow our work on Twitter at @OPinDC.
Sincerely,
Andrew Trueblood
Director, DC Office of Planning
Public Review Period for Comprehensive Plan Extended
Bowser Administration Led Town Hall on Housing Equity in the District