Photo by scsmith4.
Tonight at St. John’s Church at 6:00, the Citizens Association of Georgetown will be hosting an open meeting to discuss proposed changes to zoning rules in Georgetown. It sounds incredibly dry, but it is actually a very interesting topic and should help influence land use policy in Georgetown for decades to come.
Background
The District of Columbia last rewrote its zoning code in 1958. Since that time the local government (which over that time transitioned from a board of commissioners, to an appointed council, and finally to an elected council) has touched up the document in innumerable ways. As a result, it is now a hulking incomprehensible mess.
In 2006, the DC Office of Planning updated another old guiding document: the Comprehensive Plan. This document sets forth the Districts general policies for a wide range of issues. Amending it meant establishing the city’s course for the next century.
Since the comp plan had much to say about land use, it followed that the zoning code should be modernized to incorporate the new policies set forth in the plan. The Office of Planning has been slowly working towards producing that updated code for years now. Last year it finally issued draft new regulations.
Early on, the Citizens Association of Georgetown reached out to the Office of Planning and requested an opportunity to work with the Office of Planning on drafting the rules that would specifically apply to Georgetown. The office was receptive to the request and began working with CAG.
Members of CAG representing ostensibly divergent views worked on the draft. Some were conservative and were nervous about the possibility of increased density, while others (like GM) are card carrying urbanists who welcome increased density. Over many meetings within CAG and with the Office of Planning, a draft “specialized zone” was created for Georgetown.
It is not final, and is subject to input from a wider group than who initially contributed to it. But GM will spend the rest of this post highlighting some of the more important elements. Continue reading
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