Six Years Later—More Revisions for Washington D.C.'s Zoning Code Update

None of the original team that began working on Washington D.C.'s zoning code update are still working on the project. Much has changed in the six years that have expired.

1 minute read

June 28, 2014, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"In the six-year-and-counting saga of DC's zoning update, the Office of Planning (OP) has watered down proposed zoning changes yet again. Planners have removed residents' right to put an accessory apartment in a carriage house or other external building and reinstated most of the existing parking minimum requirements around high-frequency bus lines," reports David Alpert.

Alpert provides  commentary on the decision regarding parking minimums, which has been a public concern for awhile now: "By specifying that parking minimums are cut in half around streetcar lines (and Metro stations) but not high-frequency bus lines, OP is perpetuating the unfortunate assumption in DC government that buses don't count as meaningful transit."

The article also provides a chronology of the six-year revision process that has whittled away at these two policy areas within Washington D.C.'s proposed zoning update.

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