The decision to protect a non-historic parking lot as part of designating an adjacent historic bank building is being derided by critics as another form of exclusionary zoning.

The inclusion of a parking lot in a historic landmark designation by the District of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) is raising eyebrows, writes Nick Sementelli in Greater Greater Washington, causing concern among housing advocates who say the decision will limit any future development on the lot.
The historic building at the heart of the matter is the Chevy Chase Savings Bank on Connecticut Avenue. “The landmarking of the building follows HPRB’s established norms, but the inclusion of a parking lot adjacent to the site seems to violate the board’s own precedent and national historic guidance.”
Although “Using the historic nomination process like this to control future land use is supposed to be impermissible,” the HPRB acted on the claim from Historic Chevy Chase and the DC Preservation League (DCPL) that preserving the lot is important “to prevent too tall a building from being built on the lot in the future” and “ruin” the bank building’s ambiance.
According to DCPL Executive Director Rebecca Miller, “the bank and the parking lot share a single tax lot, and that DCPL uses tax-lot boundaries when drafting nominations.” The preservation groups say they are “not trying to prevent all development on the parking lot,” but having to go through historic design review in the future will likely ensure that any future building will be limited in size.
For Sementelli, “Preemptively limiting the scale of infill development on a parking lot by surreptitiously sliding it into a landmark application for a specific building” looks suspiciously like exclusionary zoning that “is supposed to be legally out of bounds.”
FULL STORY: DC’s historic board voted to protect a non-historic parking lot. Why?

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service