The District of Columbia has been working for more than a year to update the D.C. Comprehensive Plan Framework Element. A new draft was recently released to the public, with a vote coming potentially very soon.
Last week, the office of the chair of the Council of the District of Columbia, Phil Mendelson, released a draft of the D.C. Comprehensive Plan Framework Element bill, reports Alex Baca. The draft updates the Framework Element after several years of planning work.
"Housing advocates have been paying close attention to whether the updates will modernize how development works in the District," according to Baca, who also declares that the changes, in their current form, are worth the wait.
Baca checks in with the amendments proposed by Mendelson over the summer (spoiler: a lot of the substance of those amendments didn't survive recent revisions) and other considerations important to the Greater Greater Washington readership (which, we assume has more than a little overlap with the Planetizen readership).
It's possible that the Framework bill could be approved as soon as October 8, according to Baca.
Read the full story: Draft updates to part of DC’s comprehensive plan are good news for housing advocates
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
Non-stop party: Chicago voters weigh permanent festival grounds
A stable place for bleachers, stages and drainage may streamline the setup and teardown of large events.
Metra may invest $9.1 billion in regional rail
The agency released a draft of a study examining potential ways to offer more frequent train service.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority