Chapter 3 District-Wide Planning ______Page District-Wide Planning
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chapter 3 District-wide Planning ________________________________________________________________________ Page District-wide Planning ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 74 Planning to the District’s Competitive Strengths .............................................................................................................................................................................. 75 A Green City .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 75 A Creative City ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 78 An International City ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 79 A City of Public Places ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 80 A City of Distinctive Neighborhoods ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Center City ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Revitalization Plans ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 83 Neighborhood Planning ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 Ward 1 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 Ward 2 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 89 Ward 3 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 93 Ward 4 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 97 Ward 5 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 102 Ward 6 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 107 Ward 7 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 112 Ward 8 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 117 Historic Preservation ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 122 Planning for Activity Hubs ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 133 Using Data to Inform Planning ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 135 Planning Tools .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 137 Zoning History and Process .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 137 Zoning Review .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 144 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Cycle ........................................................................................................................................................................... 144 Capital Planning ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 145 Geographic Information System (GIS) and Information Technology (IT) ....................................................................................................................... 146 73 District-wide Planning The mission of the Office of Planning (OP) is to guide development of the District of Columbia, including the preservation and revitalization of our distinctive neighborhoods, by informing decisions, advancing strategic goals, encouraging the highest quality outcomes and engaging all communities. OP performs planning for historic preservation, public facilities, parks and open spaces and individual sites. In addition, OP engages in urban design, land use, and historic preservation review. OP also conducts historic resources research and community visioning, and manages, analyzes, maps and disseminates spatial and U.S. Census data. OP is organized into five divisions, namely Neighborhood Planning, Citywide Planning, Historic Preservation, Development Review and Revitalization and Design. Over the last decade, the District has greatly expanded its implementation of neighborhood and citywide planning as a major tool to spark and guide the revitalization of the city’s neighborhoods and downtown area. This new era of urban planning has been marked by numerous neighborhood plans and corridor studies, the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative and the citywide Vision for Growing an Inclusive City. The vision is part of a new philosophy about planning in the city, which has been carried forward into the District’s 25-year Comprehensive Plan (approved by the DC Council in 2006 and updated in 2010. The Comprehensive Plan’s overriding emphasis is on improving the quality of life for current and future residents of the District of Columbia through innovative tools and new strategies in areas such as housing, transportation and the environment. Legislative Foundation The DC Code vests the Mayor with the authority to initiate, develop and submit a comprehensive plan to the Council, as well as the power to propose amendments following the plan’s adoption. In the course of adoption, the Council may alter the comprehensive plan, subject to the approval of the Mayor and review by NCPC and Congress. Because of the District’s role as the Nation’s Capital, the Comprehensive Plan includes two components: the Federal Elements, which address federal lands and facilities, and the District Elements, which address all other lands. Together, these elements constitute the District’s mandated planning documents. Family of Plans The Comprehensive Plan can be thought of as the centerpiece of a “Family of Plans” that guide public policy in the District. In the past, there has been a lack of clarity over the relationship between the Comprehensive Plan and the many other plans prepared by District agencies. This has reduced the plan’s effectiveness and even resulted in internal inconsistencies between agency plans. Under the DC Code, the Comprehensive Plan is the one plan that guides the District’s development, both broadly and in detail. Thus it carries special importance in that it provides overall direction and shapes all other physical plans that the District government adopts. In fact, all plans relating to the city’s physical development should take their lead from the Comprehensive Plan, building on common goals and shared assumptions about the future. As the guide for all District planning, the Comprehensive Plan establishes the priorities and key actions that other plans address