D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1808
1808.1 The following general policies and actions should guide growth and neighborhood conservation decisions in Far Southeast/Southwest. These policies and actions should be considered in tandem with those in the Citywide Elements of the Comprehensive Plan.
The presence of the Anacostia Metro station and the upcoming redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths Hospital site, including the consolidation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the west campus, continue to provide an unprecedented opportunity to catalyze economic development in the Far Southeast/Southwest Planning Area. The Great Streets corridor along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE from the Anacostia River on the north to just past Malcolm X Avenue SE on the south, including the St. Elizabeths Hospital site, should be developed with medium- to high-density mixed uses, offering supportive retail services to office workers and residents alike, and providing housing opportunities to people who want to live and work in the area. Strongly promote mixed-use development, including retail, service, and residential uses, as well as office uses, on the portions of the St. Elizabeths Hospital site along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. Such mixed-use development should face the street and be open to the public, outside security barriers that may otherwise be required. Additional opportunities for future housing development and employment growth in Far Southeast/Southwest should be directed to the area around the Congress Heights Metro station, along the Great Streets corridors of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE and South Capitol Street SE, and on the DC Circulator routes to provide improved transit and automobile access to these areas and improve their visual and urban design qualities. The DC Circulator is a key element for affordably moving people around to jobs and amenities in an environmentally friendly way. Any increase in zoning or density around the Metro Station shall only be available through a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Approvals of zoning variations for height or density through PUDs shall include commensurate benefits for the neighborhood in terms of education and job opportunities, new and affordable housing for homeownership, improved urban design, and public infrastructure improvements. The PUD should include civic and cultural amenities, promote quality in design of buildings and public spaces, support local schools, create opportunities for cultural events and public art, and enhance the public realm by addressing safety and cleanliness issues.
Preserve existing single-family housing within Far Southeast/Southwest by appropriately designating such areas as Low-Density Residential (LDR) on the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and by zoning such areas for single-
family, rather than multi-family, housing.
1808.4 Policy FSS-1.1.3: Rehabilitation of Multi-Family Housing Support rehabilitation and stronger and more consistent code enforcement for the many garden apartments in the Planning Area, particularly in Shipley Terrace, Knox Hill, and Washington Highlands. Support District programs that provide financial assistance to renovate such complexes, with the condition that a significant portion of the units are preserved as affordable after renovation.
1808.5 Policy FSS-1.1.4: Infill Housing Development Support infill housing development on vacant sites within Far Southeast/Southwest, especially in Historic Anacostia and in the Hillsdale, Fort Stanton, Bellevue, Congress Heights, and Washington Highlands neighborhoods. Infill with affordable housing options can help meet the demand of low-income families currently living in the Planning Area, reduce the rates of families living without housing, and decrease the affordable housing waitlist. Infill with housing for persons of low and moderate income can help provide homes for persons and families who might otherwise be displaced from Washington, DC due to high housing costs.
1808.6 Policy FSS-1.1.5: Transportation Improvements Undertake transportation improvements and design changes that reduce the amount of cut-through commuter traffic on local streets. These changes should include new bridges over the Anacostia River, redesigned ramps, and better connections between downtown, I-295, and Suitland Parkway.
1808.7 Policy FSS-1.1.6: Retail Development Support additional retail development within Far Southeast/Southwest, especially in Historic Anacostia and in the neighborhood centers at Malcolm X Avenue SE /Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE and South Capitol Street SE/Atlantic Avenue SE. Projects that combine upper story housing or offices and ground floor retail are particularly encouraged in these three locations.
1808.8 Policy FSS-1.1.7: Grocery Stores and Services Attract additional supermarkets; a variety of food retail; sit-down, family-style restaurants; full-service gas stations; and general merchandise stores to Far Southeast/Southwest. The area's larger commercial sites should be marketed to potential investors, and economic and regulatory incentives should be used to attract business, especially grocery retail, farms, and other fresh food producers to provide for equitable opportunities to access food options. The upgrading and renovation of the area's existing auto-oriented shopping centers is strongly encouraged to reflect Washington, DC's community development and sustainability goals.
1808.9 Policy FSS-1.1.8: Parking Support additional dedicated off-street parking and loading areas in the business districts at Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE/Malcolm X Avenue SE, Alabama Avenue SE/23rd Street SE, and Historic Anacostia. Work with local merchants in each area to identify potential sites.1808.10 Policy FSS-1.1.9: Minority/Small Disadvantaged Business Development Provide technical assistance to minority-owned and small businesses in Far Southeast/Southwest to improve the range of goods and services available to the community. Joint venture opportunities, minority business set-asides, business incubator centers, and assistance to community-based development organizations should all be used to jumpstart local business and provide jobs in the community.1808.11 Policy FSS-1.1.10: Workforce Development Centers Support the development of additional job training facilities and workforce development centers, including the Infrastructure Academy. Encourage the retention of existing job training centers and the development of new centers on sites such as the St. Elizabeths Campus and DC Village to increase employment opportunities for local residents.1808.12 Policy FSS-1.1.11: Increasing Homeownership Address the low rate of homeownership in Far Southeast/Southwest by providing more owner-occupied housing in new construction, encouraging the construction of single-family homes, and supporting the conversion of rental apartments to owner-occupied housing, with an emphasis on units that are affordable to current tenants.See the Housing Element for additional information, policies, and actions on increasing homeownership opportunities.1808.13 Policy FSS-1.1.12: School Modernization Strongly support the modernization of schools in the Far Southeast/Southwest Planning Area. Plans for additional housing should be accompanied by a commitment to improving educational facilities to meet current and future needs and recognizing that education is among the community's highest priorities.1808.14 Policy FSS-1.1.13: District Government Incentives for Economic Development Use the full range of incentives and tools available to the District government, including tax abatements, tax increment financing, payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTS), eminent domain, and PUDs to promote and leverage economic development in the Far Southeast/Southwest Planning Area.1808.15 Policy FSS-1.1.14: Sustainable Development Provide innovative solutions for sustaining economic growth without harming the
environment or exhausting its resources while improving the quality of life for current and future residents.
Leverage the District’s ongoing climate preparedness and adaptation work to encourage the implementation of neighborhood-scale and site-specific solutions for a more resilient District. This includes the development of actionable policies and projects that decrease the vulnerability of people, places, and systems in the Planning Area to climate risks despite changing or uncertain future conditions.
Encourage the use of climate-resilient and energy-efficient design practices for new residential developments, especially in the construction of affordable housing units. These practices include cool and living roofs, solar shading, natural ventilation, and other passive cooling techniques that will reduce the impacts of extreme heat events on the area’s most vulnerable residents. They also include the use of green infrastructure methods that can reduce the urban heat island effect and potential flooding risks by preserving or expanding green space, tree cover, and other natural features.
Identify and support greater investments to make the existing public facilities in the Far Southeast/Southwest Planning Area more resilient to the anticipated effects of extreme heat, floods, severe weather, and health events. This includes incorporating necessary upgrades or retrofits to the improvement or reconstruction of schools, libraries, child care centers, recreation centers, health clinics, and other facilities that provide services to residents at a higher health risk and vulnerable to climate risks and social inequities.
Identify goals and priority projects to achieve them. Topics should include: access and mobility, healthy and active living, housing affordability and stability, economic and workforce development, materials management, watershed and habitat, and energy.
Explore and develop pilot strategies to protect against displacement in a Ward 8 area facing the threat of resident and local business displacement from rapid economic development. Strategies could include an expanded version (to a greater number of low income residents) of the senior citizen real property tax deferral program, and the deployment of organizers to ensure that tenant associations are formed and to build capacity of existing tenant associations so that they are aware of their rights under District law. Strategies should address low-income homeowners and renters of private, public and subsidized housing. Use the results
of the pilot to identify District-wide applications.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).