D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1811
1811.1 Since the 1980s, much of the planning activity in Wards 7 and 8 has focused on Historic Anacostia. The area always has had symbolic importance because it is the oldest area of continuous settlement east of the river and the gateway to neighborhoods in Ward 8. Its narrow streets, wood frame row houses, well-defined business district, and hilly terrain create the ambiance of a small historic mill town, yet it is literally minutes away from the U.S. Capitol. The extension of the Metro Green Line in the early 1990s made the area more accessible and has created more economic opportunities.
1811.2 The business district was designated as a District Main Street in 2002, and commercial facade and streetscape improvements have been completed. The abandoned Nichols School has been beautifully refurbished and reopened as Thurgood Marshall Academy. Future development at Poplar Point and St. Elizabeths should also contribute to the vitality of Historic Anacostia.
1811.3 Much of the development and investment that has taken place in the past decade has been guided by the Anacostia Transit Area Strategic Investment and Development Plan, which was approved by the D.C. Council in 2006 to provide guidance on several key sites along the Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE corridor from the four-acre Metro station site on the south to the gateway at Good Hope Road SE on the north. This plan proposes mixed-use development on vacant sites, restoration of historic buildings, better ground floor retail, a return to two-way traffic on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, and improved connections to parks and adjacent neighborhoods. The plan identified three distinct centers of activity, which are summarized in Policy FSS-2.1.2.
Encourage the continued revitalization of Historic Anacostia as a safe, walkable, and attractive neighborhood, with restored historic buildings and compatible well-designed mixed-use projects. New development should serve a variety of income groups and household types and restore needed retail services to the community.
Concentrate development activity in Historic Anacostia at the following locations:
new housing opportunities and ground floor retail should be encouraged on parking lots and underused sites; and
Other opportunities exist for residences, shops, offices, and arts uses that use medium- and high-density sites on the Metro station site and in its immediate vicinity. Any increase in zoning or density around the Metro station shall only be available through a PUD with the expectation that commensurate benefits shall accrue to the neighborhood. Those benefits could include providing affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, public infrastructure improvements, and civic and cultural amenities, promoting quality in design of buildings and public spaces, supporting local schools, creating opportunities for cultural events and public art, and enhancing the public realm by addressing safety and cleanliness issues.
Improve connections between the Anacostia Metro station, Poplar Point, Anacostia Park, Cedar Hill, the Good Hope Road SE area, and Hillsdale/Fort Stanton, especially for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.
Encourage continued historic preservation efforts in Anacostia, including the restoration of commercial facades along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE and Good Hope Road SE and the rehabilitation of older and historic residential and commercial buildings.
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)).