2002 LAND USE

2002.1 Land use statistics for this Planning Area appear in Figure 20.1. Mid-City comprises about 1,970 acres, or about five percent, of the District's land area. Statistics on existing land use are estimated from current lot-by-lot property tax data and additional information on housing units, employment, District and federal land ownership, parks, roads, and water bodies. They are not comparable to the statistics included in the 2006 Comprehensive Plan, which were based on a much simpler method. Even large differences between the older and newer statistics may reflect differences in the modeling approaches and not actual changes in land use.

2002.2 The area is primarily residential, with row houses being the predominant house type. Only about two percent of the residential area contains single-family detached housing, whereas more than 70 percent contains row houses. The remainder of the residential land, totaling almost 200 acres, consists of apartments. Much of the Mid-City Planning Area contain row houses, flats, and high-rise apartments on the same block.

2002.3 The commercial areas of Mid-City tend to be laid out along neighborhood shopping streets and are frequently intermixed with housing. Major commercial areas include 18th Street NW, Columbia Road NW, 14th Street NW, Mount Pleasant Street NW, U Street NW, 7th Street NW/Georgia Avenue NW, and North Capitol Street NW. There is little space for parking or loading in these business districts, and residential neighborhoods often lie immediately adjacent. Commercial and mixed land uses amount to approximately five percent of the total land area, which is a larger percentage than is found in most of the District's Planning Areas. About one percent of the land is used for industry, most on the area's eastern edge along the CSX tracks. While the area is generally well served by commercial uses, neighborhoods on the east side lack the variety of services available on the west side.

2002.4 Figure 20.1 Land Use Composition in Mid-City

2002.5 Parks and open spaces occupy almost nine percent of the land area in Mid-City, and most of this acreage is associated with Rock Creek Park. The remaining parks in the area are small and heavily used. Other public uses in the Planning Area include schools, libraries, community centers, and fire stations. These represent about three percent of the total area. Institutional uses consist primarily of Howard University and Howard Hospital and comprise seven percent of the land area.

2002.6 About one percent of the Mid-City Planning Area, or about 36 acres, consists of vacant land. Much of this land is committed to future development projects, such as the McMillan Sand Filtration Site and the Howard Town Center. Although there are scattered vacant lots, the area is almost completely built out.

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)).