D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 2012
2012.1 14th Street NW has been experiencing an urban renaissance, with hundreds of new housing units completed in the last decade, more under construction, and new ground floor retail businesses opening on almost every block between Rhode Island Avenue NW and Park Road NW. Once a major commercial thoroughfare, the corridor was heavily impacted by the 1968 unrest, and many of its buildings sat vacant for more than 30 years.
2012.2 The commercial district around 14th Street NW and Park Road NW was initially developed in the early 1900s as a transit-oriented commercial center, anchored by the historic Riggs Bank (now PNC) and Tivoli Theater on the northwest and northeast corners. In 1997, a series of community workshops was held to create a redevelopment strategy for the area, ultimately targeting several major parcels owned by the Redevelopment Land Agency around the Metro station.
2012.3 The 1997 effort led to another initiative several years later, which culminated in the 2004 Columbia Heights Public Realm Framework Plan. The Framework Plan was developed to enhance public space in the Metro station vicinity. The plan was coordinated with plans for private development on adjacent properties. All totaled, this resulted in over 600 new housing units, approximately 650,000 square feet of retail space, 30,000 square feet of office space, and 2,000 parking spaces. The Framework Plan also incorporated connections to the Columbia Heights Education Campus, as well as other cultural and civic uses nearby. While most of Columbia Heights has been developed, some development opportunities still exist around the Metro station.
2012.4 The goal of the Columbia Heights Public Realm Framework Plan is to make the neighborhood more pedestrian friendly, coordinate infrastructure improvements, and create a stronger civic identity for Columbia Heights. Its recommendations, which have been implemented, include a new civic plaza, paving and streetscape improvements, tree planting, public art, and reconfiguration of streets and intersections to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety.
2012.5 South of Columbia Heights, medium-density, mixed-use development has been constructed on many blocks extending south from Irving Street NW to U Street NW. Over the past 10 years, redevelopment has been reshaping the corridor from auto-oriented commercial uses, including several strip shopping centers and warehouses, to an attractive urban residential street. Special efforts should continue to be made to refurbish and preserve public housing along the corridor and to establish appropriate transitions in scale and density between the corridor and the less dense residential areas on the west and east. Strengthening of the 11th Street NW neighborhood commercial district, located several blocks east of
Columbia Heights, also should continue to be encouraged. With the DC-USA project and other new large-scale retail development near the Columbia Heights Metrorail station, programs to assist the existing small businesses in this area may be needed.
2012.6 Over the past 10 years, DDOT has reconstructed and reconfigured streets and installed numerous bikeshare docking stations. Metro has improved bus service, and the carsharing economy has emerged, helping to balance mobility and access to new housing and retail. These improvements dramatically increased vibrancy and aim to create a variety of options for people to move throughout Washington, DC.
2012.7 Policy MC-2.2.1: Columbia Heights Metro Station Area Development Maintain the Columbia Heights Metro station area as a thriving mixed-use community center, anchored by mixed-income housing, community-serving retail, offices, civic uses, and public plazas. Strive to retain the neighborhood's extraordinary cultural diversity and place a priority on development and services that meet the needs of local residents, such as preserving existing housing and creating more affordable and mixed-income housing close to the Metrorail station and bus transit corridors.
2012.8 Policy MC-2.2.2: Public Realm Improvements Improve the streets, sidewalks, and public rights-of-way in the 14th Street NW/Park Road NW vicinity to improve pedestrian safety and create a more attractive public environment.
2012.9 Policy MC-2.2.3: Park Capacity Pursue opportunities to create new publicly accessible open space in Columbia Heights and to increase community access to public school open space during non-school hours. Continue to improve the quality of existing parkland and outdoor recreation facilities.
2012.10 Policy MC-2.2.4: Multimodal Management Improve bus, pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular movement; parking management; and pedestrian safety along the 14th Street NW corridor while balancing the transportation and traffic needs of adjacent cross-streets. Undertake transportation improvement programs to sustain the additional residential, retail, and institutional development around the Columbia Heights Metro station. These improvements should achieve a balanced multimodal system that meets the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists.
2012.11 Policy MC-2.2.5: 11th Street NW Commercial District Retain the 11th Street NW corridor between Kenyon and Monroe Streets NW as a neighborhood shopping district. Preserve the mixed-use character of the corridor
and encourage local-serving retail businesses and housing.
2012.12
Support ongoing efforts to strengthen the small businesses on Park Road NW and businesses on 14th Street NW between Newton and Shepherd Streets NW. This segment is identified as a critical commercial node in the Central 14th Street Small Area Plan adopted in 2012. Build on the momentum of development in Columbia Heights by extending enhanced streetscape elements into this area. Improve the commercial district by supporting the recommendations of the Retail Action Strategy, including façade improvements, technical assistance, enhanced public infrastructure, and other measures, to sustain a thriving business community that serves the surrounding neighborhood.
2012.13
Washington, DC has few east-west network connections north of the original L'Enfant Plan street grid. This makes east-west travel to and from neighborhoods and activity centers challenging, as a limited number of corridors carry the majority of the traffic. In 2016, DDOT undertook the Cross-Town Multimodal Transportation Study to identify improvements along the east-west connections that traverse Wards 1 and 5, address safety concerns, optimize mobility and operations, and improve efficiency for all modes along the corridor. Recommended improvements in the study specific to this policy focus area include transit priority treatments along Irving Street NW and Columbia Road NW, safety treatments at the intersections of Columbia Road NW and 14th and 16th Streets NW, and a new bicycle facility along Kenyon Street NW that would connect to a multiuse trail linking neighborhoods to the Washington Hospital Center and adjacent institutions.
2012.14
Implement DDOT's Cross-Town Multimodal Transportation Study recommendations.
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)).