D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 2302
2302.1 Statistics on existing land use are estimated from current lot-by-lot property tax data together with additional information on housing units, employment, District and federal land ownership, parks, roads, water bodies, etc. 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 used a decade apart and not actual changes in land use. Land use statistics for the Rock Creek West Planning Area appear in Figure 23.1. The Planning Area comprises about 8,300 acres, or roughly 19 percent of the District. This total includes 7,961 acres of land and 340 acres of water.
2302.2 Residential uses represent the largest single land use in the Planning Area, accounting for about 36 percent of the total. Of the residential acreage, 77 percent is developed with single-family detached homes. About 13 percent is developed with semi-detached homes, row houses, and other attached single-family housing. The remaining 10 percent is developed with multi-family apartments and condominiums. Higher density housing is concentrated along the Connecticut Avenue corridor, along Massachusetts Avenue NW between Ward Circle and Idaho Avenue NW, and along Lower Wisconsin Avenue NW. Densities in most of the area are well below the District-wide total, although individual blocks along the avenues contain some of the densest housing in Washington, DC.
2302.3 Commercial land uses occupy just two percent of the area. Major commercial centers are located around the five Metro stations, in walkable shopping districts along the avenues, and in neighborhood shopping centers like Spring Valley. Institutional uses make up about four percent of the land area. These uses include American University, Sibley Hospital, and the campuses of numerous private schools and religious institutions. There are no industrial uses in Rock Creek West.
2302.4 Parks, recreation, and open space comprise 28 percent of the Planning Area. The majority of this acreage is owned by NPS, including Rock Creek Park, the national parklands along the Potomac River, and Glover Archbold Park. Transportation rights-of-way represent about 23 percent of the Planning Area, which is somewhat lower than the District-wide total. Federal government facilities comprise about 3.5 percent of the land area. A majority of this acreage is contained within federal complexes such as the Naval Security Center and the Naval Observatory. Only 1.8 percent of the Planning Area consists of private, undeveloped land.
2302.5 Figure 23.1: Land Use Composition in Rock Creek West
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)).