D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 2312
2312.1 Wisconsin Avenue extends 4.5 miles north from the Georgetown waterfront to the District border, where it continues beyond the state line into Bethesda, Maryland. The road pre-dates the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. At one time, it was one of the main commercial routes connecting the Port of Georgetown with communities farther north and was lined with houses and estates, some of which remain today. Today, Wisconsin Avenue serves as the primary commercial and civic corridor for several District neighborhoods, including Glover Park, Cathedral Heights, Tenleytown, and Friendship Heights.
2312.2 The mix of uses along the avenue is varied. Its lower portions include pedestrian-oriented shopping, mid- and high-rise apartment buildings, and prominent institutional uses such as the Russian Embassy and the National Cathedral. Farther north, the avenue passes through lower density neighborhoods, with a mix of retail uses, mid-rise office buildings, places of worship, private schools, and other institutional uses. For several blocks on either side of the Maryland line, the avenue passes through a regional commercial center at Friendship Heights. The regional center includes large department stores, office buildings, and hotels on both the Maryland and District sides.
2312.3 After years of planning and review, new mixed-use development has been completed on Wisconsin Avenue NW in recent years, including Cathedral Commons near McLean Gardens and a few residential buildings in Tenleytown. Along the corridor, smaller infill projects are adding new residents. Large tract projects at the old Fannie Mae building and neighboring 4000 Wisconsin Avenue NW are approved to bring several hundred new homes and commercial space, and the private schools on the corridor are also expanding. While the Friendship Heights Metro area has urbanized rapidly north of Western Avenue NW, there have been few changes on the District side. With changes underway and growth extending up Wisconsin Avenue, directed and coordinated planning is needed around both Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro station areas.
2312.4 The Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro stations are important multimodal transit hubs that serve as termini for crosstown bus lines, as well as private institutional shuttles. Both station areas offer opportunities for transit-oriented redevelopment to improve streetscapes, create convivial public spaces, diversify the shopping experience, and create new housing, including affordable housing. Friendship Heights is a regional center, and Tenleytown is a multi-neighborhood center, each with opportunities for new retail and residential uses. Given the high land values in the neighborhoods along Wisconsin Avenue NW, redevelopment projects are an opportunity to increase the limited number of affordable and moderate-income housing units in the Rock Creek West Planning Area.
2312.5 Friendship Heights and Tenleytown are transit-accessible neighborhoods that will contribute to the sustainable and equitable growth of Washington, DC as new development arrives along Wisconsin Avenue NW. Thus, several core issues must be addressed as plans for any of the sites around the Metro stations or along the corridor move forward. Any redevelopment along the corridor should promote walkability and create a more attractive street environment. The impact of new development on traffic, parking, infrastructure, and public services should be mitigated to the greatest extent feasible. The scale and height of new development on the corridor should transition appropriately to nearby single-family homes, while the design of new buildings should reflect their urban transit-oriented context.
2312.6 Urban design improvements can make the Tenleytown Metro station area a more attractive and better connected community hub in the future. With busy public schools, parks, a library, commercial uses, and new residential projects, the pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular connectivity throughout the Tenleytown Metro station area remains an urban design challenge. In 2014, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and District Department of Transportation completed a joint study of pedestrian access to the Tenleytown Metro station and recommended physical changes to address safety and access at this busy multimodal area. Amenities, such as public art, more attractive facades, and street trees, should be encouraged. Attention should also be paid to reducing pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, both across streets and within sites, and to ensuring safe pedestrian access to both Metro station entrances.
2312.7 Policy RCW-2.2.1: Housing Opportunities
Pursue the opportunity for additional housing, including affordable and moderate-income housing, with some retail and limited office space on Wisconsin Avenue and underdeveloped sites west of the Friendship Heights Metro station. .
2312.8 Policy RCW-2.2.2: Tenleytown and Friendships Heights Metrorail Station Areas
Support coordinated planning for Wisconsin Avenue's Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro station areas, extending north from Van Ness to the Maryland state line at Western Avenue. Planning considerations for the corridor should:
development;
2312.9 Policy RCW-2.2.3: National Cathedral
Any development adjacent to the National Cathedral should complement its setting and mitigate direct traffic impacts on the Cathedral's operations. At the same time, the Cathedral's traffic, parking, and activity impacts should not diminish the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods.
2312.10 Policy RCW-2.2.4: Wisconsin and Western Avenues NW
Any changes to facilitate through-traffic on Wisconsin and Western Avenues NW should be accompanied by pedestrian and bicycle safety measures and ease adverse effects of traffic on local streets.
2312.11 Policy RCW-2.2.5: Land Use Compatibility Along Wisconsin Avenue NW
Future development along Wisconsin Avenue NW should be architecturally sensitive to adjoining residential neighborhoods. Use a variety of means to improve the interface between mixed-use districts and lower-scale residential uses, such as architectural design, the stepping down of building heights away from the avenue, landscaping and screening, and additional green space improvements.
2312.12 Policy RCW-2.2.6: Livability in Rock Creek West
Continue to evaluate transportation safety and quality of life issues for all users of the street network and identify concrete actions to increase transportation options and safety.
2312.13 Action RCW-2.2.A: Zoning and Design Measures
Continue to work with the community, the ANCs, and local property owners to address concerns regarding building density and height, PUDs and related density bonuses, and architectural design in the Planning Area. Zoning techniques should
be considered to break up the auto-oriented commercial appearance of much of Wisconsin Avenue NW and instead create a more pedestrian-oriented street, distinct in function and visual character from adjacent residential areas.
2312.14 Action RCW-2.2.B: Livability Implement the recommendations in the Rock Creek West II Livability Study completed in 2011 and subsequent completed livability studies.
2312.15 Action RCW-2.2.C: Wisconsin Avenue NW Planning Craft a coordinated vision with the District and community to better understand the realities of change along northern Wisconsin Avenue NW to inform future development and manage growth on the Wisconsin Avenue corridor at the Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro station areas. A plan will identify opportunities for urban design, commerce, housing, mobility, culture, public space, and community facilities to preserve a high-standard urban quality of life and advance District policies promoting inclusive prosperity.
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)).