D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 305
305.1 Key to the Comprehensive Plan is the transformation of Washington, DC's core (generally referred to throughout the Comprehensive Plan as Central Washington) into a lively, connected urban center. The Central Business District and the Central Employment Area (CEA) may overlap with Central Washington, but do not comprise the total Planning Area. The distinct commercial districts that make up Central Washington already comprise one of the largest central business districts in the United States. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, much of the area lacks the dynamic 24/7 character that defines other great world capitals. For decades, the District's planners aspired to create a living downtown: a place alive with housing, theaters, retail stores, and restaurants, as well as the vast expanse of office space that defines central Washington, DC today. New neighborhoods such as the area around Gallery Place, Penn Quarter, North of Massachusetts Avenue (NoMa), and downtown have been developed with a mix of uses. Physical barriers, including the Center Leg Freeway and Union Station open railyard, are being bridged over with mixed-use developments that will reconnect the District. These efforts are paying off, but the area has even more potential for lively mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-friendly developments and easy and safe connectivity among neighborhoods.
305.2 Between 2005 and 2025, approximately 30 percent of the District's housing growth and 70 percent of its job growth occurred, and will have occurred, within the District's urban core and adjacent close-in areas along the Anacostia River. After 2025, growth is anticipated to occur throughout Washington, DC, including outside of the urban core. This growth must be accommodated in a way that protects the area's historic character, including the street and open space frameworks, civic vistas, and monumental spaces established by the Plan of the City of Washington and the 1910 height limit and the concentration of architectural landmarks downtown. Infill and redevelopment will take place within the established business districts west of 5th Street NW, but a majority of downtown Washington, DC's future growth will be achieved through redevelopment of areas on its east side.
305.3 NoMa and Capitol Riverfront, two areas adjoining the traditional downtown and each more than 300 acres in size, have accommodated much of the central District's growth. The former includes land in the triangle bounded by New York Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and the CSX railroad, along with adjacent lands around the New York Avenue Metro station. The latter area includes the South Capitol corridor and Near Southeast, including the Capitol Riverfront area. Whereas much of traditional downtown Washington was redeveloped for single purpose (office) uses during the second half of the 20th century, recent development focused on a walkable and mixed-use environment, including housing, employment, and recreation with an emphasis on modes of
transportation other than the individual automobile.
305.4 As the urban core expands, reinvestment in established business districts, such as the Golden Triangle, the Downtown Core, and the Near Southwest should also continue. These areas are being modernized, better connected to one another, and developed with new infill uses and public improvements. Areas outside the traditional downtown, such as the Florida Avenue Market and Rhode Island Avenue, NE, provide opportunities for revitalization and re-envisioning how people work and live in the District, while smaller sites present the opportunity for new retail, housing, and office development. Across larger and smaller sites, efforts to strengthen the core should serve and attract businesses and people from across the income spectrum, including through the creation and preservation of affordable housing.
305.5 Additional information on planning issues in these areas may be found in the Central Washington Area Element, the Upper Northeast Area Element, and the Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Element. These chapters should be consulted for specific policies and actions.
Provide for the continued vitality of Central Washington as a thriving business, government, retail, financial, hospitality, cultural, and residential center. Promote continued reinvestment in central District buildings, infrastructure, and public spaces; continued preservation and restoration of historic resources; and continued efforts to create safe, attractive, and pedestrian-friendly environments, while minimizing displacement of residents and community-focused businesses.
Continue the joint federal/District designation of a CEA within Washington, DC. The CEA shall include existing core federal facilities, such as the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, and the Supreme Court, as well as most of the legislative, judicial, and executive administrative headquarters of the U.S. government. Additionally, the CEA shall include the greatest concentration of the District’s private office development, and higher-density mixed land uses, including commercial/retail, hotel, residential, and entertainment uses. Given federally imposed height limits, the scarcity of vacant land in the core of the District, and the importance of protecting historic resources, the CEA may include additional land necessary to support economic growth and federal expansion. The CEA may be used to guide the District’s economic development initiatives and may be incorporated in its planning and building standards (e.g., parking requirements) to reinforce urban character. The CEA is also important because it is part of the point system used by the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish federal leases. The boundaries of the CEA are shown in Map 3.4.
305.8
Policy LU-1.2.3: Appropriate Uses in the CEA
Ensure that land within the CEA is used in a manner which reflects the area's national importance, its historic and cultural significance, and its role as the center of the metropolitan region. Federal siting guidelines and District zoning regulations should promote the use of this area with high-value land uses that enhance its image as the seat of the national government and the center of Washington, DC and that make the most efficient possible use of its transportation facilities. An improved balance in the mix of uses will help to achieve Washington, DC's aspiration for an even larger living downtown.
305.9
Map 3.4: Central Employment Area (CEA) Map
305.10
Both the District and Federal Elements include a joint federal/District designation of a Central Employment Area (CEA) within Washington, DC. The CEA includes the existing core of federal facilities, such as the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, as well as the Supreme Court, and most of the legislative, judicial, and executive administrative headquarters of the United States government. The CEA
is the District of Columbia's commercial core where the greatest concentration of employment is encouraged. Additional Federal Employment Areas, such as Parkside, are located in other parts of the District. Federal Employment Areas are also part of the GSA point system used to establish federal leases.
305.11
Policy LU-1.2.4: Urban Mixed-Use Neighborhoods
Encourage new mixed-use neighborhoods combining high-density residential, office, retail, cultural, and open space uses in the following areas:
The location of these areas is shown in the Central Washington, and Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Elements. Land use regulations and design standards for these areas should require that they are developed as attractive pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, with high-quality architecture and public spaces. Housing, including affordable housing, is particularly encouraged and should be a vital component of the future land use mix. As areas continue to redevelop, community engagement and actions shall be undertaken to retain existing residents, particularly communities of color and vulnerable populations, and enable them to share in the benefits of area redevelopment while addressing adverse short and long-term impacts.
305.12
Policy LU-1.2.5: CEA Historic Resources
Preserve the scale and character of the CEA's historic resources, including historic landmarks and districts and the features of the Plan of the City of Washington. Development must be sensitive to the area's historic character and should enhance important reminders of Washington, DC's past.
Please consult the Historic Preservation and Urban Design Elements for related policies.
305.13
Support the retention of the established residential neighborhoods adjacent to the CEA. Appropriate building setbacks, lot coverage standards, and transitions in land use intensity and building height shall be required along the edges of the CEA to protect the integrity and scale of adjacent neighborhoods and to establish a compatible relationship between new structures and the existing neighborhood fabric.
Please refer to the Urban Design Element for additional guidance on the appropriate transition of intensity at the edges of the CEA.
305.14
Support the development of air rights over rail tracks, major corridors, and highways. In several parts of central Washington, DC there is the potential to build over existing railway tracks, major corridors, and highways. These undeveloped air rights are the result of the interjection of massive transportation infrastructure after the establishment and development of the original District. The tracks, major corridors, and highways have created gaps in the historic urban fabric that have left large areas of the center District divided and difficult to traverse. With substantial investment, these sites represent opportunities for development of housing, retail, and commercial buildings, as well as for the reconnection of neighborhoods and the street grid. While maximizing opportunities to provide housing and various amenities, future development should equitably address the potentially adverse impacts of locating housing uses next to active transportation corridors.
305.15
Where possible, streets should be reconnected, and air rights development should be constructed at and measured from a grade level consistent with adjacent land. When development at grade level is not physically possible, air rights should be measured by a means that provides for density and height commensurate with the zone district. Establishment of a measuring point for any particular air rights development shall be consistent with the act that regulates the height of buildings in the District of Columbia, approved June 1, 1910 (36 Stat. 452; D.C. Official Code § 6-601.01 et seq., known as the Height Act), and should not be taken as precedent for other development projects in the District. Densities and heights should be sensitive to the surrounding neighborhoods and developments and be sufficient to induce the investment needed for such construction.
305.16
New and renovating waterfront development shall actively address flood risk and incorporate adaptive siting and design measures.
305.17
Strongly encourage the design of parks, wetlands, open spaces, natural covers, and rights-of-way that can withstand a 100-year flood event or stricter standards as prescribed by District law while improving quality of life in neighborhoods.
305.18
Work with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to ensure the boundary of the CEA depicted in the Federal Elements matches the boundary shown in the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan.
305.19
Considering Washington, DC’s unique role as the seat of federal government and nation’s capital, work with NCPC, GSA, and other stakeholders to consider other approaches to the CEA, including non-contiguous sites, to designate locations for future federal facilities and uses that reflects the diverse missions of federal agencies, security, transportation, and the economic development considerations, existing development constraints, and goals of the District.
305.20
Update the 2008 Center City Action Agenda to reflect changing conditions, priorities, and projections (the agenda is Center City’s strategic plan for future growth, improvement, and conservation). The revised agenda should define Center City more broadly to include the multiple business districts that comprise the CEA.
More specific policies for this area are contained in the Central Washington Area Element and the Lower Anacostia Waterfront/Near Southwest Area Element.
305.21
Analyze the unique characteristics of the air rights development sites within Washington, DC. Development sites should address the growing need for housing, and especially affordable housing, reconnect the L’Enfant grid, and enhance mobility.
305.22
When sites in the CEA shift from federal to private or local use, employ planning and zoning approaches that provide for the integration of the sites into the surrounding fabric. Replace the monumental scale needed for major federal buildings with a scale suitable to the local context by reconstructing historic rights-of-way, dividing superblocks into smaller parcels, and encouraging vibrant contemporary architectural expression. Encourage mixed-use, mixed-income, development with residential, retail, and cultural uses visible from the street and open outside of core business hours, as well as offices, to help support a living downtown.
305.23
Evaluate opportunities to encourage appropriate use repositioning of existing buildings (for example, from office to mixed housing and retail) to provide varied office and retail space, more housing and especially affordable housing, and a mix of uses that support District goals.
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)).