315.1 Approximately 333 acres of land in Washington, DC are zoned for industrial uses. PDR areas support a variety of uses, many of which are essential to the delivery of municipal services or are part of the business infrastructure that underpins the local economy. Furthermore, PDR businesses and uses create opportunities for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and higher-paying jobs than comparable jobs for similar education attainment in economic sectors like retail and health care. It is estimated that nine percent of the employment in the District is in PDR industries. These jobs are often accessible to residents with lower education attainment and returning citizens. In 2005, the inventory of private industrial floor space in the District was approximately 13 million square feet.

315.2 Washington, DC’s industrial land exists in part because of historic development factors that made certain areas suitable for these uses or unsuitable for residential and commercial development. Such factors include proximity to road, rail, or water routes needed to transport heavy goods, relative isolation from residential areas, and effects of noisy or noxious uses and infrastructure. Where these factors remain, PDR facilities are likely to continue to be an appropriate use of this land. Since much of this land has always been devoted to industrial use, many of Washington, DC’s prominent examples of historic industrial architecture are located here. Of the 25 properties identified as potentially significant in the DC State Historic Preservation Office’s 1991-1992 historic resources study of District warehouses and workshops, 16 have received historic designation.

315.3 Additionally, racial discrimination including local and federal policies affected the site selection of industrial uses in the District. A challenge today is recognizing that industrial land is almost entirely located proximate to predominantly low-income (i.e. Black) neighborhoods. Accordingly, there are racial equity and environmental justice concerns about the use of PDR lands.

315.4 Some of the municipal activities housed on industrial land include trash transfer and hauling, bus storage and maintenance, vehicle impoundment, police and fire training, street repair and cleaning equipment storage, and water and sewer construction services. Private activities on industrial lands include food and beverage services, laundries, printers, concrete and asphalt batching plants, distribution centers, telecommunication facilities, construction contractors and suppliers, and auto salvage yards, to name only a few. The contribution and importance of these uses to the economy is covered below and in the Economic Development Element of the Comprehensive Plan.

315.5 Given the lenient zoning standards within industrial areas (most of which actually favor commercial uses over industrial uses), as well as the market pressure to

provide additional residential housing, much of the industrial land supply is at risk. In addition, many of the public works uses that take place on industrial land are not optimally organized, resulting in inefficient use of space. Plans to reorganize and consolidate many of these activities have been developed. The repositioning of these resources should result in more effective service delivery reduced impacts to nearby properties, provision of amenities for surrounding neighborhoods, and creation of jobs on land freed up for further public or private investment.

315.6 Some historically industrial areas now have mixed-use land use designations that combine PDR with commercial and/or residential uses. These designations indicate that PDR uses with lower impacts, such as maker space, beverage manufacturing, and food preparation should be integrated with a broader range of uses, including housing. The intent is to support community revitalization while supporting existing PDR uses and encouraging new PDR businesses and more affordable housing.

315.7 In areas not identified by mixed-use land use designations, the District should continue to review PDR zoning, to encourage needed and efficiently developed production, distribution, and repair uses. This approach reflects increasing clarity within land use policy on where PDR uses should be accompanied by other uses while recognizing that the District benefits from focused areas where higher-impact commercial and governmental activities can occur.

315.8 In 2005, the District commissioned an analysis of industrial land supply and demand to provide a framework for new land use policies (see text box). In 2014, another industrial land study was released by the District: Ward 5 Works: Ward 5 Industrial Land Transformation. This study furthered the findings in 2005 with particular emphasis on the Upper Northeast area where approximately 50 percent of the District's industrial uses are located. The recommendations of these studies are incorporated in the policies and actions that follow.

315.9 One of the most important findings of the 2005 industrial land use analysis was an immediate unmet need of approximately 70 acres for municipal-industrial activities. Facility needs range from a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Evidence Warehouse to replacement bus garages for WMATA. Several agencies, including the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), indicate that their acreage needs will increase even more in the next 10 years. At the same time, efficiencies could be achieved through better site layouts and consolidation of some municipal functions, particularly for vehicle fleet maintenance. The findings provide compelling reasons to protect the limited supply of industrial land and to organize municipal-industrial activities more efficiently. One example of this approach is showcased in the Department of Public Works (DPW) Campus Master Plan, a study conducted as a recommendation from the 2014 Ward 5 Works Industrial

Land Transformation Study. The DPW Campus Master Plan aims to consolidate operations and administrative offices to a new state-of-the-art campus at West Virginia Avenue NE that would transform the current site into a neighborhood asset while efficiently using the District-owned industrial land.

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)).