D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 903
903.1 Washington, DC's historic plans are the backbone of the District's architectural identity and urban form. As a deliberately planned city, the notion of future growth was built into the original L'Enfant Plan in a way that was both visionary and aspirational, anticipating a grander place that would take years to construct and speaking to the promise of a great nation. It would take over a century for the District's population to reach 500,000 and begin to take on the monumental scale of the original vision. With the additional layers of the McMillan Plan, Olmsted Highway Plan, and various other planning initiatives, Washington's urban form has proven to be both resilient at accommodating many of the changing physical and programmatic needs and demands of urban life.
903.2 L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the City of Washington, with its generous rights-of-ways and network of parks and open spaces, has managed to incorporate, with varying degrees of success, the streetcar, the Metro, the automobile, bike lanes, security requirements, and other evolving layers of urban infrastructure. However, parts of the original plan have been altered and even transformed to accommodate change. Since 1896, 17 percent of the streets in the original L'Enfant Plan (as shown in Figure 9.1) are gone. Over the last 15 years, greater stewardship of the planning legacy has led to the reversal of some of these losses through projects like CityCenterDC and Waterfront Station. So far, approximately 1.7 miles of the original L'Enfant streets have been restored.
903.3 Figure 9.1: L'Enfant Streets Over Time
903.4
The District should continue to balance the need to preserve and honor Washington, DC’s distinctive urban and monumental heritage with the pressing needs of a growing population, equity, and long-term resilience. Looking at the strategies other historic capital cities have used to grow sustainably shows that, by respecting and building on these plans, greater density and careful incorporation of taller structures are possible (see Figure 9.2). A commitment to the design concepts and underlying principles of L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for the City of Washington should underpin this growth and extend across and beyond the monumental core of the District with design decisions that reinforce the plan’s pattern of axial, radial, and diagonal streets; enhance the public spaces formed where these streets intersect one another; and build fine-grained character in the alley system (see Figure 9.3). Finally, the approach to urban design should allow for 21st century realities and aspirations: equitable access, a renewed District identity, and sustainable design are just a handful of the factors giving shape to this vision and forming the backdrop for the public life and cultural engagement
of all residents.
903.5 Figure 9.2: Scaled Capital City Comparison
903.6 Figure 9.3: Key Thoroughfares
903.7
Many of the District’s public squares, circles, triangles, and public reservations (see Figure 9.4) are undervalued and lack distinction. They comprise a great design opportunity for the District to work with the National Park Service (NPS)
and others to enhance these places as distinctive elements of the cityscape and important legacies of the earlier plans. Building placement is key to reinforcing the identity of the District’s corridors and open spaces and to emphasizing, and not obstructing, important vistas.
903.8 Figure 9.4: Key L’Enfant Public Spaces
Strengthen and enhance the physical image, character and outstanding physical qualities of the District, its neighborhoods, and its open spaces, in a manner that reflects its role as the national capital and its distinctive identity as a thriving urban community.
Preserve and reinforce the Plan of the City of Washington, and Olmsted Highway plans to maintain the District’s unique and historic character, such as the grand
avenues and connections to nature. This policy should be achieved through a variety of urban design measures, including restoration of previously closed streets, appropriate building placement, view preservation, enhancement of L’Enfant Plan reservations (green spaces), limits on street and alley closings and the siting of new monuments and memorials in locations of visual prominence. Restore obstructed view corridors and vistas, where contributing to a historic resource where possible.
903.11
Reinforce the prominent role of views as a defining feature of the District’s character through careful planning of streetscapes and public parks to preserve and frame views of existing landmarks and significant structures and through consideration of the various types of view corridors when designing and planning public projects and streetscapes. Such views could include preeminent views of nationally symbolic architecture, important views of nationally or locally significant civic structures, landmarks, and parks and open spaces. (see Figure 9.5).
903.12
Figure 9.5: View Corridors within L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for the City of Washington
903.13
Locate commemorative works in places that are relevant to the subject being memorialized, where possible. Design commemorative installations to be
accessible to people of all ages and various degrees of mobility, and design them in a way that benefits public life. Explore new types of commemoration, including temporary installations.
Protect the civic and historical character of the city, particularly the “horizontal” urban quality of Central Washington, by limiting building heights in accordance with the Height Act of 1910. Basic principles of the Height Act are shown in Figure 9.20.
In coordination with federal and other stakeholders, enhance L’Enfant Plan reservations and other historic open spaces as key gathering and civic spaces of Washington, DC through appropriate redesign and programming compatible with historic qualities to attract a diversity of users, enhance user experience, and foster national and local identity. Design the visual qualities of the public spaces to reinforce the District’s grand civic character, as well as its creative culture.
Continue and enhance the use of public parking regulations (see Figure 9.6) to promote a verdant park-like character of the District’s streets, with landscaped yards, generous tree canopy, and pedestrian-scaled retaining walls and fences. Maintain building restriction lines, limit below-grade building projections that detract from green space, and preserve the existing grades along a block or corridor in public space and building restriction areas.
Promote the use of the historic alleyway systems as multipurpose spaces that meet utilitarian needs and can provide additional housing, support community life, and use approaches such as green alley treatments, and controlled vehicular access. Strongly discourage the closure of alleyways for whole block development.
903.19 Figure 9.7: Community Life of Alleys
Upgrade or rebuild railroad and highway overpasses and underpasses to maintain or restore the continuity of the historic street network for the comfort and safety of pedestrians and bicyclists and connect neighborhoods. In appropriate settings, such as Central Washington, explore longer-term solutions to addressing railroad and highway barriers, such as air rights development over tracks, sunken freeways, or conversion into boulevards.
Enhance the District government’s approach to the siting and review of both local and national commemorative works. Use existing processes and as needed, establish new processes for better coordination among District and federal agencies and review bodies regarding federal and District commemorative work proposals. Develop a District-wide master plan for creating and siting District commemorative works and events throughout Washington, DC.
903.22 Action UD-1.1.B: Review of Public Parking Regulations Conduct a review of public space regulations and standards. Update and refine the design standards for public parking areas, including appropriate materials for curbs, fences, and retaining walls. In addition, develop regulations to promote tree planting in areas without street trees.903.23 Action UD-1.1.C: Alley Greening Investigate the adoption of regulations that allow for resident greening and controlled vehicular access of alleyways to promote neighborhood community life.903.24 Action UD-1.1.D: District-Wide Urban Design Vision Produce a District-wide urban design vision that facilitates equitable and sustainable growth. The vision should elevate the quality of new building architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design, while conserving essential elements of Washington, DC's traditional physical character. The vision should also strengthen District-wide systems, such as infrastructure, housing, and transportation to address contemporary community needs and improve the quality of life for all residents.903.25 Action UD-1.1.E: View Corridor Study and Guidelines Conduct one or more studies, in coordination with the NCPC, to inventory, analyze, and categorize important viewsheds to and from major public open spaces and important view corridors, and develop design guidance for preserving and enhancing views, strengthening the image of the capital city and the District, and improving the pedestrian experience.903.26 Action UD-1.1.F: Small Open Spaces Inventory and Design Guidelines Document existing small open spaces and reservations under both federal and District control and develop guidelines for restoring green space and enhancing their usability as recreation and community spaces.
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)).