Are DC's RPP Restrictions Working?

• July 25th 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The District has come a long way in becoming a more multi-modal and less car-dependent city. However, the strides made in these areas have not quelled the concerns surrounding the effects that high-density development will have on the city’s limited street parking.

As developers of new mixed-use and residential developments in DC pitch these projects, a common request is relief from providing the number of parking spaces mandated by zoning regulations. Development teams often secure support and approvals for such relief by telling constituents that residents of the new building will be banned from obtaining residential parking permits (RPPs) that would allow them to park on neighboring streets.

However, a couple years after the RPP ban became a common proposal and as many of the buildings with these bans get set to deliver, it is unclear if the restrictions will actually work.

UrbanTurf spent the last couple months attempting to get an answer to this question, only to be bounced between the Department of Motor Vehicles and the District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT), each agency claiming that the other would have our answer.

Matt Orlins of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) recently explained that developers who commit to such bans are required to submit a plan detailing how the ban will be implemented and enforced. When asked in May, representatives from the Department of Motor Vehicles claimed no knowledge of such bans for the new buildings.

DDOT representatives have also previously claimed to be unaware of such bans, except in instances where people reside at addresses which are in otherwise commercial zones. However, a recent DDOT report submitted as part of a planned-unit development (PUD) application contained the following statement:

DDOT observes the applicant is proposing a Residential Permit Parking (RPP) restriction, which is not a strictly enforceable condition by the District and therefore the restriction may not realize its intended outcome.

UrbanTurf has reached out to DDOT for comment regarding this acknowledgment, and hopes to have a more clear answer regarding the bans in the coming days.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_problem_with_prohibitions_on_rpps/11504.