What's Hot: Barnes and Noble Will Return to Georgetown in June | The 3,000 Units On The Boards From Trinidad to Gallaudet
The 7-Year Wait: Zoning Commission Moves Toward Final Vote on Zoning Changes
Grubbs Pharmacy on Capitol Hill
It has been about seven years in the making, but it appears that the Zoning Commission is moving towards approving the city’s long-debated zoning changes. On Monday night, the Commission took a preliminary final action on the revised code and moved for a final vote to likely approve the code on January 14th.
Below is a look at select changes to the code that are probably of most interest to the UrbanTurf readership.
- Accessory Apartments
Under the new code, accessory apartments would be legalized in many low-density sections of the city where they are currently not allowed. An accessory apartment is defined as a residential unit located on a single family dwelling lot. The most common accessory unit is an English basement, but garage units also qualify. The new code would require that the owner of the property live in the main residence and there would be a limit to the total number of people living in the accessory unit, but the dwellings would be allowed by-right.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
- Elimination of Parking Minimum Requirements
Currently, developers constructing new residential buildings in DC must build a certain number of parking spaces. The new code would eliminate this parking minimum in certain parts of DC, like high-density residential areas near public transit. Instead, the number of parking spaces would be determined by the market in that area.
- Corner Stores
In the new code, corner stores would be encouraged in areas zoned R-3 and R-4. Limitations would protect existing commercial zones and the residential quality of the neighborhood: no more than four stores would be allowed per block, the hours of operation and size will be limited, and stores cannot open up within 500 feet of a commercial zone. These numbers could be adjusted on a neighborhood-to-neighborhood basis.
If the changes are approved in January, the new rules would go into effect six months later. For a more comprehensive rundown of all the changes, click here.
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/zoning_commission_moves_toward_final_vote_on_zoning_changes/10594.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
Rossdhu Gate is the remaining piece of a 30-room castle built by socialite Daisy Calh... read »
As profits drop around the country, sellers around DC are still realizing hefty retur... read »
A Home Equity Line of Credit, commonly referred to as HELOC, is a borrowing product t... read »
The Gen Z market; ranking food halls around DC; and is this the new king of Queens?... read »
The term "luxury" has been applied broadly in the housing market, but a new report ai... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro