DC's Office of Planning Proposes Requiring Inclusionary Zoning Units in Residential Conversions

• March 2nd 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) expansion efforts continue in DC.

The Office of Planning (OP) has filed another zoning text amendment application that could produce more affordable housing units in the city — this time for buildings converted into residential use. 

Under existing rules, when office buildings, churches, hotels and the like are converted into residential buildings, Inclusionary Zoning does not apply unless the project delivers at least 10 units and either gained 50% more gross floor area (GFA) or used IZ to get bonus density. Under the new proposal, IZ would apply to any conversion of at least 10 units in any zone where IZ is applicable.

"The original IZ analysis, when looking at holding land value constant, did not analyze change in uses, not only because there may not be bonus density, but also because the interplay of values between non-residential and residential is dynamic, complex, and quite specific to neighborhoods and even property," the OP report states. "The proposal seeks to balance keeping ahead of changing market dynamics of conversion of nonresidential buildings to residential use while minimizing the disincentives for conversion."

If the zoning amendment is approved, residential conversions with less than 10 units would still be exempt, as would buildings that already had some residential units and converted space to create at least 10 more units. As with the IZ XL text amendment proposed earlier this year, D zones will also remain exempt. 

The Office of Planning is also doing additional study now on the nuances of encouraging more conversions-to-residential in the pipeline.

The Zoning Commission is expected to set the text amendment down for a public hearing next week, and next month there is a hearing for the IZ expansion proposed earlier this year. Additional IZ zoning text amendments are expected to follow.

Similar posts:

• DC’s Office of Planning Wants to Mandate Inclusionary Zoning in Almost All Exempt Zones
• Zoning Commission to Consider Expanding Inclusionary Zoning in DC Next Month
• Could DC Incentivize Office to Residential Conversions?

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/office-of-planning-proposes-requiring-inclusionary-zoning-units-in-resident/17949.