DC's Office of Planning Wants to Mandate Inclusionary Zoning in Almost All Exempt Zones

• January 21st 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The DC Office of Planning (OP) is moving forward with another effort to expand the small-scale affordable housing production tool that is Inclusionary Zoning (IZ). 

OP has filed a zoning text amendment application to require IZ in nearly every zone in the city that is currently exempted. This new version of regular IZ ("IZ-XL") would apply to stick-built buildings up to 85 feet, and to concrete/steel buildings taller than 85 feet.

Currently, IZ is mandatory for 8%-10% of the residential gross floor area (GFA) in projects with ten or more residential units, and developments granted bonus density must set-aside of up to 12.5% of GFA. IZ units in projects approved after 2017 must be affordable for households earning up to 60% median family income (MFI) for rentals and up to 80% MFI for for-sale units.

Under the proposed text amendment, IZ would be required in sites zoned R-3 in the Anacostia Historic District, zoned RA-5 and RA-10 in Dupont Circle, zoned CG-1 (one block in Navy Yard), zoned MU-13 in the Georgetown Historic District, zoned MU-27 (abutting part of Observatory Circle), and zoned NC-6 in the Capitol Hill Historic District (exempting the historic Navy Yard Car Barn). D zones will remain exempt because they were initially created to incentivize residential construction and bear more examination to ensure expanded IZ won't provide a disincentive. 

The Zoning Commission is expected to set the text amendment down for a public hearing later this month. Another IZ expansion amendment proposed last year has not yet been approved for final rulemaking. Additional IZ zoning text amendments are expected to follow.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/office-of-planning-wants-to-mandate-inclusionary-zoning-in-almost-all-exemp/17781.