The Little Change in 2020 That Could Have a Big Impact on DC Alleys
This year, the Covid-19 pandemic upended our lives and had drastic impacts on the real estate industry, and most importantly, people's personal housing situations. With that in mind, UrbanTurf is wrapping up 2020 with an abbreviated Year-in-Review series.
This past summer saw passage of a zoning amendment in DC that creates a lot more possibilities in the city's alleyways.
In July, the Zoning Commission unanimously approved a zoning text amendment (ZTA) that would enable owners of alley-facing tax lots at least 450 square feet in size to convert those into record lots. Because development is not permitted on alley tax lots, this would enable future residential development on 274 vacant alley tax lots in DC.
story continues below
loading...story continues above

Tax lots created before May 1958 would be automatically grandfathered into this change, while alley lots created between 1958 and 2016 could be converted by special exception. Most of these lots are located on Capitol Hill, in Wards 1 and 2 and downtown.
The amendment also permits alley arts studios, with one artist per 450 square feet. Those studios would be able to host up to five public shows or performances a year, or more by special exception.
While the Zoning Commission approved the amendments, they also asked OP to look into further amending the code to enable alley development, targeting requirements like the minimum alley width for subdivision and minimum lot size. Many of those who testified at hearings for the ZTA shared their difficulties in getting alley dwellings approved or built despite the 2016 zoning rewrite intended to expand by-right alley development.
It will be interesting to see whether this change moves the needle for DC's alley dwellings or creates more space for the arts along these hidden passages.
Thumbnail photo by Ted Eytan.
Other 2020 Year in Review Articles:
- The Best Listing of 2020 (For the Mere Mortal)
- The Wildest Attempt in 2020 to Give Some of Virginia Back to DC
- The Best Plan to Deck Over a Street in DC
- Bezos, Scherzer, Howard: The Year in Celebrity Real Estate in DC
- The Best Listing of 2020 (For the Well-Paid Lobbyist)
- The Bill Proposed in 2020 That Could Have the Biggest Impact on Housing in the DC Region
See other articles related to: year in review 2020, dc alleys
This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-little-change-that-could-have-a-big-impact-on-dc-alleys/17666
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

When Johnsie Walsh rented a unit in her Stanton Park apartment building, she had no i... read »

The massive new development would sit on a triangular parking lot at First Street and... read »

The draft environmental impact statement for the transportation project expected to g... read »

An analysis by UrbanTurf found that there were 15 neighborhoods in DC where the media... read »

2020 was one of the best years on record for luxury home sales in the District. ... read »
- Obama, The Tenant: A Chat With The President's DC Landlord
- Douglas Development Pitches 557-Unit Development Across From Dave Thomas Circle
- 300 MPH, 18 Million Riders: How the Maglev Might Impact Traffic and Transit in the DC Area
- DC Has Its Most Million-Dollar Neighborhoods on Record
- $2 Million and Up: Luxury Home Sales in DC Rise 24% in 2020
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. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or 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