Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

The Change That Could Lead To More Alley Homes in DC

  • May 22nd

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

alley_shot.jpg
A DC alley.

Six years ago, the DC Zoning Commission unanimously approved measures aimed at allowing more alley dwellings to be built in DC. At the time, the commission heard from alley lot owners who said that the changes were a good start, but even more needed to be done in order to spur development in vacant alley lots around the city. 

Now, the Zoning Commission is pushing to make that happen. 

Earlier this month, zoning text amendments were proposed with the goal of making better use of underutilized alleys around the city. 

The proposed changes include allowing residential development on alley lots in R-1 and R-2 zones, and allowing a second residential unit to be built within an alley lot building based on the lot size. The amendments also call for reducing the maximum lot occupancy for alley lots in R-1 and R-2 zones, and increasing yard requirements for those lots in the R-1 zone.

"The amendments are intended to implement Comprehensive Plan policies, by furthering several policies regarding infill development, efficient land utilization, and innovative approaches to housing development in neighborhoods," the filing stated. 

OP estimates that around 500 vacant alley lots around the city could permit residential development under the change. The amendments will likely go before the Zoning Commission later this summer. 

Thumbnail photo by Ted Eytan.

See other articles related to: alley dwellings, alley lots, dc alleys

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_change_that_could_lead_to_more_alley_homes_in_dc/23529.

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

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse