January 31, 2025 Ward 3 Affordable Housing News Digest

District of Columbia

Zoning Commission Approves Chevy Chase Rezoning

• On January 30, the D.C. Zoning Commission voted to finalize its earlier proposal, made in response to an application by the Office of Planning (OP), to rezone the Chevy Chase library and community center site and several surrounding blocks of the commercial strip on upper Connecticut Avenue for greater height and density. Videorecording at 51:25 to 1:21:55. The vote was 4-0, with Commissioner Wright not participating because she joined the Commission after its public hearing on this case, No. 23-25. Urban Turf has a brief summary of the new mixed-use zones.

• On January 29, ANC 3/4G (Chevy Chase) held a special meeting, on less than 24 hours notice, to consider an additional resolution to submit to the Zoning Commission, on top of the resolution it submitted in mid-December. The ANC first heard from several local business owners who said that they rent their storefronts, and if revised zoning prompted their landlords to redevelop the properties, the businesses would likely not reopen after closing for construction.

• The ANC next took up the question — less than 24 hours before the Zoning Commission was scheduled to take final action on a proposed rulemaking to complete the rezoning — whether the Zoning Commission should have conducted the proceeding as a contested case adjudication rather than a rulemaking. The ANC voted 6-0 (with Commissioner Simmons abstaining) to approve a resolution asking the Zoning Commission to switch to a contested case procedure (which would have meant restarting the 15-month-long proceeding from scratch).

• In a cover letter submitting the resolution to the Zoning Commission, ANC Chair Lisa Gore summarized the concerns expressed by the small business owners at the January 29 meeting, and claimed that “the rulemaking process has not allowed this particular segment of our community to sufficiently convey the impacts potential zoning changes may have on their businesses.”

• At the Zoning Commission’s January 30 meeting, Vice Chair Rob Miller explained his thinking in voting to approve the proposed rezoning, and the other commissioners generally concurred in his comments.

  • Miller said that the ANC’s December resolution had moved somewhat closer to the Office of Planning’s proposal, but that he agreed with OP’s response that OP’s proposal was more consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and other planning documents.

  • Miller acknowledged concerns expressed by existing businesses, but noted that the new zoning requires ground floor retail, and will activate a corridor that is not very active now, especially at night.

  • He said that the ANC’s proposed changes would limit the amount of affordable housing that could be built at the Civic Core, and that that site needs enough height and density to do a lot of things. Commissioner Imamura concurred that the crux of the issue to him was the amount of affordable housing.

  • Miller then addressed the procedural issue and the “most recent ANC resolution.” He explained that the Commission had addressed the contested case issue at its first hearing last April, and determined that it had discretion which procedure to choose. He explained why the Commission thought the rulemaking procedure was more appropriate, and is consistent with what the Commission did in a similar case involving Barry Farm. He said the Commission has received extensive public input in this case, and that there will be more public participation when the Mayor and the Council consider proposals to redevelop the Civic Core site.

• The anti-development group Chevy Chase Voice (CCV) has vowed to refile its lawsuit challenging the Zoning Commission’s decision to use rulemaking procedures rather than contested case procedures, and has said it will file on February 3. The Superior Court had dismissed CCV’s prior lawsuit as premature. CCV has also appealed that dismissal.

D.C. Sues Landlord for Evading Rent Control by Favoring Voucher Holders

• The holders of Housing Choice Vouchers often experience discrimination by landlords who don’t want to rent to them (although such discrimination is illegal in D.C.). On January 30, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) filed suit in Superior Court against a major D.C. landlord for doing the opposite: discriminating against non-voucher holders in order to evade rent controls.

• The Washington Post and Washington City Paper have the story. OAG’s suit alleges that Petra Management Group and its CEO, Rashid Salem, worked to rent exclusively to voucher holders at three of Petra’s properties in order to benefit from the higher rates the city paid compared to the rest of the market. OAG claims Petra illegally discriminated against prospective tenants who don’t hold housing vouchers, and skirted the city’s rent control rules, as D.C.’s rent-control law grants an exemption for units rented to voucher holders.

• “Petra is exploiting the District’s affordable housing crisis for profit, lining its pockets by limiting housing options for tenants who don’t have subsidies but still struggle to afford a home,” Assistant Deputy Attorney General Beth Mellen said in a statement. “It is illegal in the District for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on their income, and Petra’s elaborate scheme just further distorts a market that already puts rents out of reach for many.”

• A 2023 Washington Post investigation found that Petra was buying up residential buildings and filling them with as many voucher holders as possible. This allows it to collect far greater monthly rent.

  Rent control in D.C. typically applies to all apartment buildings constructed before 1976. In 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, the median rent was $1,442 per month in rent-controlled units, compared with $2,554 for units not subject to rent control, according to the attorney general’s office.

• The lawsuit involves three buildings with more than 100 apartments in all: the Adams in Northeast, the Madison in Brightwood, and the Keystone in Park View. City Paper says “Petra is one of a slew of landlords identified in recent media reports as taking advantage of the outrageously high rents the D.C. Housing Authority has been paying property owners who accept voucher tenants.”

D.C. Fails to Pay Nonprofits That Run Key Housing Programs

• In Washington City Paper, Alex Koma reports that housing and homelessness nonprofits working with D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS) have gone nearly five months without receiving the payments they need to run programs for the city.

  Some have not even received signed contracts outlining the services they’re supposed to provide for the District, or how much money they can expect to receive for their work, even though the terms of the grants say they’re already supposed to be running programs for homeless kids or operating shelters.

• Essentially, DHS hasn’t gotten any payments out the door since the new fiscal year began on October 1. This financial uncertainty has sent nonprofits scrambling, as many already operate on shoestring budgets.

Zoning Commission Publishes Proposed Text Amendment for Student Housing at Wesley Seminary

• On January 17, the Zoning Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the D.C. Register, proposing a zoning text amendment in response to Case No. 24-09, Wesley Theological Seminary’s petition for a text amendment to modify Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) requirements in order to enable Landmark Properties REIT to build a 9-story student apartment building on Wesley’s campus. Any public comments on the proposal are due within 30 days of publication.

• The proposal is intended to allow Wesley to move forward with its project by funding at least the minimum amount of IZ units at an off-site location elsewhere in Ward 3. The revision would add a new section to the zoning regulations requiring Wesley “to provide off-site Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) at a minimum set-aside of eight percent (8%) or ten percent (10%) depending on construction type in Ward 3 as an enforceable condition to its 2022-2032 Campus Plan further processing to construct university housing on its campus and allowing the Commission to waive certain requirements for the off-site IZ.”

Laura Zeilinger Moves on from DHS

• Laura Zeilinger left her post in January after a decade as head of D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS). The Washington Post [gift link] looked back at her tenure and interviewed her on the way out the door.

• Zeilinger oversaw a significant transformation and reduction in family homelessness, including a new network of family shelters that replaced the troubled D.C. General shelter. The region’s point-in-time count shows a decrease by more than half in family homelessness in D.C. between 2015 and 2024. While family homelessness fell, the crisis among single adults remains an entrenched problem.

• Zeilinger was largely responsible for championing the “housing first” model within D.C. government at a time when the idea had plenty of skeptics. “In the broad arc of trying to end homelessness in D.C., the growth of the DHS [permanent supportive housing voucher] program has by far had the biggest impact on changing people’s lives,” said Adam Rocap, deputy director of Miriam’s Kitchen.

• While Zeilinger acknowledged that the work is incomplete, she said that over her tenure the agency has piloted more innovative economic mobility programs that have longer-term, more robust aid. Rachel Pierre will take over as interim director, while Zeilinger said she is for now undecided on her next move.

HPRB Member Gretchen Pfaehler, 1966-2025

• Gretchen K. Pfaehler, FAIA, passed away on January 13. She was an architectural historian member of D.C.’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). She served for 12 years on the HPRB, including as Chair from 2012 to 2016.

Virginia

In Richmond, Housing Proposals Spark Clash Over State and Local Roles

• The Virginia Mercury had a report on action in the Virginia legislature to address the affordable housing crisis (with some updates added here from the Legislative Information System).

• A bill proposed by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, that would enable localities to utilize special tax credits for affordable housing was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year, but is moving forward again and passed the Senate 20-19. The bill “would enable localities to create affordable housing programs through zoning ordinances. This includes offering developers incentives to include below-market-rate housing in new developments . . . .” McPike’s bill would also grant all Virginia localities the option to implement LIHTC projects; currently only a limited number of localities have that authority, and they have to request special permission from the legislature.

• A faith and housing proposal seeks to streamline the process for religious congregations and nonprofit organizations to use land they own to develop affordable housing.

• A proposal from Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, which would grant localities the authority to implement rent protections, failed to make it out of the General Laws and Technology Committee.

• Another measure, proposed by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Fairfax, clarifies that the comprehensive plan prepared by a local planning commission and adopted by a local governing body may include the use of tiny homes and accessory dwelling units. Salim’s initial draft faced some pushback over its mandatory language, and a related proposal allowing, but not requiring, localities to include ADUs was substituted. The bill then passed the Senate on January 30 by a vote of 30-10.

• Two housing measures by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, were defeated in the Committee on Local Government. One aimed to encourage localities to increase housing supply, while the other sought to allow by-right multifamily residential development in certain commercial corridors. An opponent of the bills had raised concerns about potential state overreach: “There might be an erosion of local control over zoning and approvals.”

Maryland

MoCo Legislators Unveil “More Housing N.O.W.” Proposals

• Dan Brendel at Washington Business Journal [subscription req’d] reports that on January 28, Montgomery County Council members Natali Fani-González and Andrew Friedson unveiled a package of legislative, regulatory and budgetary proposals called “More Housing N.O.W.” (with N.O.W. standing for “New Options for Workers”).

• Brendel says it’s a “multipronged effort to spur housing production, including regulatory and financial incentives to convert vacant commercial buildings and, likely portending controversy, missing-middle upzoning of certain single-family-only areas.” It aims to encourage new residential building, with a particular eye toward “workforce” affordable housing.

• A press release announcing the package summarizes the elements as follows:

  Building More Workforce Housing

  • Workforce Housing ZTA [zoning text amendment]: Allow more residential building types along corridors with a workforce housing requirement.

  • Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund: New countywide fund to incentivize the construction of workforce units.

  Converting Highly Vacant Office to Housing

  • Office to Housing ZTA: Create an expedited approval process for projects that convert high-vacancy commercial properties to residential use.

  • Office to Housing PILOT Bill: Establish a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for conversion of high-vacancy commercial properties to residential use.

  Pathways to Homeownership

  • Budget: Double the County’s investment in the Homeowner Assistance Program from $4 million to $8 million in the FY26 Housing Initiative Fund (HIF).

• Brendel says the Zoning Text Amendment would allow duplexes and triplexes in certain zones along the county’s denser corridors — parts of Connecticut and Georgia Avenues and University Boulevard, for example — where currently only single-family houses are allowed by right. Allowing such mid-priced options would provide an extra rung on the housing ladder, taking price pressure off apartments which opens them up for the lower-income households that need them most. The proposal is not for a blanket upzoning of all single-family zones countywide.

• Friedson told Brendel that the proposal

  resulted from “months of feedback and input from housing experts and community members.” It represents “consensus on a comprehensive approach to provide more housing options where they're needed the most and are most likely to be built, along corridors with access to jobs and amenities,” he said.

• With four co-sponsors, the package has the support of at least 6 of the council’s 11 members.

New Maryland Bill Would Bar Use of Algorithms for Rent-Setting

• Aaron Wiener at The Washington Post [gift link] reports that a bill was introduced on January 28 in the Maryland legislature that would prohibit landlords from using controversial algorithmic software to set rents. The bill responds to allegations in several antitrust lawsuits filed around the country against RealPage, claiming that the company’s software has allowed property managers to illegally raise rents for thousands of people in a broad collusion scheme.

• Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a lawsuit against RealPage and six major landlords in the state earlier this month, following suits against the company by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and the U.S. Justice Department, among others. “We cannot allow companies to use unfair deceptive practices to drive up prices,” said state Sen. Sara Love (D-Montgomery), who introduced the bill together with Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Montgomery).

News/Commentary

District of Columbia

Suit Challenging the Aston Shelter Withdrawn

• The GW Hatchet reported that the West End D.C. Community Association has withdrawn its lawsuit and zoning appeal that attempted “to thwart The Aston unhoused shelter’s operations, wrapping up a yearslong legal battle that had left the future of its operations in limbo.” Both the lawsuit and the appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) argued that the shelter’s operations violated city zoning laws. The withdrawals canceled a January 29 BZA hearing and a February 7 D.C. Superior Court hearing, both of which could have decided if The Aston could continue operations.

• The Aston opened its doors to 50 unhoused residents in November as the city’s first noncongregate shelter, offering private living spaces to medically vulnerable people, mixed-gender couples, families with adult children and people waiting to move into permanent housing. We’ve learned that the neighborhood advisory group (a mechanism to allow the neighborhood a voice in management decisions regarding the facility), has now agreed to allow Friendship Place, which manages The Aston, to increase occupancy from 50 people to 100.

Federal Triangle May Be Best Choice to Convert Old Federal Buildings

• The Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) was created in 2016 to analyze the federal government's civilian real estate portfolio and make recommendations for disposition of surplus federal real estate. Bisnow reported that the PBRB’s January 28 meeting gave prominent attention to the possibility of a 250-acre redevelopment opportunity in Southwest D.C. — a cluster of federal buildings just south of the National Mall, including DOE’s Forrestal Building, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Department of Agriculture South Building.

• Writing in the Washington Business Journal [subscription req’d], architect Shalom Baranes opined that redeveloping the Federal Triangle buildings north of the Mall would offer greater long-term benefit than converting the Southwest buildings.

  The Federal Triangle buildings have very narrow floor plates that are no longer conducive to modern office needs but are ideally suited for residential use. . . . The more modern Independence Avenue buildings, however, have deeper floor plates that are not particularly useful for anything but office occupancy.

• Baranes says the pre-World War II Federal Triangle buildings would be twice as expensive to renovate for continued office use than the more modern Southwest buildings. Moreover, he says Federal Triangle creates a barrier “between the cultural heart of the nation's capital and its downtown commercial core.” Converting those buildings to mixed-use development

  could result in the creation of tens of thousands of new affordable apartments in the center of the city while honoring the historic architectural character of these buildings. Not only would this dramatically improve the safety and appeal of our downtown streets, but it would also create a major new income stream for the city's public coffers.

Annual Count of D.C.’s Homeless Conducted

• On the night of January 29, while many in the area were focused on news of the horrific plane crash over the Potomac River, dozens of volunteers and outreach workers fanned out across the city for the annual point-in-time count of the D.C. region’s homeless population. As an article in The Washington Post explained, it’s an annual tally on a single night in January that helps jurisdictions determine the size of their unhoused population.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires local municipalities and homeless service providers to conduct the annual census, and the results are the basis for the amount of congressional spending allotted to the issue.

  The 2025 census comes at a particularly fraught time for D.C.’s homeless response. The number of unhoused people has risen by double digits across the region in the past two years, including a nearly 12 percent jump in people either living on the street or in a temporary shelter across the region between 2023 and 2024. The District was among the local jurisdictions with the largest increase of unhoused people last year — with 5,616 on the street or in temporary shelter.

Ward 3 Homeowners Are Equity-Rich

• Urban Turf had a report on data published by ATTOM Data Solutions that looks at the cities and states around the country where homeowners have the most equity in their homes. For this study, "equity rich" means that the total loan balances on a home is not more than 50% of the estimated market value of the home itself.

• Zip codes in Ward 3 had the highest percentage of equity-rich homeowners. Zip code 20015 (Barnaby Woods, Chevy Chase D.C. and Friendship Heights) led the way with 55% of homeowners considered equity-rich. Next is 20016 (AU Park, Spring Valley) at 50%, and then 20012, 20008 and 20007 (between 44 and 48%). The zip codes with the lowest percentage of high equity homeowners include neighborhoods like Logan Circle, Columbia Heights, LeDroit Park and Shaw.

Overseeing Bad Landlords

• Alex Koma has a long story in Washington City Paper today about D.C.’s ineffectual oversight of bad landlords: “How Can D.C. Make Life Harder for Landlords Like Sam Razjooyan? The City Has the Tools, But It’s Not Using Them.” The article catalogs ways that some landlords hide behind opaque company names, evade repairing housing code violations, and abuse tenants’ rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). Koma also flags how the District government fails to conduct sufficient inspections and other enforcement to keep landlords honest.

Bridge District Apartments to Open

• Bisnow and Washington Business Journal [subscription req’d] both have stories on the upcoming opening next month of the Bridge District development, on Howard Road S.E. between the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and the Anacostia Metro station. Developed by Redbrick LMD, the first phase consists of three connected buildings totaling 757 units. Rents range from $1,700 to $4,300, and 80 units are reserved for households earning 50% to 60% of the area median income.

• Future plans for the $1.5 billion development project call for more retail and a total of nearly 2000 multifamily housing units. Federal Opportunity Zone tax incentives for historically low-income areas helped Redbrick finance the project. The Bridge District is adjacent to the Poplar Point natural preserve owned by the federal government, which is in the process of handing the land over to D.C. for a new development project.

Virginia

Post Urges Removing Obstacles to Homebuilding

• In a January 24 editorial, The Washington Post [gift link] argued that Virginia’s lack of enough housing, especially near major job centers, is holding back the state’s economy. It mentioned a couple initiatives that Governor Glenn Youngkin took in November, but said they’re “small-scale and designed to create only about 5,000 more housing units.”

• The piece then cataloged several proposals introduced in Virginia’s Democratic-controlled legislature to boost housing supply, and mentioned a few initiatives in other states.

  Housing is a bipartisan issue, and the housing emergency is too great to justify politicization. There is no leeway for lawmakers to shoot down the other side’s useful ideas. The bias must be toward trying any proposal that can even marginally provide more homes.

• The editorial concludes that Virginia has a vested interest in the housing supply, not least because, as it competes with other states for top talent and business expansion, it “cannot afford to lose young people who can’t find affordable places to live.”

Housing Costs Push Young Families Out of NoVa

• FFXnow reported on a new report published in January by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission showing that Northern Virginia’s high cost of living is driving more residents to leave for areas where their money stretches further. Almost 158,000 people moved out of the region in 2022, nearing a record set during the pandemic in 2020. At the same time, only 128,000 people moved in — a sharp drop compared to pre-pandemic years.

• Those leaving are often young adults, middle-income families and first-time homebuyers, many of whom are struggling to afford housing in the region. The report warns that if the trend continues, Northern Virginia’s economy could feel the strain, with businesses facing challenges hiring workers and local governments losing tax revenue needed to fund public services.

  At the heart of the issue, the report says, is Northern Virginia’s housing market, where median home prices rank among the highest in the nation. These costs, coupled with stagnant wage growth for many residents, have created barriers for middle-income families and first-time buyers, leaving them with few affordable options in the region.

• The report outlines several strategies that could help turn the tide.

  • One major recommendation is streamlining zoning and permitting processes to speed up the construction of new housing, which could alleviate some of the pressure on the housing market by increasing supply and potentially stabilizing prices.

  • The report also suggests offering tax incentives to developers, with a focus on creating homes that are affordable for middle-income families and young professionals. Such measures could encourage builders to prioritize affordability rather than exclusively targeting high-end markets.

  • Another strategy is expanding programs for first-time homebuyers. The report recommends raising the price limits on these programs to better reflect current market conditions.

  • Public-private partnerships are highlighted as a particularly promising avenue. Arlington County’s collaboration with Amazon to preserve affordable housing at the Barcroft Apartments is cited as a model example.

Nationwide

Home Sales Hit 30-Year Low

• The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data last week showing that sales of existing homes fell to a 30-year low of 4.06 million in 2024 (despite December sales showing a 9.3% increase from December 2023). According to The Washington Post, “Experts said the slowdown reflects that mortgage rates have stayed relatively high and housing inventory remains limited, which keeps home prices up. The median home price reached a record high of $407,500 in 2024 . . . .”

  “Essentially, we have a market failure in housing, as the market does not appear to be in the process of reaching an equilibrium in which supply will increase,” RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas said.

  ***

  With interest rates expected to remain high and developers slow to build new homes, the coming year is expected to be “another year of very soggy housing sales,” Brusuelas said.

• AP News quoted NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun: “How is it possible that home sales can be this low, considering that the U.S. population has increased by more than 70 million over this time period from 1995 to today? One can partly answer that question because of the affordability issue. Record-high home prices, mortgage rates having risen, but also lack of inventory.” At the end of December, there were just 1.15 million homes on the market, compared with the annual historical average of about 1.98 million.

• “Over the past decade, the U.S. has averaged about 5.2 million home sales annually,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “It is going to take years before we are back at that level, maybe not even until the 2030s. The lack of inventory is the key constraint.”

19% of Homeowners Considering Selling in the Next Three Years

• According to a survey by Zillow, 19% of homeowners either have their home listed for sale or are considering selling their home within the next three years. Focusing on urban areas, the share of homeowners intending to sell remains lower than in 2023; 23% of urban homeowners intend to sell in the next three years compared to 29% a year ago.

• Of homeowners considering selling within the next 3 years, 55% said their desire for an upgraded home with nicer features influenced their decision. Changing family structure also influences homeowners’ decisions to sell — 34% cited that the size of their household getting larger, while 41% cited the size of their household getting smaller.

• The survey went on to explore reasons for selling, reasons for not selling, housing market confidence, and factors affecting the housing market.

Other States

Los Angeles Needs Rezoning to Rebuild in Less Fire-Prone Areas

• California policymakers have taken some steps to expedite the rebuilding of homes destroyed by the recent wildfires near Los Angeles, like Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order waiving some of the red tape that delays housing production, such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). But Newsom’s order applies only to properties that burned down or were substantially damaged, and it prevents new housing from exceeding 10% of the original structure’s footprint and height. This will generally mean that only a single-family house like the one that burned down can be built.

• Writing in The Atlantic, Jerusalem Demsas argues that rebuilding single-family homes in fire-prone areas doesn’t do enough to solve the problem. Exempting infill housing from CEQA — not just rebuilding what was there before — is a crucial part of the solution.

  The persistent threat of future wildfires means that California’s challenge is not just to rebuild what was lost, but also to build much more housing in areas less prone to wildfires to begin with. It sounds remarkably elementary: If you don’t want people to live in places that are likely to burn down, you have to build in places that aren’t likely to burn down.

  ***

  This is the trap California has set for itself. In order to prevent costly damages from wildfires and further residential incursions into fire-prone areas, you have to provide more housing in dense urban corridors. But in order to satisfy NIMBY gadflies and antidevelopment members of the Democratic coalition, you have to make it difficult to build new housing basically everywhere.

• Demsas points to the example of Christchurch, New Zealand, which saw thousands of homes destroyed by an earthquake in 2011. Afterwards, New Zealand activated emergency authority to require local governments in the metro area to rezone land for housing, and the city proper was forced to allow denser townhouses as well. The Christchurch City Council has estimated that 41% of the housing growth from 2010 to 2018 was a result of legalizing denser housing in the city.

• Meanwhile, an analysis by The Washington Post concluded that median rents for listed apartments in Los Angeles County spiked by 20% after wildfires ravaged the area. Some towns saw even bigger increases, with rents doubling in Hermosa Beach and climbing 130% in Encino. An executive order signed by Gov. Newsom after the fires began made it illegal to increase the cost of housing and other goods by more than 10%.

Short Takes From Around the Country

• According to ResiClub, condo prices are declining in 92% of Florida's housing markets, and single-family home prices are falling in 66% of Florida's housing markets. Multiple contributing factors are suggested, including that the pandemic’s surge in migration to Florida has fizzled out, new structural safety rules after the collapse of the Surfside condo building in 2021 have led to sky-high special assessments on condo owners, the high level of new construction has helped cool the resale market, and the surge in Florida home insurance rates has led to deterioration in home affordability.

---

---

Calendar

February 4 — Hybrid event, “Manufactured for the Future: Building a Climate-Resilient Manufactured Housing Stock,” 2:00-4:30 p.m., Urban Institute, 500 L'Enfant Plaza S.W., and online. Join the Urban Institute and leaders from the manufactured housing sector to learn about innovations, opportunities, and barriers at the federal, state, and local levels to preserve and produce safe and affordable manufactured homes. Register here.

February 5 — Performance oversight hearing before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for all agencies under the committee’s purview (which includes the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development), 9:30-1:30. Streamed live at www.dccouncil.gov.

February 6 — Meeting of the Montgomery County Planning Board, 9:00 a.m. One agenda item is to review the Scope of Work for the Friendship Heights Sector Plan. Watch online here.

February 10 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3/4G (Chevy Chase), 7:00-8:45, in person at the Chevy Chase Community Center and virtually via Zoom.

February 13 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3E (Friendship Heights & Tenleytown), 7:30 p.m., online. Although not confirmed, representatives of the Office of Planning may attend this meeting to discuss OP’s rezoning proposal to implement the Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework.

February 18 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3F (Van Ness), 7:00-9:00 p.m., online.

February 18 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3C (Cleveland Park and Woodley Park), 7:00-9:00, online.

February 18 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3A (Middle Wisconsin Avenue), 7:00 p.m. in person at the Second District Police Station Community Room and virtually via Zoom.

February 25 — Performance oversight hearing for the Office of Zoning, Office of Planning, and Department of Buildings before the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole, 11:00-6:00. Streamed live at www.ChairmanMendelson.com/live.

February 26 — Performance oversight hearing for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development, 9:30-1:30. Streamed live at www.youtube.com/channel/UCbFwXXcbCuQk3-zlwqe97mA/streams.

March 3 — Performance oversight hearing for the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Housing Production Trust Fund before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Housing, 9:30-5:30. Streamed live at www.youtube.com/@committeeonhousingdc.

March 5 — Performance oversight hearing (public witnesses only) for the Department of Human Services and Interagency Council on Homelessness before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Human Services, 9:30-3:00. Streamed live at www.dccouncil.gov.

March 6 — Performance oversight hearing for the D.C. Housing Authority before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Housing, 9:30-5:30. Streamed live at www.youtube.com/@committeeonhousingdc.

March 7 — Performance oversight hearing (government witnesses only) for the Department of Human Services and Interagency Council on Homelessness before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Human Services, 9:30-1:30. Streamed live at www.dccouncil.gov.

---

To let us know of something we should add, please email christopher.vaden78@gmail.com.