May 7, 2024 Ward 3 Affordable Housing News Digest
Government Activity
District of Columbia
Zoning Commission Hears Chevy Chase Rezoning Proposal
The Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the Office of Planning’s (OP’s) rezoning proposal for Chevy Chase (Case No. 23-25) on April 29. The Commission heard presentations from OP, the Office of the Attorney General's Equitable Land Use Section, and ANC 3/4G. Then it heard 18 public witnesses supporting OP’s rezoning proposal before running out of time for the evening. The Commission scheduled another public hearing for May 23 to hear from the 32 public witnesses who had signed up to testify against OP’s proposal. The videorecording of the hearing can be viewed here.
D.C. Council Acts to Eliminate Restrictive Covenants
On May 7, the D.C. Council unanimously approved, on first reading, Bill 25-669, the Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act of 2024. The bill establishes a process for homeowners and common interest communities (e.g., condo associations) to remove racially restrictive covenants from their property deeds.
The bill also incorporates a provision, originally proposed as a separate bill by Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin, that declares covenants or deed restrictions on property anywhere in D.C. to be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy if they (1) were first imposed prior to the adoption of the 1938 Zoning Act; and (2) prohibit the property from being used for apartments, apartment houses, or multiple residential units that would otherwise be permissible under the zoning regulations.
The Council also acted to make the provisions of the new legislation effective immediately.
First, the Council unanimously adopted PR25-764, the Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024. That declaration states: “At least one property in the District [i.e., the Chevy Chase Civic Core] is currently the subject of an [sic] pending request for proposals to construct new government facilities on the site with additional residential housing, however a covenant on the property purports to prohibit such development. Indeed, the need for affordable housing District-wide makes it essential that such covenants that predate zoning are not enforced throughout the District.”
Then the Council unanimously passed Bill 25-809, the Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Emergency Act of 2024. The substance of the bill is the same as Bill 25-669, but as emergency legislation, it will take effect immediately upon the Mayor’s signature. Mayor Bowser submitted a letter dated May 7 urging the Council to pass the emergency bill, saying:
The legislation will . . . also make unlawful certain covenants that restrict apartments and other multiple residential units on property where the zoning regulations would otherwise allow them. This provision will allow for the District and property owners to unlock development density that could be restrained by these covenants, if enforceable. Approval of the bill is consistent with the District’s Comprehensive Plan and will help eliminate potential obstacles to the important goal of achieving affordable housing throughout the District.
Task Force Identifies Conversion Opportunities
Mayor Bowser’s Gallery Place-Chinatown Task Force presented eight initial proposals for the future of the Penn Quarter area at a public meeting on May 4. Most of the task force's proposals focused on creating functional streetscapes, such as an activated pedestrian walkway on Eighth Street from the Convention Center to the Hirshhorn Museum, and gathering places for activities like marketplaces and festivals.
Bisnow reports that the Task Force also said 7,550 residential units could be created in the area through nearly 5.7 million square feet of potential office conversion and infill development. The group highlighted three federal sites that could be redeveloped into apartments and a mix of other uses: the 6.4-acre Government Accountability Office site, the 11.6-acre Department of Labor headquarters, and the 6.5-acre site of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters.
Washington Business Journal [subscription req’d] and WTOP also had stories.
News/Commentary
District of Columbia
Post Letter Calls for Reducing Tax Abatement for Downtown Conversions
The Washington Post published a letter to the editor from Gail Sonnemann, identified in LinkedIn as a communications specialist with Ward 3 Housing Justice, calling on D.C. to “reduce the over-generous tax abatements for downtown conversions of office space into residential units” rather than raising sales taxes or reducing social programs.
“I submit that downtown land owners and developers do not need tax abatements and other relief at the levels and duration proposed. And these companies certainly don’t need help more than lower income residents need housing assistance,” Sonnemann wrote.
Developments Planned Near Gallaudet
Continuing its series profiling development projects in the planning or construction stages, Urban Turf takes a look at “the residential pipeline on the boards from Trinidad to Ivy City,” totaling some 3,000 residential units in seven projects.
Most notable, a planned-unit development (PUD) on Gallaudet University’s land is expected to deliver over 450,000 square feet of office and administrative space, 129,000 square feet of retail, and up to 1,769 residential units. Over 77,000 square feet of the residential space will be set aside as Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) units.
New City, a proposed project by Douglas Development in Ivy City, “appears to be at a standstill,” but plans had called for 859 residential units, 20% of which would be affordable: 25% for households earning up to 50% of median family income (MFI) and the remainder for households earning up to 80% of MFI.
Co-Living Firm Targets D.C.
A report in Bisnow says Cohabs, a Belgian co-living firm backed by big Canadian pension fund Ivanhoé Cambridge, is opening its first building in London in June, and has targeted U.S. cities like New York and Washington, D.C. for future expansion. Cohabs targets a minimum of 500 beds in every city it moves into, and expects to enter the D.C. market this year.
“Cohabs buys existing houses of multiple occupation and converts them into modern co-living assets, with high-end kitchens, gyms and cinema rooms. Buying such assets and improving them is both environmentally sustainable and ‘a beautiful way to densify our cities, meaning offering additional housing solutions to young professionals,’” an Ivanhoé official told Bisnow.
D.C. at 79% of Affordable Housing Goal
Urban Turf has a story reporting that D.C. now has approximately 34,389 new housing units since January 2019, putting it 96% of the way towards Mayor Bowser’s goal of 36,000 new housing units by 2025, according to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s (DMPED) dashboard.
Of the units produced, approximately 9,500 are affordable, only 79% of the goal for affordable housing production. The Rock Creek West planning area, which includes Ward 3, remains at 10.1% of its affordable housing target, far and away the worst of any planning area in the city.
D.C. Area’s “Affordable Housing Conundrum”
Washington Business Journal looked at the paradox that young workers are leaving the Washington area due to housing costs, yet housing demand still exceeds supply.
Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of North Bethesda-based Bright MLS, told WBJ that decelerating population growth in Greater Washington is “like the canary in the coal mine, as we see young workers who decide that they can't live here. . . . It used to be that people follow businesses, but it has become a case where businesses are now following the people,” she said, noting that the cost of living and the ability to find housing that's affordable are key reasons why people are leaving the region.
Overall population growth has rebounded since bottoming out in 2020, but only because of births and international arrivals. Domestic migration is negative; more Americans have moved out of the region than into it every year since 2013. Sturtevant said:
When you look at who those people [moving away] are, it tends to be people in their prime working ages — late 20s, 30s, early 40s. If we don't have sufficient housing affordable to the workforce, all along the income spectrum, it makes it really hard for businesses to attract and keep workers and for businesses to decide to locate here in the Washington area. That's why housing is really not just a social issue, but it really is an economic development issue.
Carmen Romero, head of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), said regional housing production is falling dramatically short at lower area median income levels of 50% and below. When APAH opened 144 new affordable apartments in Ballston in April, for example, they had 1,800 people on the interest list.
Sturtevant said, “The primary constraint on building sufficient housing for the workforce is land use policy, period. So, I would ask businesses to go to Tuesday night zoning meetings and ask of their community to make changes to land use and zoning policy to allow the construction of more housing.”
She said the strategy that has been most successful in generating affordable housing at lower and moderate income levels is for cities and counties to make land owned by the city or county available to builders who are willing to build housing affordable at lower price points. But finding political will is hard; “Elected officials at the local level answer to existing residents, they don't answer to new residents who don't live there now.”
Sturtevant said one of the reasons the market isn’t meeting the demand for affordable housing is because the amount of supply that can be delivered is limited by the government and by the availability of land. “Why would you build to the lower end when there's unmet demand all along the income spectrum, and you're being told you can only build so much housing?”
Maryland
Enterprise Expands Faith-Based Initiative to MoCo
According to Bisnow and a press release, Enterprise Community Partners is expanding its faith-based housing effort to Montgomery County. Enterprise’s goal is to create 750 units of affordable housing on underused land owned by faith-based organizations in Baltimore and Montgomery County. Enterprise received $385,000 in funding from Montgomery County and $200,000 from the Truist Charitable Fund for its effort.
The initiative will provide specialized training, technical assistance and funding over two years to up to seven participating houses of worship as they plan new developments on their land. Enterprise’s faith-based development initiative has been underway since 2006 and has helped preserve or create 1,500 affordable homes in the mid-Atlantic. The Daily Record also has a story.
What Is “Luxury Housing”?
In an opinion piece at Greater Greater Washington, guest contributor Mike English writes about the absurdity of residents of single-family homes using the term “luxury housing” as a way to oppose apartments or other development. It feels and sounds bad to oppose new housing for its own sake, he says, so they have to convince themselves and others that there is an affordability argument to be made against new development.
In Montgomery County, the average asking rent for a new Class A apartment is about $2400 for a one-bedroom and $2800 for a two-bedroom. Calculating a typical mortgage payment for a house in Montgomery Count using conservative assumptions, English comes up with monthly costs of $3654 to $4200. The more luxurious thing is the one that costs more, he argues.
Detached houses work great for a lot of people, and even if we allow denser options they will continue to be allowed everywhere they are now. But if you are reading this in a single family home in Montgomery County, someone trying to buy that home today would almost certainly have a much easier time affording an apartment or condo, even a “luxury” one. Opposing them on the grounds of them being “luxury housing” isn’t helping anyone.
Calendar
Ongoing through July 11 — Undesign the Redline, an interactive exhibit that explains the history of redlining and other discriminatory housing policies in upper Northwest D.C. and nationwide, Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. The exhibit website is here; a schedule of associated presentations and panel discussions can be found here.
May 9 — Meeting of the D.C. Zoning Commission, 4:00 p.m. Watch live stream here. The agenda includes (1) a discussion and probable vote on the Office of Planning’s rezoning proposal for the police and fire stations at 1617 U Street, N.W.; and (2) a discussion of a PUD for a proposed dormitory/student apartment building at Wesley Theological Seminary.
May 9 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3E (Friendship Heights and Tenleytown), 7:30, online. The agenda, which includes a presentation by Mill Creek regarding plans for redevelopment of Superfresh Site, can be found here. Zoom registration here.
May 10 — History of Barry Farm. A screening of the documentary “Barry Farm: Community, Land and Justice in Washington D.C.,” followed by panel discussion of the history of public housing, the experience of residents, and the false promise that public housing has created. 6:00-7:30, St. Columba's Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle St., N.W.
May 13 — Regular meeting of ANC 3/4G (Chevy Chase), online at 7:00. The agenda includes a budget presentation from Nina Albert, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and a discussion of upper Connecticut Avenue zoning changes now before the D.C. Zoning Commission. The agenda and relevant documents can be found here. Register for Zoom attendance here.
May 14 — Presentation, 2024: Neighborhood Segregation and Modern Day Redlining, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Neighborhood segregation is no accident. Laurie Benner, Associate Vice President of Housing & Community Development, National Fair Housing Alliance, will talk about the history of housing, modern-day redlining practices, and solutions to redress discriminatory patterns and create more equity in housing. Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
May 14 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3A (Middle Wisconsin Avenue), 7:00 at the McLean Gardens Ballroom and via Zoom.
May 15 — Speak Truth: A Student-Led Conversation about Undesign the Redline. Through student-facilitated conversations, Speak Truth participants learn to productively and respectfully discuss current, controversial topics. At this event, D.C. high school students will discuss their thoughts and reactions to the Undesign the Redline exhibit. Sponsored by Cosby Hunt and Jenna Fournel, The Center for Inspired Teaching. 6:00-7:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
May 19 — The Campaign Against Covenants: Walking Tour of Bloomingdale. Discover why the Bloomingdale neighborhood’s premier architectural corridor was also a racial barrier, and how Black homeseekers and civil rights attorneys chipped away at this dividing line. The tour highlights key sites in the legal campaign against racially restrictive deed covenants, which kept much of D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood off-limits to African Americans when it was first developed around the turn of the 20th century. Led by Historian Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, co-founder of the public history project Mapping Segregation in Washington DC. 2:00-5:00 p.m. (rescheduled from May 5). Register here.
May 20 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3C (Cleveland Park), 7:00-9:00, online.
May 21 — Discussion, “Housing Abundance and the 2024 Election,” 5:30-8:30 p.m., 1275 New Jersey Avenue S.E. Rachel Cohen of Vox and Laura Foote of YIMBY Action will discuss how the housing shortage is shaping voter perception of the economy and how pro-housing policies are an essential part of the movement for abundant communities. More information and tickets here.
May 21 — Panel Discussion: The Role of Faith Communities in Repairing the Breach, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Rabbi Aaron Alexander, Adas Israel; Rev. Glenna J. Huber, Rector, Church of the Epiphany; Rev. Nancy Ladd, Senior Minister, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation; and Dr. Talib M. Shareef, The Nation’s Mosque, explore the role of religion in social justice today and what it could be in the future. Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec St. N.W.
May 21 — Next regular meeting of ANC 3F (Van Ness), 7:00 p.m.
May 23 — Part 2 of the D.C. Zoning Commission public hearing on rezoning proposals for the Chevy Chase Civic Core and commercial strip, 4:00 p.m. The Office of Planning’s April 19 hearing report is here. A detailed hearing notice can be found here. Watch the hearing here.
May 29 — Webinar, “Historic Preservation & Affordable Housing: Myth vs. Reality,” presented by the D.C. Preservation League, 12:00-1:00. Alyssa Frystak, Director of Research & Analytics with PlaceEconomics, will address some common misconceptions surrounding historic preservation and affordable housing. Register here.
June 4 — Panel discussion: Undesigning the Redline: Legal and Policy Issues Impacting Change. Local leaders initiating change in DC/MD/VA explore current solutions being pursued, lessons learned and how we move forward together. Moderated by Jenny Schuetz, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. Panelists include Bryan Coleman, housing advocate and community leader in Northern Virginia; Luca Gattoni-Celli, founder of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia; Dan Reed, Regional Policy Director of Greater Greater Washington; Harriet Tregoning, Director of the New Urban Mobility Alliance; and Gwen Wright, former Montgomery County Director of Planning. 6:00-7:30 p.m., Temple Micah, 2829 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
June 6 — Presentation: Course Correction — The National Association of Realtors® Ongoing Fair Housing Transformation from Opponent to Ardent Advocate. Presented by Colette Massengale, National Association of Realtors, and targeted to real estate professionals. 6:30-7:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
June 13 — Presentation: The Black Broad Branch Story. The discussion will explore the stories of two Black families along Broad Branch Road, N.W., who were forced to leave the land and homes they owned in order to make way for the newly developing all-white neighborhood of Chevy Chase D.C. Participants will include Corey Shaw Jr., co-founder and director of the Black Broad Branch Project, together with descendants of the families who lost their homes here. 6:00-7:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
June 25 — Panel discussion: WIN — Envisioning Thriving Communities Today, and Looking Ahead. Advocates from the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) explore creating a positive vision for Ward 3. Panel members include Rev. William H. Lamar IV, Metropolitan AME Church; Anthony E. Cook, Professor of Law, Georgetown University; Erica Williams, Executive Director, DC Fiscal Policy Institute; and Alison Dunn-Almaguer, Executive Director, Washington Interfaith Network. 6:00-7:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
July 2 — Presentation: Mapping Segregation in D.C. — Racial Covenants in Northwest and Southeast. Learn about the program that has mapped racially-restrictive covenants across D.C., and plans to train volunteers to help fill in remaining gaps. 6:30-7:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
July 18 — Bisnow will host a half-day event called, “The Future of Friendship Heights & Chevy Chase,” 8:00-11:00 a.m. Topics include “Building Communities: Exploring Multifamily, Mixed-Use, and Affordable Housing in Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase.” Details and ticket link here.
To let us know of something we should add, please email christopher.vaden78@gmail.com.