The D.C. Office of Planning released the long-awaited first draft of the proposed zoning changes (see in particular subtitle C+D), but we need your support. From the good folks at Greater Greater Washington and the Coalition for Smarter Growth:

The DC Zoning Update will make DC’s zoning code more understandable, give people more freedom to rent out their garages and basements, have local neighborhood corner stores, and remove some onerous and unnecessary parking minimum requirements. 

Some people are absolutely dead set against any change, and have been trying to scuttle the zoning update since the first day they heard about it, no matter how times the Office of Planning has come to meetings with them or weakened proposals to placate the opposition. It’s time to move forward to make sure our city can grow without adding to traffic, add more housing that people can afford, and become a better place to live for everyone.

The Office of Planning is holding 8 public input sessions by ward in December and January to educate residents about the zoning update and get feedback. We need to turn out in force to these meetings to stand up for good changes and/or push OP to make the proposals even better. 

Please sign up here.

DC’s Office of Planning will be explaining everything in detail at the meetings, but you can also learn more at their blog, http://zoningdc.org/, and from posts on Greater Greater Washington like these:

• “Rewritten DC zoning code corrects past mistakes”
• “Is DC’s zoning update too timid?”
• “Why the angst over accessory dwellings?”
• “What’s in the zoning update- corner stores”

We’re posting more information on how the zoning changes could affect tiny houses in DC under FAQ’s.