Cheryl Cort, Author at Coalition For Smarter Growth

Author: Cheryl Cort

CSG Testimony in Support of PG 416-21: Finish the Countywide Rezoning

Posted on February 5, 2021June 3, 2022 by Cheryl Cort

RE: Testimony in Support for PG 416-21: Prince George’s County – Public Ethics – Definition of Application

Click here for CSG testimony in support of PG-416-21 Download

At the Virtual Delegation Bill Hearing on Local/Bi-County Legislation By The Prince George’s County House Delegation, February 2, 20201

By Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Dear Members of the Delegation:

Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization working locally in the Washington, DC metropolitan region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish.

We are pleased to provide testimony in support of PG 416-21. This bill provides a legislative adjustment needed to complete the Prince George’s County Zoning and Subdivision rewrite. A uniquely Prince George’s County ethics law has tripped up the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment (CMA), which is the last step in the zoning rewrite process. This ethics law doesn’t exist anywhere else in the state including in Montgomery County or Baltimore City which has already updated their zoning regulations.

The County’s zoning rewrite was adopted by the Prince George’s County Council in December 2018. After the late 2018 adoption, the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment (CMA) process was initiated. The CMA is the final stage where the rewritten zoning regulations are implemented by applying the new or updated zones to the County’s zoning map.

Over the course of a number of years, we worked with stakeholders and community activists to engage in the public process to update the county’s outmoded zoning and subdivision regulations. We have advocated for the adoption of the modernized regulations through various public fora, and hearings by the County Council.

We made this a priority because this zoning rewrite is a significant advance for the county. The zoning rewrite and CMA are worth the effort because they replace the county’s current obsolete and cumbersome zoning regulations which are holding back the county. Here are some of the ways the zoning and subdivision process will improve:

Design and building form standards: the document establishes transit-oriented zones at the local and regional scales to support the goals of walkable urbanism, creating walkable, and bikable areas that are well-connected to transit;

Parking standards for urban and transit-oriented areas: the zoning rewrite reduces excessive minimum parking requirements in transit-oriented centers in order to support more multimodal designs and uses.

Street designs: the revisions require interconnected streets, shorter blocks, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. It implements newly adopted urban street design standards that support walk and bike friendly streets.

Transportation demand management: the regulations also establish progressive traffic reduction measures that emphasize encouraging more people to ride transit if available, bicycle, share rides and walk.

Ease of use: The zoning and subdivision regulations are presented in a more readable format providing tables and graphic illustrations to better understand and visualize the standards.

Ending perpetual approvals: The zoning rules establish limits on approvals after a number of years. Today, approvals are allowed to live on forever, despite significant changes that may occur after initially projected conditions. While some of the provisions seem overly generous, setting the proposed limits would be a big step forward for the county.

The proposed legislation is clear — this is specific to the CMA, not for everyday zoning and development review matters that come before the Council. For all these reasons, we urge the delegation to adopt the bill to accommodate the Council’s role and responsibility in adopting the CMA. We believe implementation of the zoning and subdivision rewrite is a tremendous improvement for the county and the community. It is a once in a generation opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration.

ALERT: Sign our letter to advance racial equity with the DC Comp Plan!

Posted on January 25, 2021October 19, 2021 by Cheryl Cort

Join us in one more push: Sign the letter for racial equity

Dear Friend,

We’ll keep this short. We have joined with partners in a sign-on letter to urge passage of the DC Comprehensive Plan ASAP. If you haven’t already, please add your name.

The Comp Plan update is a fundamental part of the District’s commitment to address its legacy of racial inequity and the letter makes the case for Chair Mendelson and the Council to act quickly to pass the plan.

Please sign the letter today!

The proposed updates to the Comp Plan work to reverse redlining, racial segregation, and other discriminatory practices. It also acknowledges the consequences of past and current planning on Black and Brown residents, including: wealth disparities, health outcomes, and housing security.

The DC Office of Planning has identified nearly 100 policies and actions throughout the Comprehensive Plan that explicitly focus on advancing equity, titled the Equity Crosswalk. When implemented altogether, these policies hold promise to deliver on the goals of equity established in the Framework Element and to make a tangible difference in the lives of DC residents who have yet to reap the benefits of the growth and change in the city.

Thank you for sticking with us in the fight for the updated Comp Plan.

Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth

action@smartergrowth.net

PS: Click here to learn more about the Comp Plan.

Photo Credit: S. Davis, Flickr.

This presentation explains what we won with the Framework Element in October 2019. The presentation also shows how the entire Comp Plan sets the District on a path to equitable distribution of affordable housing, and shows how the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) amendments create more housing opportunities focused around transit. The FLUM provides 15% more housing capacity to make room for more people as the city grows.

CSG Additional Testimony in Support of the DC Comp Plan, B23-736

Posted on December 3, 2020October 19, 2021 by Cheryl Cort

CSG Additional Testimony in Support of B23-736 Download

This additional testimony provides support for passing the Comp Plan swiftly. If changes are being considered, we recommend improving language to support permanent housing affordability and support for Community Land Trusts. This testimony also endorses the testimony of the Douglass Community Land Trust, DC’s District-wide community land trust.

ADU D.C. Homeowner’s Manual

Posted on December 2, 2020August 23, 2022 by Cheryl Cort

How to Build an Accessory Apartment or Second Dwelling in the District of Columbia

The ADU D.C. Homeowner’s Manual is a product of the year-long ADU DC initiative launched in the spring of 2019. This effort was made possible with the support of founding funder Citi, and led by the United Planning Organization (UPO), along with its partner, the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

ADU D.C. Homeowner’s Manual (2nd edition, 2022)Download

Updated figure of accessory building zoning regulations (2021)Download

Updated table for RF zones (2021)Download

For more information on how to build an ADU, view the full resource folder here. Also, join our online forum on DC ADUs here.

Ward 2 Comp Plan Roundtable Nov. 19 at 7 pm

Posted on November 18, 2020October 19, 2021 by Cheryl Cort

Have your say at the Ward 2 Comp Plan Roundtable

As a Ward 2 resident, you have a special opportunity to voice your support for the critical amendments to the DC Comprehensive Plan. On Nov. 19 at 7 pm, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto is holding a roundtable to hear from you.

Sign up here for the roundtable so you can express your support for the Comp Plan update.

Let Councilmember Pinto know you support the Comp Plan update without delay because:

It sets a goal of 15% affordable housing in each part of the city, and increased housing around transit nodes. The plan specifically calls for 1,850 more affordable homes in the Near Northwest Planning Area (mostly Ward 2) by 2025.
It makes key changes to outdated and exclusionary land use policies.
It gives residents more sustainable and affordable transportation options by enabling more compact, mixed-income housing near transit.
It incorporates priority policies for dedicated transit and bicycle lanes, Vision Zero, and prioritized pedestrian access.
It discourages too much vehicle parking, and focuses on developments designed to enhance walking and bicycling.

These changes to the Comp Plan are long overdue. Let Councilmember Pinto know that her constituents want to pass this progressive update to the Comp Plan as soon as possible.

If you haven’t already, be sure to send letters to Chairman Mendelson and the DC Council urging them to adopt the Comp Plan update this year.

For more background, check out our webpage. You can also use our model letter or these tips for talking points to prepare your comments.

Don’t miss the chance to let Councilmember Pinto know you want her to support a more equitable and sustainable city by passing the Comp Plan update without delay.

Pictured: The Liz, a mixed use, mixed income development in Ward 2. Photo credit: C. Cort

CSG Testimony in Support of DC Comp Plan Amendments (B23-736)

Posted on November 12, 2020October 21, 2021 by Cheryl Cort

CSG-Testimony-for-B23-736_11-12-20_FNL Download

Support DC Expanded Inclusionary Zoning

Posted on November 11, 2020October 21, 2021 by Cheryl Cort

The DC Zoning Commission will hear the proposal for Expanded Inclusionary Zoning on Nov. 16, 2020 at 6:30pm.

Read our testimony in support of Expanded IZ:

ZC-No.-20-02-Support-by-CSG-re.-Expanded-IZ_11-13-20_FNL-1 Download

You can read our preliminary support in July 2020 for this proposal: CSG’s testimony here, and our joint support with Housing Priorities Coalition testimony. View Expanded IZ Case No. 20-02 Zoning Commission hearing notice and case documents here.