One of Mayor Vincent Gray’s stated priorities is to increase the supply of workforce housing, a component along the continuum of affordable housing needs. This is a laudable goal — seeking to make Washington, D.C. a place where residents can afford to live close to where they work. However, if D.C. officials use regional incomes to define “workforce housing,” it could result in policies that would fail to reach most of D.C.’s low- and moderate-income working households who have a difficult time finding an affordable place to live in D.C.’s expensive housing market.
Category: Affordable Housing
Testimony: Support for D.C.’s 15th Street NW revised concept/nine story apartment building
We would like to express our support for this project and are eager to see this new construction and senior housing preservation project advance. We believe that this new building is respectful of its neighbors and historic context. Most importantly, the new building will respect the St. Augustine church. At the same time, the project will contribute to preserving and adding affordable housing in this popular neighborhood. This is a valuable contribution to our neighborhood and city. We also welcome the market-rate units as part of meeting housing demand across a spectrum of prices.
Equitable Transit-Oriented Development: The Case of Langley Park and the Purple Line
A presentation advocating the installation of the Purple line through Langley Park, MD.
D.C.’s Inclusionary Zoning
A presentation to the D.C. Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning.
DC: Testimony in Support of Inclusionary Zoning
Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional nonprofit based in DC. I would like to express my support for the good work of the Office of Planning. In addition to diligent work on small area plans and development review, the Office of Planning’s major effort to revise and update our outmoded, 1950s zoning code is coming to completion this year. I have appreciated how DCOP has engaged the public through working groups, and provided us with new research and analysis to support a robust discussion. OP’s detailed assessment and proposed code revisions will help us fulfill the 2006 Comprehensive Plan vision to build a sustainable, inclusive city.
Urban Hipsters and Long-time Residents Unite! Housing Strategies to Preserve Mixed Income Neighborhoods as D.C. Grows
How does a growing city ensure that affordable housing is available to its population? As DC gains population for the first time in decades, we must take advantage of creative new tools and cross class and cultural boundaries if the city wants to be affordable for all.
PRINCE GEORGE’S – Building Stronger Communities
Every resident in Prince George’s County deserves a decent, affordable home as the first step to achieving economic security, a higher quality of life and a sense of stability. For the county’s moderate- and low-income households, having and keeping a home within their budget has become increasingly difficult.
D.C. – New Resources for Housing and Homelessness Advocates
The lack of affordable housing has long been a problem in the District. For some residents, this means that they are forced to live in housing that eats up nearly all of their paycheck, leaving little for other basic necessities such as food and clothing. For many others, the cost of housing is so high that they are forced to double up in homes and apartments, move out of their community, or live in their cars or out on the streets.
DC: Skyland Shopping Center
We support the redevelopment proposal for the Skyland Shopping Center. We welcome this mixed use development that provides a modest amount of below market rate housing. Our chief concern is that the project is excessively over-parked – wasting resources on too much parking that could be used for more productive uses.
D.C. – Presentation on Implementing Inclusionary Zoning
This is a presentation to the Council of Non-Profit Housing and Economic Development.