Category: District of Columbia

Take Action: Tell the DC Zoning Commission to upzone Wisconsin Ave. from Friendship Heights & Tenleytown Metro stations

Take Action: Tell the DC Zoning Commission to upzone Wisconsin Ave. from Friendship Heights & Tenleytown Metro stations

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

On December 11, 2025, the DC Zoning Commission will consider a major upzoning for the upper Wisconsin Avenue corridor near the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown Metro stations (Zoning Case 25-13) which could bring thousands of much-needed homes to this high opportunity area. 

Voice your support for a more inclusive Ward 3! The opponents are coming out strongly against it – so we need you to step up! Here’s how:

  1. Send a letter of support by December 10 — click below & personalize it!
  2. Sign up to testify virtually on 12/11, 4 pm. Live, virtual testimony at the Zoning Commission is crucial to countering the number of forceful opponents we expect. Sign up & get tips on testifying here. Or ask us! Cheryl@smartergrowth.net. 

The upper Wisconsin Avenue Corridor with two Metro stations and many local services is the perfect place to provide the housing our city needs.

Image source: DC Office of Planning

Want more background on the Wisconsin Av. rezoning? Check out our explainer here.

DC Alert: Support more homes for Cleveland Park and Woodley Park

DC Alert: Support more homes for Cleveland Park and Woodley Park

Posted on by Cheryl Cort
Source: OP https://app.dcoz.dc.gov/Home/ViewCase?case_id=25-09

Send a letter of support by Dec. 1, 2025 to the DC Zoning Commission in support of upzoning along Connecticut Avenue, Zoning Case No. 25-09.

Take Action

Tell the DC Zoning Commission that you support the proposed new mixed-use zones (Zoning Case No. 25-09)  to permit taller buildings to allow for more homes, including affordable homes, above shops for the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park business districts on Connecticut Avenue. Any new buildings would be subject to the design guidelines adopted by the Historic Preservation Review Board. The zoning proposal would also remove the cap on restaurants in these business districts, which will help fill in vacant storefronts and attract new businesses. Send your letter before December 1.

Sign up in advance to testify on Dec. 1 at 4 pm. The hearing is virtual!

How to testify for Conn. Av. rezoning ZC No. 25-09Download

Image by DC Office of Planning, ZC No. 25-09.

DC Testimony Workshop: Preparing for Wisc. Ave. Rezoning

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

Date: Nov. 10 2025, 7 – 8:30 pm

AGENDA

Introductions – name, neighborhood, motive 

How to testify

  • Sign up & what to expect at virtual hearing 4pm, ~5pm proponents start 
  • Principles for testifying
    • Proponent with or without recommended improvements
    • What’s motivating you to be here
    • Tell your personal housing story, don’t worry about details, don’t be an expert
  • Dos/Donts – don’t oppose because it’s not good enough, instead support & urge to make it better; do make it personal rather than being an expert; only speak for allotted 3 minutes; always be polite & respectful of commissioners & all others – including opponents; don’t worry – Commissioners want to hear from you they are not are not out to get you
  • Sample testimony- below 

Peter Shapiro – How to have the most impact

How to testify – check in

  • Ask participants: What’s your main argument – why do you care about approving this upzoning? (one sentence)

3. Q & A – resource people

Resources

How to testify for Wisc. Av. 25-13Download
Wisc Av. rezoning – proposal briefingDownload

CSG primer: Visualize 2050, our region’s 25-year transportation plan

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

The draft Visualize 2050 plan, our region’s long-range transportation plan, has too many highway and arterial road expansions that will increase driving and climate emissions. We will miss our region’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 – even if there’s a rapid switch to electric vehicles.

Get informed so you can take action on key decisions this fall: 

  • Upcoming key vote on flawed 495 Southside Express Lanes project 
  • Comment period on failing status quo Visualize plan

Source: TPB, with annotations by the Coalition for Smarter Growth

Background on Visualize 2050

  • Visualize 2050 is our region’s long-range transportation plan, prepared by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), a regional body overseen by our local and state officials and transportation agencies. 
  • CSG background article
    • From March 2024, on draft project list that is now being presented for final approval this fall along with its performance results. 
  • 48 organizations criticized the previous plan, Visualize 2045 with very similar projects Letter by 48 regional organizations on Visualize 2045 (May 2022)

495 Southside Express Lanes Project

  • The TPB board will vote in October on whether or not to include the Virginia Department of Transportation’s flawed highway expansion project in the final plan.
  • Background on the project’s flaws, questions that VDOT has not answered, and better alternatives that need to be studied and advanced.

Stay tuned for actions you can take this fall!

  • Be on the lookout for CSG action alerts in September and October ahead of the TPB vote on the 495 Southside Express Lanes project.
  • Formal public comment on the entire draft Visualize 2050 plan will take place in late October through mid-November. CSG will provide a more in-depth overview of the draft plan – stay tuned.

CSG in the News: Does D.C. have the worst traffic? Not so fast.

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 26, 2025 | Rachel Weiner and John D. Harden | The Washington Post

“It’s not news that a successful metropolitan region like the D.C. region has a lot of traffic,” said Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a nonprofit that advocates denser urban areas with less need to drive. Concentrating future growth near transit, he said, “is the best way for our region to grow without choking on traffic.”

Read the full story here.

RELEASE: We know we have traffic congestion. The real news is that we have more solutions to congestion than most regions of the country – and can do better.

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Consumer Affairs released its ranking of the cities with the worst congestion and DC ranked #1. “These rankings routinely show DC in the top four, so it’s not news that our region has congestion. For one thing, it’s a sign of a healthy economy, and in our case, the return to office requirement,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.