Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are responding to COVID-19. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation.
Category: Event materials

Event: Understanding DC Zoning for Accessory Apartments & Second Dwellings
Homeowner’s ADU Zoning Webinar
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 @ 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Via Zoom
Attention DC homeowners! Want to understand what DC zoning regulations permit on your lot so you can build an accessory apartment or second unit? Join us to learn from Mamadou Ndaw with the Office of the Zoning Administrator at Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Mr. Ndaw will provide a presentation of DC’s zoning rules followed by Q & A.
Photo credit: Erin Kelleher, see: www.ileanaschinder.com
View event materials here.

July 9: DC’s New & Improved Building Permit Process Explained
A webinar for DC homeowners with Mike Brown, Residential Center Manager, DCRA
July 9, 2020, 4-5 pm
Via Zoom
Need a building permit for your accessory dwelling unit (ADU), whether its a basement apartment or backyard cottage? You’re in luck! DC’s permitting just got easier. Join us for a webinar on the new online process with Mike Brown, Residential Center Manager, DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). The new process has greatly shortened the length of time to get a permit — to 21 business days in most cases. It used to take months! After his presentation, Mike will take your questions.
Event Materials
Active Transportation Webinar: Virginia Legislative Update
Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar on updates from the 2020 Virginia Legislative session. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation.

Design options and costs for accessory dwellings
A webinar for homeowners with DC area architect Ileana Schinder
Date: June 25, 2020, 6pm-7pm
Event venue: Zoom (link sent later)
Join us for a presentation and discussion with architect Ileana Schinder on the design options and cost implications of different types of accessory apartments and second dwellings. Ileana will draw from her extensive experience designing and permitting basement apartments and backyard dwellings in the District of Columbia. We’ll reserve time after her presentation for questions from participants.
Keep up with ADU news by joining our listserv at: https://www.smartergrowth.net/adu-forum/
Photo credit: Erin Kelleher, see: www.ileanaschinder.com
Conservation Cafe Webinar
Click here to watch the Conservation Cafe webinar held with Audubon Naturalist Society featuring eco-advocates from Northern Virginia, including our Northern Virginia advocacy manager Sonya Breehey.

NoVA Conservation Cafe Webinar: Meet the New NoVa Eco-Advocates!
We are changing next Thursday’s Conservation Cafe: Meet the New NoVA Eco-Advocates to an online webinar in response to closure of Fairfax County facilities and the need for social distancing. Please join us online from the comfort of your home to meet the new local advocates, hear about 2020 priorities, and share your thoughts on how we can work better together for a healthier environment in Northern Virginia.
Smart growth, environmental and active transportation organizations are staffing up in Northern Virginia and we want to hear from you. The event is a panel discussion featuring new staff from the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, the Audubon Naturalist Society, and Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions. Elenor Hodges, Executive Director of EcoAction Arlington will be our moderator.
This is a free webinar, but registration is required. Register today with our partners at the Audubon Naturalist Society.
Hope you can make it!

EVENT: Courageous Conversations on Housing, Land Use, and Racism
What’s the history of your neighborhood?
We’re hosting a series of courageous conversations on housing, land use, and the history of redlining and segregation in Montgomery County.
You’ll learn about how federal and local housing policy and exclusionary development practices impacted who could live where. This history continues to impact socioeconomic outcomes today. These facilitated workshops are an opportunity to learn, listen, reflect, share, and brainstorm ideas about the future of land use policy.
These workshops are free, open to the public, and will be limited to 50 participants. Please only register for one workshop to ensure that more people have an opportunity to attend. Click on the buttons below to go to the registration page for your selected event:
Saturday, August 15, 2020 @ 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The East County event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
Saturday, August 22, 2020, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Bethesda/Chevy Chase event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
Saturday, August 29, 2020, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Upcounty event is now full. You can also sign up for the waitlist!
All events will be held via Zoom (link and password will be sent prior to the event).

Thank you to Kaiser Permanente for sponsoring this workshop series. The workshops will be facilitated by Challenging Racism.
Images from National Archives (Mapping Segregation in Washington DC)

Join us for Better Buses, Better Cities: A book talk
Join author Steven Higashide and local transit to discuss his new book published by Island Press: Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit. This event aims to help DC advocates learn from a national expert about how we can win the fight for better buses. This book talk follows Coalition for Smarter Growth’s release of the DC Metrobus report card and the region’s Bus Transformation Project’s recommendations. Sponsored by Smart Growth America, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Island Press and Georgetown University Urban & Regional Planning Program.
Where
Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies 640 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington DC 20001
When
December 12, 2019 from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
About Steven Higashide
Mr. Higashide is one of America’s leading experts on public transportation and the people who use it. As director of research for the national foundation TransitCenter, Higashide has authored groundbreaking reports that have redefined how decision makers and journalists understand transit. He has taken the bus in 28 cities around the US and the world.