The Coalition supports the staff and Planning Commission recommendations to amend the zoning ordinance as outlined in the report. Bringing retail store proposals greater than 80,000 square feet under County special exception helps ensure these projects reflect comprehensive planning, transportation and environmental measures, thus better contributing to the public health and welfare. This allows large retailers to better contribute to the community they serve in partnership, while enhancing the economic viability of the stores themselves.
Category: Resources
Ensuring Housing Opportunities in Fairfax
We co-authored “Ensuring Housing Opportunities in Fairfax” using 2005 – 2007 local data on housing costs and income to assess who faces the greatest need for affordable housing in Fairfax County. The analysis was undertaken following criticism by local housing advocates, who decried that the county’s ‘One Penny’ local housing trust fund was used to help finance preservation of units allocated to households making as much as $100,000 per year.
1000 Friends of Maryland Report on the ICC
This report by our partners at 1000 Friends of Maryland explores the financial, economic and regional development costs of building the Intercounty Connector.
Testimony in support of the proposed action for Takoma Metro Station redevelopment, Hearing No. 175, Docket R06-5
Since 2000, WRN has been involved with the question of what kind of redevelopment at the Takoma Metro station would do the most to enhance transit access, improve the station area and larger community, help meet the need for more housing near transit. Appropriate development at the Takoma Metro station helps accommodate our region’s growth in a way that enhances the Takoma neighborhood while contributing to the solution for our region’s transportation, air and water pollution problems.
NATIONAL – Center for Housing Policy’s “Heavy Load” Report
The Coalition for Smarter Growth prioritizes the production and preservation of affordable housing, especially with access to transportation choices and jobs, as one critical element of truly interconnected, sustainable communities.
D.C. – Homes for an Inclusive City
The Coalition for Smarter Growth prioritizes the production and preservation of affordable housing, especially with access to transportation choices and jobs, as one critical element of truly interconnected, sustainable communities.
DC – A Working Vision for Downtown Ward 7
A plan to revitalize downtown Ward 7, based on a series of community workshops in 2005.
DC – Rhode Island Avenue Parking
WRN has worked extensively with community members around the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. We have conducted workshops, walking audits and developed a set of recommendations to make the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station more accessible to the community that it serves. We have also supported the detailed analysis conducted by D.C. Office of Planning which demonstrated that many more Metro riders could be served by improving walk, bicycle and bus access to the Metrorail station at the same cost of replacing the 387 commuter parking spaces.
Manassas Battlefield Park Bypass Study Draft EIS
We have reviewed the Battlefield Bypass DEIS and have found a number of noteworthy deficiencies that significantly affect the conclusion that four lane bypasses are required to replace Routes 29 and 234 through the Manassas Battlefield National Park.
DC – Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap: The Status of and Need for Dedicated Local Revenue for Affordable Housing Production and Preservation
“Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap” is a report on the status of dedicated local revenue sources for affordable housing production and preservation in the Washington, D.C. region. It provides guidance to area jurisdictions that have yet to implement a dedicated local revenue source. This report describes dedicated revenue sources that already exist and forecasts what type and size of dedicated revenue sources make sense for each jurisdiction. Nearly all new affordable housing for lower income households across the country is created through partnerships between government funding agencies and private for- and non-profit developers. The public funding role is crucial because constructing housing is almost always not financially feasible at the rents or mortgage payments that lower income households can afford to pay, especially in areas with high housing costs like the Washington, D.C., region. Legal restrictions that accompany this public investment ensure that this housing will remain affordable to lower income families for varying amounts of time.