NCPC Takes Action on District Development Plans

The National Capital Planning Commission met yesterday and approved a series of amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, a roadmap for the District's urban planning and economic development. The Commission also deferred action on design of the last section of Georgetown Waterfront Park and approved a series of changes to the District's zoning laws governing building heights.

NCPC, which has the authority to block land development by the District that impinges on the federal land, agreed to allow more than 100 amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, last modified in 2006. The changes were submitted by the District's Office of Planning and set Washington DC's development priorities. Approved amendments include:

-Prioritizing development of the Center Leg Freeway (pictured) and Burnham Place behind Union Station,

-A resolution to encourage more transit-oriented development within the District, as well as a generalized support of public transportation options such as increased bus, bike, and pedestrian accessibility.

-Various modifications to the environmental impact of development, including support of the Kyoto Protocol,

-Proposals under the Capital Space plan to better link District and Federal parks and develop a shared database to report issues, inform the public, and manage the parks,

-Concept approval for development of a Marriott hotel and retail center (pictured, at right) at the corner of Michigan and Irving Streets. Developers have long sought to build out the 5-acre federally owned parcel next to Catholic University, and

-Increase density along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE.

The Commission put off until its February meeting review of the National Park Service plan for the last section of the Georgetown Waterfront Park, stretching from Thompson Boat Center to the Kennedy Center. The final phase of the project includes a resurfaced asphalt bikeway, a new asphalt-tile pedestrian promenade, and replacing the Sycamores now on the site.The Commission also approved a report to the Zoning Commission regarding proposed text changes to the city’s zoning regulations on permitted uses and building heights. In 2007 the District undertook a comprehensive review of its zoning regulations, last updated in 1958. The approval does not change overall height limits in DC, which are governed by federal law, but bring the code up to date to better reflect current ideas and technology.