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anyone else dislike Greater Greater Washington?
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Anonymous
The push on "affordable housing" is a total canard. GGW isn't concerned about affordable housing (except that its bloggers aspire to live in an affordable glass box on U Street). This is the latest argument developed by Big Development and its echo chamber to force fundamental changes in the comprehensive plan and how it's interpreted, as well as substantial upzoning of single family residential areas of DC. The BigDev/GGW argument goes like this. If DC constrains judicial review of PUD determinations and upzones, denser and taller buildings will mean more 'inclusionary zoning' units. Never mind that inclusionary zoning requirements are minimal in DC, but 'inclusionary zoning' is not at all the same as 'affordable housing.' Indeed, a Big Dev/GGW proposal to upzone the avenues in Upper NW to the same height and density as downtown likely would lead to the tear-down of numerous older apartment buildings which in Ward 3 today provide the second-highest number of rent-controlled units in the District. The other Big Dev/GGW argument is that if DC upzones Palisaides, AU Park, Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park, that this will somehow eliminate gentrification pressures in other parts of the District. This ignores the fact that housing demand and markets are highly segmented, and few buyers looking for the next Brooklyn in D.C. are likely to want a high-rise condo in the Palisades or a quad-plex in AU Park. It is telling that a number of the affordable housing advocacy groups in DC saw through this charade and testified against the comprehensive plan framework proposals being pushed by the mayor at the behest of BigDev. |
Anonymous
Did that hurt your feelings, pumpkin? Yes, I’ve been to Petworth, many times. |
Anonymous
Who will save Ward 3 from gentrification! This is a bunch of gibberish which conflates all sorts of unrelated ideas and problems. Except for Chris Van Otten's fraudulent group what affordable housing advocacy group testified against the current Comp Plan update? (Hint individuals who don't understand basic economics and believe that restricting housing supply will somehow lower prices and stop gentrification don't count) |
Anonymous
No you didn't hurt my feelings just validated my assumption that DC NIMBY's are also idiots. And I doubt you've been to Petworth - a couple of visits to the library don't really count. |
Anonymous
1. They are certainly not that segmented. Lots of people move EOTR (including to very unhip areas) because WOTR is so expensive. 2. IZ units are significant, and definitely a source of housing for people who cannot afford market rate 3. Making market rate housing more affordable is a social good. except I suppose to people who are landlords and want rents to increase 4. If you don't want the rent controlled units lost, you could upzone with a requirement that all of them be replaced, and only the added density would be market rate. There are projects like that which have penciled out. Or you could just upzonie on currently non-residential parcels. 5. Substantial upzoning of SFHs - all thats in the cards now, AFAICT, is making ADU's easier, and making popups a little easier. There is no prospect of dense multifamily where existing SFHs, or even THs where existing detached SFHs are. thats a theoretical discussion in the urbanist world. Though it makes a lot of sense, and your horror at it shows that your concern is not really with AH units, since the SFHs are certainly not AH. 6. Reforming the PUD process is different from upzoning. Right now the PUD appeal process is a joke. 7. Housing advocacy groups who don't understand economics, and are ideologically opposed to market rate housing suppy, if not to private property in general oppose the reforms. Their housing advocacy comes down to stopping new housing. Can we get them to engage in gasoline advocacy? because they would oppose the selling of any gasoline that costs more than a dollar a gallon, iin order to make driving affordable, and the net result would be everyone would have to walk bike and use transit 
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Anonymous
I'm the OP of this thread. Believe it or not, I love biking and I think a protected lane from Chevy Chase would be great. I just don't think you can dismiss the concerns of everyone who legitimately has to drive to get to their jobs. |
Anonymous
Now you’re just wallowing in your petulance. You’re a Greater Greater Crybaby. |
Anonymous
Fair enough but do the concerns of suburbanites who neither live in DC nor pay taxes there matter as much as those of DC residents? More importantly would you trade parking spaces for a bike lane? Which is really what this debate about bike infrastructure would actually be about. |
Anonymous
It would be nice for people to be able to bike from CC to downtown DC, but it's folly to pretend that that would be anything other than helping a handful of people with their hobby. True mass transit would be more regional rail, more buses, more metro. |
Anonymous
Nope just holding up the mirror - or in your case the rear view mirror of your car which you probably spend a lot of time staring at anyhow while you sit in traffic. |
Anonymous
You know GGW has a really, really tolerant moderation policy. There are a gazillion comments there that attack GGW's positions. Anything short of personal attacks is allowed. That you feel a need to come here to complain says a lot about you. |
Anonymous
Somehow I don't think you bike much. Biking is not a hobby in most places - it is a means of transportation. In DC about 5% of the trips now are done on bike and that number is much higher downtown. There is no reason the number can't be similarly high in all neighborhoods, particularly if you build protected bike infrastructure. And the bike infrastructure is specifically intended to feed people into existing transportation - eg people from Chevy Chase who might ride their bike to catch the Metro at Van Ness if there was a safe way to do so. Just like most car trips are short distances most bike trips are as well. |
Anonymous
I get supply and demand, but please explain to me, since you are SO GOOD at economics, how exactly will reducing judicial review, and building a ton of new very expensive condos and 1-bedroom rentals in centrally located areas increases affordability for low=income people or improve their commutes from far-flung affordable areas? With actual numbers and research, not just "increasing supply will decrease prices with the magic hand!" |
Anonymous
Hi, I am OP, and I lived in Petworth for 2 years and don't know how to drive. Sorry to burst your bubble. |
Anonymous
How many trips are made from say Wheaton to downtown on bikes? Or would ever be made, with theoretically perfect bike infrastructure? Biking is a mode of transportation for some, but it's generally for the privileged few who have A) the time B) the health/ability and C) the length of commute to allow it. For people who have a very long commute, kids to drop off, errands to do to support a family, night-shift work, etc, it's just not an option. |