Say NO to Bowser on changing building height limits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people DC needs high rises

Looking like a midwestern midsized town is not charming or unique

Do you want it to look like Rosslyn? What's so great about all that development? NOTHING

Chinatown right now is just Rosslyn with the tops of the buildings lopped off, what’s so great about that??

You can see the sky. Trees and people get ligt. .if you like living in the shadows you have many other options across America. DC is unique. Bowser a.dime a dozen. When is she up for reelection? Time for the tax payers of this city to push back.

[Anonymous]

Wow, lots of upper NW suburbanites lamenting about "our city."

[Anonymous]

Didn't a bunch of posters recently lament DC not being a "real city" because we don't have tall buildings or density?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, lots of upper NW suburbanites lamenting about "our city."

Yes, I live in upper NW. Also born in DC, raised a family here and worked in a non illustrious or lucrative job, but have built my little piece of belonging and happiness through hard work and commitment. I have every right to oppose Browsers proposal. It is "my city". And GUESS WHAT? Every other resident of DC, rich or poor, recently arrived or longstanding has a right to an opinion for or against as well. Do you have some litmus test as to who may share their voice in democracy or consider themselves a resident of DC?
I lived in many parts of the city before they were gentrified. And there are still many neighborhoods that are not gentrified or are transitional. There are also many homebuying programs in this city, and MUCH support for low income - I received it at one time. We are also surrounded by less dense areas and more dense areas (depending on preference) and transport options. There are currently a lot of different options, and she needs to keep thinking of a sneakier plan to ally herself with crass developers. This one is obvious from the starting gate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/05/10/bowser-ready-to-explore-d-c-height-limit-changes.html

Read and weep.

A. That article has no quotes indicating she is proposing raising the height limit. Rather she wants office of planinng to explore many options - which can certainly include upzonings - there are many parts of DC where regular zoning (floor area ratio limits, etc) are binding, the district wide height limit does not matter.

B. Before addressing the height limit, the office of planning would need to do a build out analysis, to determine who much building can still occur without altering the height limit. They did one back in 2012, the last time this came up. However critics said the analysis was not thorough enough, and in particular, IIRC, did not fully explore all potential upzonings.

C. That said, there are plenty of places where buildings above the current height limit would not materially change the look of the historic parts of DC. For one, you could raise it in areas near the MoCo line, where there are already taller buildings nearby on the Md side of the line. Or you could allow taller buildings in some place like L'Enfant Plaza, where I have difficulty seeing the harm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people DC needs high rises

Looking like a midwestern midsized town is not charming or unique

Do you want it to look like Rosslyn? What's so great about all that development? NOTHING

1. Rosslyn actually has height limits, due to the airport

2. The biggest problem with Rosslyn is the autocentric street network, and the poor quality of the older office buildings, cheap knock offs of modernism. Not the height.

3. The great thing about development is it creates homes for people who want them. Limit new supply and you accelerate gentrification, while at the same time pushing more people to live in sprawl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/05/10/bowser-ready-to-explore-d-c-height-limit-changes.html

Read and weep.

A. That article has no quotes indicating she is proposing raising the height limit. Rather she wants office of planinng to explore many options - which can certainly include upzonings - there are many parts of DC where regular zoning (floor area ratio limits, etc) are binding, the district wide height limit does not matter.

B. Before addressing the height limit, the office of planning would need to do a build out analysis, to determine who much building can still occur without altering the height limit. They did one back in 2012, the last time this came up. However critics said the analysis was not thorough enough, and in particular, IIRC, did not fully explore all potential upzonings.

C. That said, there are plenty of places where buildings above the current height limit would not materially change the look of the historic parts of DC. For one, you could raise it in areas near the MoCo line, where there are already taller buildings nearby on the Md side of the line. Or you could allow taller buildings in some place like L'Enfant Plaza, where I have difficulty seeing the harm.

I am no big fan of Bowser and like the current height limits, but I'd grudgingly be open to changing them once other options are exhausted. The middle class is being squeezed out, and we need increased density if we want to keep middle class families in the city. No bearing on me personally (we have good salaries), but I don't want DC to become a city of rich and poor only, with no middle class that includes teachers, nurses, etc. Some of my child's teachers with families have had to commute from quite far away, and I'd prefer they have more options in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Height limits are the one thing that keeps our city charming and unique. While we are rat infested, we are not a rat infested styles Gotham. She is proposing going after height limits again. After how she and the council pushed through the shelter plan with little public comment or regard for existing zoning requirements no doubt she will push through this short sighted but irreversible change. If she likes, she can go run for mayor in New York. Her proposal shows zero respect for my hometown of DC.

F--k charming and unique if people on MC incomes can no longer afford to live within a city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a hideously bad idea! Is she insane?

She LOVES development and what does she call it, skin in the game. She has all kinds of plans for skyscrapers in ward 3 I'm guessing. Probably starting with Tenleytown and then creeping down wisconsin and ct. Ave.

Bowser doesn't care about development.

She only cares about the Corrupt Dollars that come with it in our Corrupt City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/05/10/bowser-ready-to-explore-d-c-height-limit-changes.html

Read and weep.

A. That article has no quotes indicating she is proposing raising the height limit. Rather she wants office of planinng to explore many options - which can certainly include upzonings - there are many parts of DC where regular zoning (floor area ratio limits, etc) are binding, the district wide height limit does not matter.

B. Before addressing the height limit, the office of planning would need to do a build out analysis, to determine who much building can still occur without altering the height limit. They did one back in 2012, the last time this came up. However critics said the analysis was not thorough enough, and in particular, IIRC, did not fully explore all potential upzonings.

C. That said, there are plenty of places where buildings above the current height limit would not materially change the look of the historic parts of DC. For one, you could raise it in areas near the MoCo line, where there are already taller buildings nearby on the Md side of the line. Or you could allow taller buildings in some place like L'Enfant Plaza, where I have difficulty seeing the harm.

I am no big fan of Bowser and like the current height limits, but I'd grudgingly be open to changing them once other options are exhausted. The middle class is being squeezed out, and we need increased density if we want to keep middle class families in the city. No bearing on me personally (we have good salaries), but I don't want DC to become a city of rich and poor only, with no middle class that includes [b]teachers, nurses, etc. Some of my child's teachers with families have had to commute from quite far away, and I'd prefer they have more options in the city.
[/b]

Please Google DC homebuyer assistance for first time homebuyers - specific programs are available for low income as well as ALL DC government workers including teachers and first responders. Personally know two teachers who have bought beautiful townhomes in transitional neighborhoods (ie they got a deal) and now their homes have appreciated .

[Anonymous]

Yeah, not gonna get me to agree with you OP. DC needs affordable housing near transit, and building up is the way to do it. I don't think all of DC should be turned into downtown Bethesda, but I like the way neighborhoods like Navy Yard are developing with dense buildings and lots of amenities. What I WOULD like to see is more aesthetically pleasing large developments - why are the new builds all so pastichey and ugly these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, lots of upper NW suburbanites lamenting about "our city."

I work in the city. We had guests from out of town, and we drove by my office building. They commented on how nice it is that you don't feel overwhelmed by high rises in the city, how pretty the city is, how healthy the trees look and how you can see the sky. They commented that this should be the model for all cities.

And why are you trying to make this thread some sort of war against Ward 3? Is that the buzz word for getting the rest of DC to vote for something that will harm them? Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, not gonna get me to agree with you OP. DC needs affordable housing near transit, and building up is the way to do it. I don't think all of DC should be turned into downtown Bethesda, but I like the way neighborhoods like Navy Yard are developing with dense buildings and lots of amenities. What I WOULD like to see is more aesthetically pleasing large developments - why are the new builds all so pastichey and ugly these days?

Arguably Navy Yard, which really is almost built out at this point (most of the remaining empty lots already have development proposals I think) is a good example of missed oppurtunity due to the height limit. Would making those buildings 2 or 3 stories taller ruin Navy Yard? No. But it would mean more housing near transit and less pressure to gentrify elsewhere. And now its too late - you aren't going to tear those buildings down to replace them with buildings just slightly taller, it won't pencil out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, lots of upper NW suburbanites lamenting about "our city."

I work in the city. We had guests from out of town, and we drove by my office building. They commented on how nice it is that you don't feel overwhelmed by high rises in the city, how pretty the city is, how healthy the trees look and how you can see the sky. They commented that this should be the model for all cities.

And why are you trying to make this thread some sort of war against Ward 3? Is that the buzz word for getting the rest of DC to vote for something that will harm them? Shame on you.

Naturally guests from out of town have no particular concern with high housing costs here, with gentrification, or with sprawl.

And you could easily allow taller buildings and still have a distinctive feel and plenty of sky. You could allow only slightly taller buildings, or you could allow taller buildings only a few select parcels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/05/10/bowser-ready-to-explore-d-c-height-limit-changes.html

Read and weep.

A. That article has no quotes indicating she is proposing raising the height limit. Rather she wants office of planinng to explore many options - which can certainly include upzonings - there are many parts of DC where regular zoning (floor area ratio limits, etc) are binding, the district wide height limit does not matter.

B. Before addressing the height limit, the office of planning would need to do a build out analysis, to determine who much building can still occur without altering the height limit. They did one back in 2012, the last time this came up. However critics said the analysis was not thorough enough, and in particular, IIRC, did not fully explore all potential upzonings.

C. That said, there are plenty of places where buildings above the current height limit would not materially change the look of the historic parts of DC. For one, you could raise it in areas near the MoCo line, where there are already taller buildings nearby on the Md side of the line. Or you could allow taller buildings in some place like L'Enfant Plaza, where I have difficulty seeing the harm.

I am no big fan of Bowser and like the current height limits, but I'd grudgingly be open to changing them once other options are exhausted. The middle class is being squeezed out, and we need increased density if we want to keep middle class families in the city. No bearing on me personally (we have good salaries), but I don't want DC to become a city of rich and poor only, with no middle class that includes [b]teachers, nurses, etc. Some of my child's teachers with families have had to commute from quite far away, and I'd prefer they have more options in the city.
[/b]

Please Google DC homebuyer assistance for first time homebuyers - specific programs are available for low income as well as ALL DC government workers including teachers and first responders. Personally know two teachers who have bought beautiful townhomes in transitional neighborhoods (ie they got a deal) and now their homes have appreciated .

Transitional neightborhoods end up, er, transitioned at some point. Which will happen faster after neighborhoods like Navy Yard and NoMa, which are absorbing a lot of the demand now, are built out.