Why does Bowser allow developers to hide their identities? If you have a problem with a developer, you can't even figure who they are -- what their name is -- because the city allows them to hide behind anonymous LLCs. Ridiculous. Not even basic standards of transparency. |
I don't mean to be rude, but you sound like you know nothing about any of this. If you have a problem with a developer, no one on the city council will help you because Bowser has laid down the law, i.e. they support developers. Don't believe me? Try it. Ask your representative for help on something -- anything. They won't lift a finger if helping you would mean hurting a developer. |
Depends what you mean by "in the middle of" Falls Church they are mostly on Washington and on Broad - not at all far from detached SFHs (and right across the street from THs) In Rosslyn - Ballston in North Arlington the County has created a buffer of THs between the denser apts and detached SFHs. No such buffer along Columbia Pike, but the height there is more limited. Could you give an example from DC of what you mean? |
Well in DC we have and continue to have apartment buildings go in as new development zones, including along Wisconsin Ave., obviously the ballpark etc. I'm confused where the Mayor would put 1,500 more units (as a fraction of other units? Or self contained?) in rock creek park west. Once you get off the main roads its all single family and duplex. |
One of the planners from the Office of Planning indicated that Cleveland Park is a focus area because of its proximity to Metro and arterial avenues, but it might require amending the historic district designation. |
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I'm sorry if this sounds flip but you have no idea whatsoever how projects get approved or the role of various elected officials and agencies/boards. Almost all of the new construction in DC in the last 5 years has been by right construction which is to say that the projects don't require any review. And the zoning laws those projects have been built under are decades old. Your council member can't help you because they'd have to change the Comp Plan to do so which would take years and there is currently a process to update it anyway. Besides that most DC Council members are committed to building more housing in DC - both market rate and affordable so even if they had the power to help you (which again they don't) they likely wouldn't. Projects that require some relief are approved by either the BZA or the ZC (again this is a small number of projects) and 3 of the 5 commissioners are appointed by the mayor and approved by the council but the Mayor cannot fire members of either commission and can only replace someone when their term is up and the current chair has been on there since 1998 and was originally appointed by Anthony Williams. The mayor has some influence on projects through the office of planning whose advice to applicants that will need relief is pretty critical but OP almost never approves more than slight increases above allowable by right development and I'm not aware of a case where they've supported maxing out what can be built on a lot and again most projects being built in DC don't require relief or other reviews. But enlighten us please - how have you been "hurt" by a developer or development? I can see two new developments that have gone up in my neighborhood in the last 10 years from my house and neither has caused me any harm and there is another hopefully coming soon. I am familiar with some of the complaints from people in my neighborhood about some developments in both multi-unit buildings and single family homes that were opposed and where DCRA came out and did surveys to make sure they were compliant with zoning. Turns out they were, the projects were finished, we have new neighbors, everything is fine and property values continue to rise in my neighborhood. Tell me again what the perceived problem is and why you hate having new neighbors so much? Oh and I assume since you hate developers that you live in a teepee you made yourself on your ancestral lands? |
Check out the Mayor’s proposed changes to the Comp Plan - lots of upzoning and holding out of historic preservation rules in parts of Ward 3, but additional protections for “neighborhood character,” view sheds and historic resources in the mayor’s home Ward 4. Bowser is Big Development Inc’s shameless ——. |
Typo correction: hollowing out of historic preservation |
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Depends what you mean by "in the middle of" Falls Church they are mostly on Washington and on Broad - not at all far from detached SFHs (and right across the street from THs)
In Rosslyn - Ballston in North Arlington the County has created a buffer of THs between the denser apts and detached SFHs. No such buffer along Columbia Pike, but the height there is more limited. Could you give an example from DC of what you mean?
The ball park? You kidding me? An old industrial area, parking lots, old warehouses, etc, etc. Not a neighborhood of SFHs. So the equivalents in NoVa would include National Gateway in Arlington, Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Tysons in Fairfax. Wisconsin is a major avenue that has long had apartments. Yes there are some SFHs close to it I guess. Unlike say in Clarendon in Arlington, where the County put THs in as a buffer. Would you like a couple of blocks away from Wisconsin zoned for THs and low rise apts as a buffer? |
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