!"#$%$&" ()*+% ,&-.

*"
/*") 0%12 3&"$".2 *") 4$%5&-$6*7 8-1%1-#*5$&"
!916:5$#1 ;:++*-<

Adams Morgan has proven Lo be a sLrong lure for developers compeLlng for Lhe scarce avallable
land whlle sLlll belng a vlbranL desLlnaLlon for newcomers Lo Lhe clLy and Lhose already llvlng ln
WashlngLon who wanL Lo Lake advanLage of Lhe wonderful amenlLles of our communlLy.
Adams Morgan ls sub[ecL Lo zonlng regulaLlons governlng growLh and land use for commerclal,
lndusLrlal, and recreaLlonal areas of our communlLy. Zonlng classlflcaLlons allow cerLaln uses
elLher by maLLer of rlghL or Lhrough approvals granLed by uC's 8oard of Zonlng Ad[usLmenL.
1hls board lssues walvers, denlals, or approvals for mosL bulldlng pro[ecLs ln our communlLy
LhaL requlre local and clLy approval.
1he currenL codes mosL relevanL Lo us lnclude: (k)-|ow dens|ty, moderate dens|ty, and mu|t|-
un|t res|dent|a|, (C) -Commerc|a|, (S)-Spec|a| urpose, (Ck) Commerc|a| kestr|cted and (DD)-
Downtown, Cver|ay and var|ous zones. Powever, Lhe enLlre zonlng sysLem ls undergolng
revlew Lo updaLe Lhe currenL code developed ln 1938 -- one of Lhe oldesL ln Lhe counLry
alLhough lL has been amended over 1,000 Llmes.
Adams Morgan's resldenLlal nelghborhoods, whlch are predomlnaLely row houses wlLh an
lnLermlxLure of Laller aparLmenL bulldlngs, ls currenLly zoned (k-S-8), whlch ls a medlum denslLy
zone, and (k-S-D) a hlgh denslLy resldenLlal zone. 1hese Lwo resldenLlal zones comprlse Lhe
ma[orlLy of land area ln Lhe nelghborhood.
n|stor|ca| reservat|on
Adams Morgan ls forLunaLe Lo have much of lLs hlsLorlc characLer preserved Lhrough deslgnaLed
as PlsLorlcal ulsLrlcLs. 1hese dlsLrlcLs are proLecLed under Lhe PlsLorlc Landmark and PlsLorlc
ulsLrlcL roLecLlon AcL of 1978. 1he PlsLorlcal reservaLlon 8evlew 8oard ls charged wlLh belng
Lhe waLchdog" charged wlLh keeplng Lhe hlsLorlcal characLer of our communlLy.
8ecenLly, however, Lhe deslgnaLlon as hlsLorlcal dlsLrlcLs has done llLLle Lo proLecL Lhe hlsLorlc
characLer of Adams Morgan. As proflled ln a recenL lssue of Lhe kalorama ClLlzen's AssoclaLlon
(kCA leb. 2013-lssue 2), developers are belng granLed approval from Lhe PlsLorlcal reservaLlon
8evlew 8oard Lo creaLe large and lnapproprlaLe sLrucLures LhaL are ouL of keeplng wlLh Lhe
hlsLorlc characLer of Lhe nelghborhoods. 1he converslon of whaL were once row houses lnLo
mulLl-unlL dwelllngs has aroused communlLy concern and a deslre Lo develop sLraLegles Lo
address Lhls challenge before we lose Lhe hlsLorlcal characLer of our communlLy.
Cur commerclal sLrlps have several zone deslgnaLlons. 1he lower end of 18
Lh
SLreeL along
llorlda Avenue ls zoned C-2-A, meanlng a relaLlvely low-denslLy mlxed use commerclal. A hlgher
denslLy commerclal zone, C-2-8, beglns half way up 18
Lh
SLreeL and encompasses Lhe
lnLersecLlon of 18
Lh
SLreeL and Columbla 8oad. 1he C-2-8 zone conLlnues along Columbla 8oad.
1hls deslgnaLlon corresponds Lo Lhe Adams Morgan 8lu area. 1he WashlngLon PllLon ls Lhe slLe
of Lhe only medlum-hlgh denslLy, C-3-C, zone wlLhln Adams Morgan.
Cur communlLy has Lwo predomlnaLe zonlng overlays LhaL proLecL and encourage speclflc
usages needed ln a communlLy wlLhouL havlng Lo change Lhe underlylng zonlng deslgnaLlons.
1he mosL noLed zonlng overlay, Lhe 8eed-Cooke Cverlay, encourages new buL measured
developmenL whlle proLecLlng Lhe nelghborhood's rlch characLerlsLlcs. Adams Morgan also
lncludes a ulplomaLlc Cverlay creaLed Lo comply wlLh Lhe lorelgn Mlsslons AcL, whlch allows for
Lhe locaLlon of chancerles wlLh Lhe approval of Lhe 8oard of Zonlng Ad[usLmenLs.
A crlLlcal concern for Adams Morgan resldenLs ls Lhe uC Cfflce of lannlng's Zonlng 8egulaLlons
8evlew whlch could poLenLlally lmpacL our currenL sLaLus quo. lnslde Lhls secLlon Lhe reader wlll
flnd an analysls of Lhe proposed changes LhaL have been developed by several knowledgeable
lndlvlduals and clvlc organlzaLlons based ln Adams Morgan.
See maps aL: hLLp://www.scrlbd.com/collecLlons/3613334/Land-use-Zonlng-Worklng-Croup
!"#$ &'&()$#$ *&$ +,#-#'&(() .+'/ 0) 1'' &'. 2&,,) 3&,-,+4/ #' 5&,6" &'. 7"/' 89.&7/. #' 19,#( :;<=
0&$/. +' 7"/ 9,+9+$/. >?? .,&@7 7"&7 *&$ &4&#(&0(/ &7 7"&7 7#A/B !"/ 3&,-,+4/$ &,/ *+,C#'- +'
&'+7"/, 89.&7/B
3&"$". =1.:7*5$&"% =1#$1>

8ackground on the 2on|ng kegu|at|ons kev|ew
uC's Zonlng 8egulaLlon 8evlew exerclse, whlch has been golng on slnce 2007 alms aL masslve
revlslon of Lhe currenL zonlng 8egulaLlons, whlch daLe from 1938 and have been ofLen and
exLenslvely amended.
Status update. lL ls now nearlng Lhe flnal sLages, followlng submlsslon of a compleLe proposed
drafL for Lhe Z88 by Lhe uC Cfflce of lannlng (C) Lo Lhe Zonlng Commlsslon on !uly 29, 2013.
1he Zonlng Commlsslon has now begun publlc hearlngs on Lhe drafL LexL and wlll evenLually
voLe on lL.
varlous nelghborhoods acLlvely consulLed wlLh C Lo secure changes Lhey see Lo be ln Lhelr
lnLeresLs ln Lhe flnal drafL ln order Lo avold belng compelled Lo Lake on Lhe greaLer burden of
convlnclng Lhe Zonlng Commlsslon Lo alLer provlslons LhaL C has recommended. C, belng a
parL of Lhe LxecuLlve 8ranch, ls pollLlcally accounLable, aL leasL ln Lheory, Lhe Zonlng
Commlsslon, as an appolnLed body esLabllshed by Lhe ulsLrlcL's charLer, ls noL, and Lhe burden
of convlnclng lL on any glven polnL may be much heavler.
1he general LhrusL of C's proposals, for areas llke Adams Morgan, has been Loward greaLer
commerclallzaLlon of resldenLlal areas, dlscouraglng Lhe provlslon of parklng, and posslbly some
lncrease ln denslLy, wlLh llLLle lf any efforL speclflcally almed aL helplng nelghborhoods preserve
Lhe physlcal characLer and general amblence of Lhelr nelghborhoods. 1hls has been done ln
large parL expressly for purposes havlng Lo do wlLh promoLlng envlronmenLal susLalnablllLy
Lhrough goals such as walkable nelghborhoods" and dlmlnlshed auLomoblle use. lL goes
wlLhouL saylng LhaL Lhese are laudable ln Lhe absLracL, buL Lhey can go badly awry ln Lhe
parLlcular case lf a nelghborhood's speclal dlsLlngulshlng characLerlsLlcs are noL Laken lnLo
accounL.
rob|em areas. We would suggesL Lhe followlng as of speclal concern Lo Adams Morgan, Lhe
llsL ls noL necessarlly exhausLlve.
1. 1he proposa| to a||ow a w|de var|ety of commerc|a| and other non-
res|dent|a| uses |n Adams Morgan res|dent|a| ne|ghborhoods. As of fall 2012, broad caLegorles
of uses were Lo be allowed ln resldenLlal zones by Lhe relaLlvely easlly avallable devlce of
speclal excepLlon". 1hese lncluded eaLlng and drlnklng esLabllshmenLs", reLall", servlce",
and arLs deslgn and creaLlon", each of whlch ln Lurn lncludes a llsL of speclflc uses ranglng from
pawn shops Lo beer and wlne carryouLs Lo meLal worklng shops Lo fasL food [olnLs Lo real esLaLe
offlces. 1hey were Lo be allowed Lo locaLe anyplace farLher Lhan 300 feeL (abouL 1 block) from
our commerclal areas (whlch are C2-A and -8 mlxed use" zones).
lrom as far back as 2009, when Lhe kalorama ClLlzens AssoclaLlon adopLed a resoluLlon on Lhe
sub[ecL, Lhls proposal has drawn opposlLlon from Adams Morgan and uuponL Clrcle on Lhe
grounds LhaL our nelghborhood ls already superbly walkable." We have long sLruggled Lo
malnLaln Lhe characLer and populaLlon of our resldenLlal nelghborhoods and people dolng
buslness or lnvesLlng ln our commerclal sLrlps don'L need compeLlLlon from nearby resldenLlal
blocks.
Also, Lhe proposed LexL would carry forward an archalc provlslon LhaL allows any blg (10,000 Sl
or more) hlsLorlcally deslgnaLed bulldlng Lo be converLed Lo offlce use. lL was orlglnally
deslgned Lo allow adapLlve re-use of ungalnly old manslons. 8uL ln Adams Morgan lL would
allow any medlum-slzed or larger aparLmenL bulldlngs ln our hlsLorlc dlsLrlcLs Lo be Lurned over
Lo offlce use, and should be sLrlcken.
19,#( 89.&7/. we ooJetstooJ tbot tbls ptovlsloo wlll be JtoppeJ ftom tbe teslJeotlol zooes
foooJ lo AJoms Motqoo (pteseotly k-5-8 ooJ -u).
resent status: ln response Lo varlous ob[ecLlons, C modlfled Lhe LexL by enlarglng Lhe 300-
fooL buffer Lo a quarLer-mlle (1320 fL.), whlch would probably proLecL all of Adams Morgan's
resldenLlal nelghborhoods as well as uuponL Clrcle's. 1he problem ls LhaL, posslbly
lnadverLenLly, Lhey omlLLed some of Lhe commerclal uses menLloned above (e.g. eaLlng and
drlnklng esLabllshmenLs", among oLhers) from Lhe llsL of uses sub[ecL Lo Lhe quarLer-mlle buffer.
C has promlsed Lo correcL LhaL omlsslon, aL leasL as Lo all buL offlce", buL has noL yeL done so
ln Lhe publlshed LexL as of Aprll 2013.
19,#( 89.&7/. we ooJetstooJ tbot tbese ptoblems wlll be cottecteJ lo Ols oext Jtoft ooJ Ol
wlll cootlooe to wotk wltb commooltles oo Jetolls.
2. kemova| of m|n|mum park|ng requ|rements. Adams Morgan wlll be a
1ranslL Zone" by reason of proxlmlLy Lo a MeLro sLop and or ma[or bus faclllLy, and Lhus wlll
have no requlremenLs LhaL bulldlngs have a mlnlmum number of parklng spaces. Adams
Morgan's speclal problems as Lo parklng - grossly excesslve demand and lnadequaLe supply -
are well known, and C has already heard some concerns from Adams Morgan (e.g. a kCA
resoluLlon). 1hls does seem an area approprlaLe for exempLlng Adams Morgan - parLlcularly ln
llghL of Lhe facL LhaL lL has been relaLlvely easy Lo geL 8oard of Zonlng Ad[usLmenL varlances
from parklng mlnlmums, and ls llkely Lo conLlnue Lo be.
3. oss|b|e eros|on of requ|rements for a||otment of space to res|dent|a| use |n
our commerc|a| str|ps. Cur mlxed-use commerclal sLrlps are parL of whaL deflnes Lhe characLer
of Adams Morgan. 1he whole polnL of a mlxed use zone ls LhaL bulldlngs be [usL LhaL: LhaL Lhey
malnLaln a porLlon for resldenLlal space LogeLher wlLh space devoLed Lo commerclal use
(usually on Lhe lower floor or floors). 1here has ofLen been pressure from some properLy
owners on our sLrlps Lo geL around Lhe requlremenL and enlarge Lhe proporLlon of commerclal
use.
C's currenL proposals do noL change Lhe general rule as Lo Lhe requlred raLlo beLween
resldenLlal floor area and commerclal floor area ln our C2-A and C2-8 zones. (nor do Lhey
change Lhe currenL helghL llmlLs, currenLly 30 and 63 feeL, respecLlvely.) 8uL Lhey lnclude some
new condlLlons whlch appear Lo allow excepLlons LhaL would dlmlnlsh or ln some cases
ellmlnaLe Lhe requlremenL. We suggesL LhaL Lhese should be scruLlnlzed very carefully, wlLh a
vlew Lo whaL lmpacL Lhey could have on Lhe characLer of our commerclal sLrlps ln flve or Len
years' Llme.
1be Aptll Jtoft ellmlooteJ moxlmom petceotoqe of lot occopoocy tepoltemeots fot botb zooes lo
AJoms Motqoo locloJloq keeJ-cooke. lt ls oot cleot wbot qooJ potpose tbls woolJ setve. 1be
Jtoft ollows locteoseJ belqbt ooJ ovetoll lloot Ateo kotlo (lAk) lo c2-8 lf loclosloooty 2ooloq
tepoltemeots (teqotJloq ptovlsloo of less-tboo-motket-tote Jwellloq oolts) ote met. Ooe sttooqe
ooJ posslbly mls-JtofteJ ptovlsloo woolJ oppeot to ollow ooy smoll ot meJlom-slzeJ bollJloq lo
c2-A to bove two floot of commetclol ose wltboot teqotJ to tbe totlo betweeo ooo-teslJeotlol
ooJ teslJeotlol spoce lo tbe bollJloq.
4. 2kk and |ssues of the sca|e and dens|ty of Adams Morgan res|dent|a|
ne|ghborhood, poss|b|e downzon|ng
1he problem here ls noL so much whaL Lhe proposed regulaLlons Jo, as lL ls whaL Lhey sboolJ do
LhaL Lhey foll Lo do. lor a decade or more Adams Morgan has seen, even ln hlsLorlcally
deslgnaLed resldenLlal areas, a sLeady flow of row house redevelopmenL pro[ecLs almed aL
crammlng ln as many dwelllng unlLs as Lhe markeL wlll bear and Lhe 8egulaLlons allow. 1hls ls
done usually by Lurnlng exlsLlng row houses lnLo sLrucLures groLesquely ouL of scale wlLh Lhelr
nelghbors ln helghL, mass or boLh, and ofLen defaclng Lhe bulldlng ln Lhe process. 1he process
has conLlnued unabaLed durlng Lhe recesslon. lolks ln every parL of Adams Morgan have
sLruggled or are sLruggllng Lo cope wlLh lndlvldual pro[ecLs, ofLen wlLh help from Lhe AnC, kCA
or lmprompLu coallLlons. PlsLorlc preservaLlon wlll proLecL facades ln Lhe deslgnaLed PlsLorlc
ulsLrlcLs, buL can dlscourage Lhls sorL of over-developmenL only around Lhe marglns.

1he currenL Comprehenslve lan, produced ln 2006, whlch provldes LhaL zonlng shall noL be
lnconslsLenL," conLalns numerous provlslons speclflcally almed aL proLecLlng row house areas
from Lhls sorL of over-redevelopmenL (noLe by Larry: 1hese were generaLed for Lhe mosL parL
by Ann Pargrove's presence on Lhe Comprehenslve lan 1ask lorce.) neverLheless, C's drafL
does llLLle lf anyLhlng aL presenL Lo address Lhe problem and Lo some exLenL exacerbaLes lL, as
seen above.
Cne Comprehenslve lan provlslon alms aL provldlng resldenLlal areas such as Adams Morgan,
whlch are zoned 83-8 or hlgher, a Lool for addresslng Lhls problem on a block-by-block or even
area-wlde basls. 1hls ls Lo spllL Lhe currenL 8-4 zone lnLo Lwo sub-zones, A and 8. CurrenL 83-8
and u zonlng found ln Adams Morgan has no llmlLs on Lhe number of unlLs. 8-4 has a llmlL of
Lwo unlLs. 84-8 would have a somewhaL hlgher llmlL on Lhe number of unlLs - perhaps four -
and mlghL dlffer from Lhe currenL 8-4 ln oLher respecLs Lo make lL more conslsLenL wlLh currenL
acLual condlLlons on Lhe ground ln Adams Morgan row houses overall. 8uL lL would reLaln Lhe
currenL 8-4 helghL llmlL of 40 feeL, whereas 83-8 has a llmlL of 30 feeL and 83-u 70. Some
converslon Lo 8-4 has already Laken place ln uuponL Clrcle and elsewhere, and some of our
nelghbors are now acLlvely pursulng Lhls opLlon. (1hls wlll be parL of an efforL uenls !ames ls
organlzlng wlLhln kCA on proLecLlng our hlsLorlc dlsLrlcLs.)
8-4 zonlng ls currenLly descrlbed as Lhose areas now developed prlmarlly wlLh row dwelllngs,
buL wlLhln whlch Lhere have been a subsLanLlal number of converslons of Lhe dwelllngs lnLo
dwelllngs for Lwo (2) or more famllles" - whlch accuraLely descrlbes much of Adams Morgan.
lor homeowners whose block-faces would quallfy, such a converslon would reduce Lhe
maxlmum allowable helghL and place a fuLure llmlL on Lhe number of dwelllng unlLs LhaL a row
house could conLaln. lL would Lhus puL an end Lo Lhe pracLlce of Lacklng unslghLly, ouL of scale
Lop-knoLs or overbearlng rear exLenslons on a row house ln order Lo cram ln seven or elghL or
more Llny unlLs, and would help Lo reLaln slngle- or dual-famlly occupancy as a slgnlflcanL
componenL of our row house nelghborhoods.
WhaL needs Lo happen now wlLh Z88 ls Lo geL C Lo lmplemenL Lhls Comprehenslve lan
provlslon by lncludlng a spllL 8-4 ln Lhe proposed regulaLlons. 1he [ob of geLLlng secLlons of
Adams Morgan row houses acLually rezoned would come laLer, and would requlre a concerLed
efforL on Lhe parL of resldenLs concerned as well as Lhe AnC and oLher groups.
19,#( 89.&7/. we ooJetstooJ tbot ptovlsloos ooswetloq to tbe mooJote fot o tevlseJ k-4 wlll be
locloJeJ lo some fotm lo Ols oext Jtoft. lot AJoms Motqoo teslJeots lotetesteJ lo posslbly
Jowozooloq ftom tbe pteseot k-5, tbe ptoblem wlll be to eosote tbot tbe cotteot k-5 ls Jeolt
wltb lo os sotlsfoctoty o moooet os posslble lo tbe oew Jtoft, bot ot tbe some tlme to eosote
tbot o oew tow boose zooe JetlveJ ftom k-4 teolly meets oot oeeJs. 1be lottet wlll be mocb
mote teoJlly Jooe lf we ote oble to wotk wltb Ol oo petfectloq tbe oew zooe befote tbe Jtoft ls
floollzeJ.




?4! =!!@ABCCD! CE!=/(F






1he 8eed-Cooke (8C) Cverlay ulsLrlcL was esLabllshed Lo proLecL exlsLlng houslng and
provlde for Lhe developmenL of new houslng, malnLaln helghLs and denslLles aL
approprlaLe levels, encourage small-scale buslness developmenL LhaL wlll noL adversely
affecL Lhe resldenLlal communlLy, ensure LhaL new nonresldenLlal uses serve Lhe local
communlLy by provldlng reLall goods, personal servlces, and oLher acLlvlLles LhaL
conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe saLlsfacLlon of unmeL soclal, servlce, and employmenL needs ln Lhe
8eed- Cooke and Adams-Morgan communlLy, and proLecL ad[acenL and nearby resldences
from damaglng Lrafflc, parklng, envlronmenLal, soclal, and aesLheLlc lmpacLs. 1he
maxlmum helghL permlLLed ln Lhe 8C Cverlay ulsLrlcL shall noL exceed forLy feeL (40 fL.)
plus roof sLrucLure as deflned ln Lhls LlLle, provlded, LhaL ln Lhe 8C/C-2-8 Cverlay ulsLrlcL,
a maxlmum helghL of flfLy feeL (30 fL.), plus roof sLrucLures, shall be permlLLed Lo provlde
for Lhe on-slLe consLrucLlon of low and moderaLe lncome household unlLs for a LoLal gross
floor area equal Lo flfLy percenL (30) of Lhe addlLlonal gross floor area made posslble by
Lhe helghL bonus. no planned unlL developmenL shall exceed Lhe maLLer-of-rlghL helghL,
bulk, and area requlremenLs of Lhe underlylng dlsLrlcL. Where Lhere are confllcLs beLween
Lhls chapLer and Lhe underlylng zone dlsLrlcL, Lhe more resLrlcLlve regulaLlons shall
govern. lor more lnformaLlon, lncludlng prohlblLed uses and allowable lncluslonary
Zonlng modlflcaLlons, see ChapLer 14 of Lhe Zonlng 8egulaLlons.