Contact: Gail Sonnemann, gsonnemann@gmail.com, 202-286-0845
To: District of Columbia Zoning Commission Office of Zoning
441 4th Street NW #200 Washington, DC 20001
Subject: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Case # 22-25
Housing Justice Advocates Challenge Zoning Rule Changes
March 18, 2024
Dear Chairman Hood and Zoning Commissioners:
Ward 3 Housing Justice (W3HJ) works to expand affordable housing in
Ward 3 and to enhance the participation and influence in government
processes of those who are housing burdened. We are taking this
opportunity to comment on the text amendments, ZC Case 22-25, that
have been published in DC Register as proposed rulemaking prior to final
consideration by the Zoning Commission.
The text amendments conflict with efforts to make the zoning process more
transparent and participatory. The text amendments will deprive the public,
including ANCs, with the necessary information to participate fully in zoning
processes. It is not enough for the Zoning Commission to assert that
current regulations allow participation when the regulations do not
adequately notify the public about the topic or subject of a proceeding. The
22-25 text amendments indirectly deny access by not informing.
Specifically, the Zoning Commission would deny notice to government
agencies, suspend physical notices on the subject property, omit
substantive descriptive information on notices, and exclude notice to
tenants within 200 feet of a subject property and previously affected
ANCs. The only reason given by the Zoning Commission is that inclusion
would cause process delays and be burdensome and complex. W3HJ
finds that the benefit of ensuring all potential stakeholders a seat at the
table outweighs minimal delays and is not at all burdensome or complex.
Other approved amendments increase our impression that the Zoning
Commission does not want public participation and prefers an insider’s
process, with applicant’s attorneys and the Office of Planning dominating
proceedings and alone influencing the outcome. Of particular concern are
approved amendments that would allow applicants to bypass meeting with
ANCs before a set down meeting with the Zoning Commission and allow
OP to file map and text amendments without notifying ANCs and property
owners within 200 feet of the subject property prior to set down. The
implication is that the Zoning Commission does not want ANCs to be aware
of applications that could affect their constituents. ANCs should be fully
informed and encouraged to submit set down comments to advise the
Zoning Commission on whether to accept an application and schedule a
hearing.
The Zoning Commission has compounded its decisions to limit notice by
excluding non-parties from filing motions for reconsideration and rehearing.
In effect, the Zoning Commission is squeezing the public at both ends of
the zoning process. The Zoning Commission is completely excluding the
public when it considers successful applicant’s motions to change the
conditions of a zoning order that could include affordable housing
commitments.
The perception that the Zoning Commission wants to limit public
interference with its proceedings is most clear in its resistance to public
pressure to codify a Racial Equity analysis requirement. The Zoning
Commission refers to this analysis as a tool, implying that it is not a
significant factor in its deliberations. The Council clearly intended Racial
Equity analyses to influence zoning decisions in all cases, including the
zoning matters handled by the Board of Zoning Adjustment, which the
Zoning Commission exempts from considering Racial Equity in its
decisions. We urge the Zoning Commission to elevate Racial Equity
analysis as a regulatory requirement to signal to applicants that reversing
decades of discrimination and displacement – often through zoning
processes – will be actively pursued.
W3HJ urges the Zoning Commission to put aside concerns related to
delays and burdens on applicants, which influenced the 22-25 amendment
decisions, and instead consider the consequences of erring on the side of
streamlining applicant’s requirements. The public has a right to be fully
informed and participate in zoning proceedings and indeed the Zoning
Commission has a responsibility to evaluate public impacts, benefits, and
outcomes, including how decisions will affect Black and Brown
residents. Zoning decisions cannot be deemed legitimate and authentic
without a fully informed public participating in all zoning matters and with a
regulatory foundation that ensures Racial Equity as a fundamental zoning
purpose.
Thank you,
Margaret Lenzner, on behalf of Ward 3 Housing Justice
margaretlenzner@verizon.net (202) 664-4919
3530 Newark St NW, Washington DC 20016