DC YIMBYs 🏗
@dcyimbys
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Washingtonians for a more affordable, accessible city. Follow along for updates and ways to get involved. | Chapter of @yimbyaction | https://t.co/RzN6fr8vT3
Washington, DC
Joined April 2022
We should build apartments over every grocery store in DC.
Costco is building apartments above its stores to address the affordable housing crisis, starting early this year. Walking downstairs and getting a $1.50 hot dog gives new meaning to “affordable walkability.”. It includes free membership, a rooftop pool, fitness area, gardens/
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We should absolutely turn these empty office buildings into a vibrant neighborhood in the heart of our city.
In recent months, momentum has been growing behind the scenes for a large-scale redevelopment of a cluster of aging, underutilized federal office buildings in between the National Mall and the Wharf. My latest:
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Love that DC has an actual mascot to represent NIMBYs that shows up to events and everyone knows it's bad to be associated with them.
Come see me live at the Takoma Park Street Festival this Sunday, October 6th from 10am-5pm! (Selfies limited to single-family homeowners)
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This is cool stuff. Quick view of where DC allows apartments with at least 4 units:
Data alert! . The national zoning atlas includes dozens of variables on restrictions across residential zones. Not all of the NZA's raw data is being made public, but you can find complete information on HI, MA, MT, NH, and some regional atlases here:
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Hey DC YIMBYs! Starting this account to promote discussion, ideas, and ways to take action on housing affordability, transit accessibility, and more in our city. Follow along!.
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🚨New development proposal! would convert the huge parking lot on 5th & K St NW into ~550 units. This is how the space looked in 2007 vs today, and how it could look if this project is approved
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"DC is full" say NIMBYs, but it's just not true. Building dense housing is ILLEGAL in the vast majority of DC. For goodness sake we're only 23% denser than Arlington, which is supposed to be our sprawling suburb.
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NIMBYs will tell you building new housing doesn't decrease housing costs, but you can see the effect between DC neighborhoods! A 2bd/2ba in NoMa is cheaper than a 1bd/1ba in Adams Morgan. Both of these buildings are new and amenities are comparable.
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Not a topic we pour energy into since it's not locally-controlled, but Height Act repeal would unlock development in the most valuable land in the District.
First order of business for a new congressional YIMBY caucus should be to repeal the Height Act. Number two should be to turn Congress’ surface parking lots into mixed use developments with garages!.
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Imagine turning this barren concrete jungle into dense, walkable communities. Imagine the opportunity that would unlock.
Or instead of spending billions to put it underground we could just. remove it.
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There's so much in this little map I've been thinking about. First one: DC is zoned for *corridors* not *neighborhoods*. Many of these areas have tons of transit, grocery stores, other amenities, but we only support density along a single arterial.
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The strip mall that sits right next to the Cleveland Park Metro is a land use policy failure, but local NIMBYs insist it can't be touched because it's "historic". Luckily, they put up a plaque to mark the history. Now that we have that, let's use the space for more homes.
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Another thing on this map. Look at DC v NoVa. 4+ units are illegal to build in the vast majority of our city. Arlington* and Alexandria recently upzoned to allow them nearly everywhere. Montgomery County is set to do this soon, as well.
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The entire state of *Montana* can now build denser forms of housing by-right than is legal in much of DC. It's time to legalize apartments city-wide.
It is now legal to build an ADU throughout the entirety of Montana and a duplex in many single-family neighborhoods, thanks to the Montana Supreme Court throwing out the District Court's bad preliminary injunction ruling. Pro-housing policy wins!.
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We need more drifting artists making DC home. You should be able to go to some weird avant garde production put on by kids slinging lattes by day and writing poetry about finding themselves on their days off. But those folks can't afford to live here.
high housing costs have made it impossible to be a slacker in major american cities. this is a national crisis.
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If you're a Democrat in DC and you're wondering why the party has suddenly gone all-in on a pro-housing message, check out some of the resources in this 🧵.
I’m running for re-election to keep fighting for Massachusetts families, and one of my top priorities is to lower the cost of housing. We can drive down prices by building more housing—and I’ve got a bill to create nearly 3 million more units.
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We endorsed 79 ANCs this year. 66 won.13 lost. 105 known YIMBYs will serve as ANCs next term.10 commissions are majority YIMBY.26 commissions lean YIMBY. However you slice it, it's clear - DC residents want more housing built in their backyards!.
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According to this estimate, DC is tied with Hawaii for state with the worst housing shortage, at 35 percent of housing stock. We have our work cut out for us.
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Very cool project from @OPinDC. Reimagining the cloverleaf at North Capitol and Irving into a connected, vibrant neighborhood. Combined with the McMillan Reservoir and Armed Forces Retirement Home redevelopments, has the potential to completely transform this area of DC.
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By our count, there are 34 ANC single member districts with *no one* running in them, not even a write-in candidate. They're all listed below, and this thread points out a few specific ones. If you're a YIMBY interested in running in any of them, reach out to us! 🧵.
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This could be DC if we were serious about solving the housing crisis.
An Austin renter’s renewal offer is $200/month lower than what she’s currently paying. We’ve always said building more housing makes *existing* housing more affordable, and that’s what’s happening in Austin.
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DC is set to hit the housing production targets set by the Mayor by next month! The original goal was to get here by 2025. Building 36,000 homes is great, but as anyone who pays to live inside in DC knows, more still needs to be done. 🧵 .
DC is on pace to meet Mayor Muriel Bowser's goal of producing 36,000 new housing units by next month.
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When a NIMBY claims that redeveloping $1.6M homes is racist because it pushes out lower-income residents of color.
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We're excited to announce our ANC endorsements for 2024! Check out our website 👇 to see who DC YIMBYs is endorsing. These folks can make a huge impact in making their communities dense, walkable, welcoming places. Also, a special Shadow Senator endorsement for @ankitjaindc!.
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A lot of people are looking to make a difference right now. One way you can help is to get involved locally. One of DC's biggest problems is that it's really expensive to live here. We need to build more housing to lower prices. Join us and be part of the solution!👇.
Sign up at to get on our email list and hear about more ways to get involved. We host regular happy hours and would love to meet you!.
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An interesting (read: terrible) side effect of the Height Act is that because it makes the height limit proportional to the road a building is on, it inhibited the creation of the dense, walkable neighborhoods I talk about here.
There's so much in this little map I've been thinking about. First one: DC is zoned for *corridors* not *neighborhoods*. Many of these areas have tons of transit, grocery stores, other amenities, but we only support density along a single arterial.
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Local YIMBYs absolutely talk about this. It's on our website!.
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Big thanks to GGWash for pursuing this. It shouldn't be illegal to help electeds do their jobs well (or build apartments).
A big win for GGWash, ANCs, and free speech: BEGA has reversed its stance that trainings we sought to hold for newly elected commissioners constituted illegal gifts:
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Really feel like we've made it when local candidates call us a special interest group. Just so we're all clear - we're a volunteer-led organization working to make DC a more welcoming, inclusive place.
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"We shall build tunnels under our cities and giant motorized carriages will carry people from station to station.". "And we'll build lots of housing at these stations?". "Yes but only right on top not half a block away. And certainly not if there's a historic strip mall there."
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Calling all DC YIMBYs! . Our April meetup is Sunday, April 17 at 2pm at The Brig in Navy Yard. Let us know you’re coming here:.
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"Historically designated parking lot" should be an oxymoron. Shame on us all.
Preservationists have convinced the District to designate as historic a nearly century-old Chevy Chase bank — and its parking lot — as the city looks to the area for further housing development. There were strong opinions on either side.
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Rent in DC is too high, but it would be even higher if not for all the housing we've built over the last few years. We need to keep building more homes.
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One small example of the difference an ANC can make in their neighborhood.
One of my accomplishments when I was previously an ANC commissioner was getting the slip lane at 16th and U closed. This has directly increased pedestrian safety in our neighborhood.
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The same is true of DC (and many other cities). There's gold in them there undeveloped lots and the key to unlocking it is as simple as upzoning the land.
Los Angeles could be flush with cash if it liberalized zoning and sped up permitting. The NIMBYism that is driving the city's housing shortage is also bankrupting it.
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This is the solution.
What a great addition to the neighborhood. From an empty lot to 108 affordable units in NW DC. Shoutout to the @DMPEDDC team—this went up quick!
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If the "Brookland Civic Association" actually represented the community, you'd expect to see their members hold a lot of local ANC seats. But they don't.
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Excited to welcome 15,000 new neighbors, but we need to build homes for them to live in.
Hey, now we can all say that D.C. officially has more than 700,000 residents! (The city topped out at more than 800,000 back in the 1950s, and then dropped to 572,000 in the 2000s.)
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"In moments like this, our salvation really will come from the local.". Mayor Pete is basically telling you to join DC YIMBYs and make a difference right here in DC. Come to think of it, he lives in DC. @PeteButtigieg you should come to our next happy hour!. Anyway, join us 👇.
“There is healthy introspection going on right now on the left on how we may have gotten in our own way in terms of getting stuff done. The one that’s provoked the most discussion from people like @ezraklein & @mattyglesias is around housing.”.
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Building housing in our suburbs helps relieve pressure on the DC market. We should still build tons of housing in DC, but if you're in Arlington please help support missing middle.
Arlington YIMBYs, we need your help 🚨 . At the end of September, a judge overturned Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning changes. And of course, NIMBYs celebrated. But Arlington needs diverse housing types to improve affordability for residents. (1/2).
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Rents down in the Triangle area as they build tons of new homes. DC can do this, too. We just need to make it legal to build.
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With the economy stabilizing, and housing still in short supply, we have some ideas to un-stuck housing in the DMV. An evidence based🧵.
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No we love it when you point this out! . The recent development in DC hasn't been able to completely stop or reverse rent growth, but it has slowed it. We need to keep the momentum going and push harder!.
My DC friends hate it when I point this out, but DC has been building a lot of housing relative to peers in recent years, and so is a lot more affordable—especially when you account for quality and incomes.
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Are we seeing this? This is embarrassing. We need to build so much housing we're cheaper than Baltimore.
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Excited about the Congressional YIMBY caucus for the federal implications, but there are also some things the caucus could do for DC. See, Congress has passed laws that make building housing in DC harder, and the YIMBY caucus could do 3 things to fix that 🧵.
You love to see it! May we submit a few nominations for the Caucus? 👀 @brianschatz @SenToddYoung @SenatorWarnock @SenKevinCramer @RonWyden @SenLummis @USRepMikeFlood @repcleaver @RepRalphNorman @RepPettersen @RepDerekKilmer.
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Help get housing across the finish line this Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30. What's at stake: we can turn this lot into dense multifamily housing, but only people show up
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We should build apartments over every grocery store in DC. The freedom of popping downstairs to grab a missing dinner ingredient is incredible.
Dramatic morning at the Whole Foods in Tenleytown DC. One police officer I interviewed said, laconically, ‘Brakes and gas are very different pedals.’ No one was hurt, so far as I can tell.
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The best part about dense, walkable neighborhoods is all the best friends you can live near.
My best friend is moving within walking distance of me next month. Life is about to be a nationally syndicated sitcom broe.
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I cannot imagine telling my neighbor they can't build a deck. I want an invite to that deck!.
You know how your neighbor can get in the way of you renovating your home? Our polling shows people don’t want that. Why does it exist? Because politicians like Aaron Peskin want to control what gets built in the city. It's time to end Peskin's political career. #anyonebutaaron
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Join the rally next Wednesday to show your support for a new homeless shelter in Foggy Bottom
Unnamed Foggy Bottom neighbors are spending $20,000 a month in an effort to stop a homeless shelter from coming to their neighborhood. $20,000. A. Month.
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November happy hour is here! Join at Midlands Tuesday, 11/4 at 6:30pm. Make new pro-housing friends and learn about opportunities to get involved. RSVP here:
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This is illegal to build in huge swaths of DC.
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Developing this empty lot is a good idea, but NIMBYs will do anything they can to fight it, including complaining that the old development plans, WHICH THEY BLOCKED, were better.
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Nationwide, we're building enough to keep rent growth well below wage growth. But it's lumpy! The Sunbelt is building a lot (and reaping the benefits). The Northeast not so much. DC should build more to hold down rents.
Apartment rents held flat once again in September -- marking 15 straight months of flat rent growth and 21 straight months of rent growth trailing wage growth. Not due to weak demand. Demand remains strong. But due to the historic deluge of new supply surging to 50-year highs.
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Parking minimums don't just make it harder to build more housing. They make childcare more scarce, running a business more expensive, and NIMBYs more powerful.
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When a NIMBY compares modest zoning reform to infamous human rights abuses.
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Another study (spanning 40k comments over more than 20 years) finding that commenters at public meetings are unrepresentative of their communities. The public planning process relies heavily on these meetings, to the detriment of our neighborhoods.
excited to share that my article "Public Comment and Public Policy" is now published at @AJPS_Editor .
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We should clear homeless encampments by building homes for people to live in.
D.C. increases homeless encampment clearings
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NCPC estimates we could realize $33M in tax revenue per year by decking over the highways by the Kennedy Center and developing a small portion of the reclaimed land (most becomes parks). A reminder that there are also fiscal benefits to YIMBYism.
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DC’s Friendship Heights is changing. It has been 15 years since a new home was last added to the neighborhood. Now there is finally new housing construction on the horizon.
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Ready to call it for @Monica4ANC, @_MatthewThomas, @kswansonpalmer, @stamper4dc. Congrats to these new and reelected YIMBY commissioners!
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Join us for an event with Ezra Klein on Wednesday, September 25! Ezra will speak with Sonja Trauss, YIMBY movement co-founder, about how pro-housing laws can make communities across the country more affordable, abundant, and liveable – if they actually get implemented. (link👇).
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You love to see it.
66-Unit All-Affordable Development In Shepherd Park Opens Its Doors.
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Fill out this survey by Friday to get some housing on the parking lot at Takoma Park Metro! It just makes sense.
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Idea 1: repeal Single Family Zoning. Over 75% of the tax lots in DC only allow one home. What if we made that three? Or five? . It isn't hard to see how this would make housing affordable for everyone.
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If you'd like to DO WORK to lower the cost of housing in DC, reach out! We've done a lot but need to do more. You can DM us directly or use any of the avenues below:.
I’ve given some young Dems this advice for how i got into leadership:. 1. Show up consistently & offer to help DO WORK. 2. Actually **follow through** on the work you offer to do. 3. Be a moderately pleasant/friendly person to be around. But the key is DOING things, in real life.
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60 of our endorsees were elected this cycle (and another 8 may still be once all the votes are counted). If you want to do some highly effective organizing, reach out directly or sign up 👇 . (As a bonus, we do happy hours, which are very much like hanging out with friends).
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Looking good. Excited to welcome 507 families to DC because of this project.
Now with a development team selected for Parcel 6, we're that much closer to realizing the community's vision for the St. Elizabeths East Campus. We'll continue to make key investments and to build a campus with housing, health care, retail, and more. ➡️
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Depending on the estimate, median rent in DC is ~$2,100-$2,400. So this is a bit less than a 5% increase. Bad and we should stop it, but the main issue is a lack of supply. To fix that, we need to build more housing.
White House releases new data estimating the impacts of landlord joint price fixing (via algorithm) on rental prices in major cities, showing a pretty large impact in places like Atlanta:
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Great rundown of areas where DC and the surrounding communities could easily unlock more housing.
Top 10 DC Metro TOD redevelopment opportunities, a 🧵. #10.Forest Glen, Red Line. It’s a huge parking lot! Next to proposed BRT route, too. And near existing high-density housing. There’s been some discussion of redevelopment, but little progress AFAIK.
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Open invitation for Obama, Harris, or any of the other recently declared DNC YIMBYs to be the guest of honor at one of our happy hours.
“Hi, Barry O’ here, lived in the district for 15 years now, I’d like to urge the Planning Commission to approve the zoning variance for the housing project at 3021 Irving…”
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We've endorsed 77 ANC candidates all across DC. Some of them would like your help to turn out votes. These are hyper local races. Even a dozen votes - or a few hours of canvassing - can shift a race.
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There's been a good amount written about how blue states are losing electoral votes due to NIMBYism and how it would be in their political benefit to build more homes. I think the same is true for DC and statehood advocacy.
The 2030 reapportionment of congressional seats and EC votes is projected to lead to big changes. States where Trump currently leads could together gain 13 seats, whereas states where Harris leads could together lose 13 seats. (Another forecast puts the number at 14.)
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If you think renting or buying a home in DC should be less expensive, you should join us. Two options below 👇
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Idea 4: Make development happen quicker. The McMillan Asbestos Site was eyed for new housing since the city took control in the 1980s, but nothing happened. It shouldn't take 30+ years to make affordable housing.
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This isn't the first study to find this. The people that participate in the planning process are older, whiter, wealthier, and in other ways unrepresentative of their communities. Community engagement is overrated as an input mechanism into land use decisions.
We found that the individuals already engaged with the Planning Department are not representative of the City of Boston. Check out who currently participates in development review versus the demographics of all City residents. (2/4)
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Idea 2: repeal Parking Minimums. Did you know for every single residential dwelling unit DC requires a parking spot? Even if nobody on the block has a car.
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Join us for our next meetup! We'll have food, beer, and great guest speakers discussing affordable housing in DC. Register here:
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Look forward to welcoming all the new neighbors from the housing we build on this land.
Agree or disagree on whether taxpayers should fund & build an NFL stadium, the future of RFK should be in the hands of DC to decide. Let’s debate the trade-offs on how to best use this land to build more city next to metro, build more housing, & re-connect to the Anacostia River.
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Bad news for the proposed developments in Chevy Chase: there's a 1909 exclusionary deed restriction prohibiting apartments on a portion of the public site. Let's remove this restriction and make the space more affordable and livable. Sign your name here:
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Some great ideas here, including ways to empower ANCs and align their incentives in a pro-housing direction! .
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We should legalize single stair buildings in DC, too.
Really lively discussion going on in the comments here! . It seems people are concerned about the fire safety of these single stair buildings. Let’s dig in! . 🧵.
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If you'd like to replace stress you can't do anything about with stress you can do something about, help us build more housing in DC! Easy ways to get involved 👇.
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Lots of people talk about supporting housing for underserved communities, but when a project would help people in their very own neighborhood, they find reasons to oppose it. We call these people NIMBYs.
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Went door knocking with @Monica4ANC today. Really incredible watching her discuss community issues with constituents. She knows this neighborhood backwards and forwards and will make an incredible ANC commissioner next year!
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We are excited to endorse Ben Bergmann for Ward 3 council. Ben is an excellent pro-housing candidate who supports.🏗️ Higher density on major avenues.❗️Eliminating mansion zoning.💵Prioritizing public dollars for deeply affordable units.
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According to a 2018 report from the DC Policy Center, DC has ~300k housing units. 35% more means building another 100k units. Apartments make up 70% of DC's housing stock but only 20% of residential buildings. Seems like we should build more.
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Idea 3: reduce Setbacks. Setbacks mean you cannot build on most of the lot, making housing smaller and super expensive. Most single family zoning in DC makes it illegal to build ANYTHING on 60% of the lot.
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The same buzzkills against the Transformers are the same people who have no issue with streets overflowing with Hummers and BMWs. It is about people who want a more fun and vibrant community vs. those who want to control others.
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