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Zoning Commission sets down Ward Memorial AME rezoning for contested hearing
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Summary
The Zoning Commission set down Z.C. Case No. 25-01, a map amendment filed by Ward Memorial AME Church to rezone property along 40 Second Street NE from RA-1 to RA-2, and declared the case contested; vote was 4‑0‑1.
The District of Columbia Zoning Commission voted to set down Z.C. Case No. 25-01, a map amendment filed by Ward Memorial AME Church to rezone property along 40 Second Street NE from RA-1 to RA-2, for a contested public hearing. The commission recorded the vote as 4‑0‑1, with Commissioner Wright absent.
Joshua Mitchell of the Office of Planning presented the application and recommended that the commission set the case down for hearing. "The Office of Planning recommends that the proposed map amendment be set down for public hearing," Mitchell said, summarizing OP's analysis that the RA-2 rezoning would not be inconsistent with the Future Land Use Map and Generalized Policy Map and could allow for increased residential density while conserving neighborhood character.
Mitchell described the site as three lots with frontage along 40 Second Street NE north of Benning Road and east of Fort Mahone Park. One lot contains a church building used as a fellowship hall; another contains a two-story building formerly used as a child development center and currently vacant. OP reviewed the proposal through the comprehensive plan and the planning-area racial equity lens; OP cited 2019–2023 ACS data showing the planning area is majority Black and has higher rates of housing cost burden than district averages. OP also noted a December 2024 housing equity update from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, concluding the planning area had exceeded its target amount of affordable housing; based on that finding OP did not recommend applying IZ+ standards to this application.
Commissioners asked routine questions, welcomed Mitchell's presentation, and disclosed affiliations where applicable. Chairman Anthony Hood disclosed that he has participated in food distribution activities at Ward Memorial in the past and noted he would put that disclosure on the record at the hearing. Commissioner Ian Moore moved to set the case down; the motion was seconded and carried in a roll-call vote in which Commissioners Hood, Stidham, Miller and Imamura voted yes.
The commission classified the case as contested and scheduled it for public hearing. No letters of opposition were reported to OP at the time of the staff report; OP stated it had not received opposition letters when it prepared the report. The commission directed the standard preparation for a contested-case hearing and indicated it expects to hear the matter at a scheduled public hearing date to be set through the commission’s normal calendar process.
