Zoning commission hears heated opposition to rezoning of long-vacant 1600 North Capitol St. NW; action postponed

The District of Columbia Zoning Commission on May 18 heard arguments over a proposed map amendment that would rezone 1600 North Capitol Street NW (case 25-15) from MU-4 to MU-7B, a change the Office of Planning and the District Department of Transportation recommended for approval but which drew sustained opposition from ANC 5E.

Applicant counsel Kyus Freeman of Holland & Knight told the commission the 18,894-square-foot site, located at the North Capitol and Florida Avenue intersection in the Bloomingdale Historic District, is vacant and that rezoning to MU-7B would align the parcel with the Comprehensive Plan and the Mid-City East small area plan. Freeman said the proposal supports infill housing and uses Inclusionary Zoning Plus (IZ Plus) incentives. He summarized technical findings in the record and cited DOT’s conclusion that rezoning could allow roughly 34 additional housing units and about 3,797 square feet of retail with minimal traffic impacts. “The map amendment is not inconsistent with the comprehensive plan,” Freeman said on the record.

Office of Planning planner Karen Thomas told commissioners OP’s comparative analysis found MU-7B better matched the corridor’s intended scale than the existing MU-4 and provided a stronger IZ+ incentive structure to deliver affordable housing. Thomas summarized the zoning parameters OP used — including the residential FAR figures associated with the MU-7B zone — and said OP found no direct or indirect displacement because the property is vacant.

But the meeting’s tenor changed when ANC 5E Commissioner (and single-member district representative) testified in forceful opposition. Commissioner Lewis outlined decades of community frustration with the current owner and the lot’s long vacancy, saying the parcel “was basically a drug market and a haven for drug addicts,” and recounted repeated extensions of a previously approved PUD and promised development that never materialized. Lewis said the community wants housing and improvements but does not trust the present developer to deliver them and urged the commission to consider alternatives, including a different developer or public acquisition.

Commissioners pressed the applicant for proof of prior engagement, a timeline of extension requests and more detail about interim activation plans for the site. Freeman said the prior PUD expired in June 2023, that the owner pursued extensions and financing efforts over many years, and that COVID, remediation needs tied to the former gas station and market conditions contributed to delays. He said the applicant is pursuing an interim community use and would continue outreach to the ANC and council member. On eminent domain, which an earlier budget support act authorized in principle for this site, Freeman said the applicant had met with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) and did not understand there to be funded imminent acquisition in the current budget.

Multiple commissioners voiced the need for verification of the applicant’s engagement with the neighborhood. Vice Chair Miller and others asked the applicant to submit documentation showing meetings and outreach. The commission also asked Office of Planning to check whether there is current budgeted funding tied to the earlier authorization for acquisition.

Because of outstanding community concerns and requests for more documentation, the commission did not take final action. The commission set deadlines for follow-up: the applicant may provide an update on the ANC 5E meeting by 3 p.m. May 28; the ANC may submit any response by 3 p.m. June 4; and the commission will consider proposed action at its June 11 meeting. The chair said the commission would seek any additional records the commissioners requested before a final vote.

The hearing demonstrated the competing priorities at the core of many rezoning cases: planning staff’s technical assessment that a zone change advances Comprehensive Plan goals and produces more housing, and sustained community skepticism when a site has remained vacant despite prior approvals and extensions. The commission’s next step will be to review the requested proof of engagement and any new information from OP or DMPED before deciding whether to approve the map amendment.