For Release June 6, 2022
The Council @ Park Morton (Resident Council)
DC Zoning Commission to Determine if Black Lives Matter in Land Use Decisions. The Role of Racial Equity Analysis in Land Use Decisions
On June 9th the DC Zoning Commission (ZC) led by Chairman Anthony Hood will take a critical step in determining whether and how the recently approved Racial Equity provisions of DC’s Comprehensive Plan apply to residents of DC’s public housing, residents who are predominately Black.
“This upcoming ZC Racial Equity hearing is our historic ‘Dread Scott Case’ when it comes to the impact of land use decisions my life and those of my residents at Park Morton. The Question the ZC must answer is when it comes to land use decisions do we as Black residents of public housing have rights that the ZC is bound to respect?”
Shonta’ High, President Council @ Park Morton (Park Morton resident council)
The Park Morton resident council, which represents the public housing community located in DC’s Ward 1 who’ve suffered under the city’s New Community Initiative (NCI) since 2007, requested the June 9th hearing to challenge the ZC’s execution of its Racial Equity analysis responsibilities under the Comprehensive Plan in the Park Morton NCI land use case.
In its previous zoning order the ZC ruled that the adverse impacts of the NCI project on the lives of Park Morton’s Black residents (people) are not germane to ZC land use decisions of the commission, only that Future Land Use Map (FLUM) guidance regarding the physical environment (buildings) truly matter. In requesting the hearing, the resident council argues that the ZC commission erred in its previous decision because the commission conducted it’s Racial Equity Lens analysis without the training and Racial Equity tools required by Comprehensive Plan’s Implementation Section.
Full Release Attached.
Contacts:
Shonta’ High
President, the Council @ Park Morton (resident council)
202-733-1059 o
202-594-9841 m
ParkMortonResidentCouncil@gmail.com
https://www.parkmortondc.com
William H Jordan
Park Morton Equity Team
whj@melanet.com
202 500 0699
Comprehensive_Plan_Racial_Equityv1.pdf