Media release
March 8, 2021
Contact Nick DelleDonne
703-929-6656
Mendo Hopeful of Getting Comp Plan to Council by the End of March
DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson said tonight he is ‘hopeful” of getting the Comp Plan to the Council by the end of March. A public hearing in November last year heard a clamor from Smart Growth allies to vote immediately – ‘you’re holding up the Mayor’s build goals.’ At the hearing, Mendelson held the 1500-page document high and said the Mayor’s changes were too large to be dealt with immediately.
Today, March 8, 2021, in a Meet with Mendo session at 5 pm, Mendelson complained at length that contrary to what he had been led to believe from the Mayor, the 1500 pages introduced changes throughout the document that make the task difficult. “We are hard at work,” he said.
Mendelson said a new racial equity analysis was due the day before the vote and his draft would be available several days before the vote at the end of the month. (https://fb.watch/46zStXCBRl/ at 37) He also said two votes were required and they would be two weeks apart.
A dry, impenetrable document that guides city development over the decades has recently drawn the interest of the media (The Washington Post, The Washington Informer, Washington City Paper) because of loud and persistent opposition from citizen-led community groups, who charge that Mayor’s changes are meant to circumvent a few court decisions. Critics say the Mayor‘s changes do nothing to stop displacement, provide affordable low-income housing, or promote community-led equitable development. Furthermore, changes in the Comp Plan’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM), which guides density and the height of buildings, will eliminate community engagement, grease the skids for developers and change the character of the city.
Join the neighborhood discussion and action forum, HearUsNow! https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/hearusnow
Visit DECAA’s website and sign our petition. https://www.KeepDupontGreen.org