For release:
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Contact/s:
swdcaction@gmail.com
(202) 964-0620
CM Allen Urged to Reject Comp Plan Changes
SW Joins Call for Equity, Against Black Displacement
Southwest, DC is joining the citywide call against the Office of Planning’s (OP) proposed changes to the District’s Comprehensive Plan and urging Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen to vote against the OP proposals. In a March 8 letter to the councilmember signed by some two dozen residents, Southwest DC Action says OP’s changes will not foster equity “but will rather further the displacement of Black and Brown residents.”
The letter incorporates proposals from the Grassroots Planning Coalition’s “Housing Justice Priorities” and the Committee of 100’s “Unmasking the Comprehensive Plan” and asks the councilmember to:
- push for strict directives to the DC Zoning Commissioners to stop luxury projects that “are displacing our Ward 6 friends and neighbors;”
- reject the changes to the Future Land Use Map (FLUM), most from developers and their lawyers, that do not reflect community input and are without community benefits, especially deep affordability;
- insist on the restoration of strong, directive language (e.g, “should” to “shall”) to make the Plan predictable and enforceable across DC.
- apply, before it’s voted on, the just-enacted Racial Equity Achieves Results Act (REACH Act) to ensure language-access and that accurate, current data are used to assess its environmental impacts and how development can harm and benefit Black and low-income populations.
- prioritize the use of shared equity models, such as limited equity co-operatives and community land trusts, known tools that provide long-term affordable home ownership opportunities.
“We hope that Councilmember Allen will listen to the voices of Black and Brown residents, and our efforts are to amplify their voices, recognizing the harm the Comp Plan amendments will have on them,” said Pamela McKinney, member of Southwest DC Action. “Councilmember Allen has been open to and available for these discussions, and we at Southwest DC Action will work with him to make the CompPlan the equitable, transparent and predictable blueprint for our city that we can be proud of.”
“In the most gentrified neighborhood in the most gentrified city in the U.S., the displacement of Black/Brown folks is well-documented by various sources including NCRC and the Washington Post. It is time to stop talking about it and start taking bold action to address it. Housing is a human right, per Article 25.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the city must stop playing a role in abridging that right,” said Adom M. Cooper, fellow SW DC Ward 6 resident.
To learn more about the proposed Comp Plan amendments and why grassroots BIPOC organizations are calling for the Council to reject them, visit the DC Grassroots Planning Coalition site on the comprehensive plan.