July 31 is a very important hearing. The Zoning Commission will be hearing public comment about DC’s proposed off-street parking reforms. As I’ve written before, these are vital changes to modernize our 1958 zoning code which required each new development to build large amounts of parking, pushing a suburban pattern of development over the existing historic urban one.

We need as many people as possible to submit comments and/or testify. Opponents of reform are aggressively fighting this; we need to stand up for progressive urban policies. And this is one of the most important opportunities. The new zoning rules may last another 50 years.

The hearing is Thursday, July 31, 6:30 pm at 441 4th Avenue St (One Judiciary Square). Show up at the beginning to sign up to speak. You can also submit written comments. To make it easy, you can post written comments as comments in this thread, or email them to me.

I’m going to write about one different reason why we should reform our parking zoning code each day until the hearing. Today’s reason: the people who wrote the zoning rules were totally wrong about the future. They thought that row house living was a dead form, and if cities didn’t lower their density and become more like suburbs quickly, they would die. In reality, suburbanizing the cities contributed to their decay, but today, row houses are more popular than ever and we’re extremely glad 1965’s planners didn’t get more of their way.

Here’s an excerpt from the zoning report:

Please stand up for parking policy that promotes row houses. Leave your comments for the Zoning Commission here and testify on the 31st!

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.