Taller Could Very Well Be Better

It's hard for me to get very excited about any federal or city subsidies for development because they don't come free. They're extracted from the paycheck of hard-work people who are normally a whole lot more efficient in developing their communities through prosperty and job creation. (Now don't get me wrong. If the city is going to distribute subsidies, I want them flowing east of the Anacostia river where they can do the most good.) But this is a development policy idea than I can get excited about-lifting the city's height-limit law for all areas of east of the river.

The Fenty administration, [Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Neil] Albert said, hopes to prod developers to invest east of the Anacostia River, where he said historic areas such as Anacostia, Deanwood and Congress Heights are ripe for what has been built downtown: a dense mix of residential, commercial and retail.

But to achieve that vision, Albert said, the District probably will have to reconsider one of its main tools for controlling development: a height-limit law that bars virtually all city buildings more than 130 feet. Lifting the cap in areas east of the Anacostia River, he said, could mean taller buildings and the chance to create the kind of population density necessary to attract retailers and create thriving neighborhoods. "There's nothing that would develop Poplar Point faster than if investors saw it as a place to build high-rise offices," he said. "We hear a growing drumbeat from planners and developers that it's the right thing to do."

DC restricts the height of buildings to no more than 20 feet taller than the width of the street in front of it. So a 110-ft wide street would allow a 130-ft building. This 1910 law replaced the earlier and more widely-known version that limited buildings to the height of the Capitol. While many observers have noted that it promotes sprawl, depresses tax revenues, increases the cost of housing, and leads to traffic congestion, the restriction has long been a third rail in DC politics by those who fear that any loosening could mar the city's asthetics forever.

My guess is that some will argue that the prospect of taller buildings in new areas would transform close-knit communities. It may, but likely for the better. Think cheaper housing, more restaurants and coffee-shops (only one Denny's now exists as a sit-down restaurant), employers offering new jobs, better opportunities, and shorter commutes. And allowing taller buildings in certain areas doesn't mean allowing taller buildings in every area. There would still be a legitimate place for zoning restrictions.

Others might fear that development of this sort would lead to increased property taxes that would likely prove unaffordable for many of the long-term residents that give so much character to the area. Well, the enacting law could easily be written to adjust residential property taxes in Wards 7&8 downward as any new tax revenues are generated, a sort of development dividend for ward residents.

This may not be an idea whose time has yet come, but it is bold and promises real benefits for this area. Here is hoping our politicians let it see the light of day.