District of Columbia Administrative Code

2201 HISTORY 2201.1 European settlement in the Rock Creek East Planning Area dates back to 1712, when St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was sited in the area. Rock Creek Cemetery was established in 1719. The area initially developed as a result of the presence of underground springs an…

2202 LAND USE 2202.1 Statistics on existing land use are estimated from current lot-by-lot property tax data together with additional information on housing units, employment, District and federal land ownership, parks, roads, water bodies, etc. They are not comparable to the sta…

2203 DEMOGRAPHICS 2203.1 Basic demographic data for Rock Creek East is shown in Figure 22.2. In 2017, the area had a population of 77,017, or about 11 percent of the city’s total. Since 2000, there was an increase in the population by nearly 10,000 people, mostly occurring betwee…

2204 HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 2204.1 About 58 percent of the housing units in Rock Creek East are single-family homes, compared to 37 percent District-wide. In 2017, 20.6 percent of the area’s homes were single-family detached units and 37.5 percent were single-family attached uni…

2205 INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT 2205.1 Data from the District Department of Employment Services (DOES) and the Office of Planning (OP) indicates there were 35,141 jobs in Rock Creek East in 2015 , primarily in health care, local-serving businesses, public schools, and government. This…

2206 PROJECTIONS 2206.1 Based on land availability, planning policies, and regional growth trends, Rock Creek East is projected to experience growth between 2017 and 2045. An increase of about 9,600 households is projected, with the Planning Area reaching 37,600 households by 204…

2207 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES 2207.1 This section summarizes the opportunities and challenges residents and stakeholders prioritized during the 2006 Comprehensive Plan revision. During large community workshops, residents shared their feedback on District-wide and neig…

2208 RCE-1.1 GUIDING GROWTH AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION 2208.1 The following general policies and actions should guide growth and neighborhood conservation decisions in the Rock Creek East Planning Area. These policies and actions should be considered in tandem with those in th…

2209 RCE-1.2 CONSERVING AND ENHANCING COMMUNITY RESOURCES 2209.1 Policy RCE-1.2.1: Fort Stevens and Fort Slocum Maintain and improve the Civil War Defenses of Washington, otherwise known as the Fort Circle Parks, especially Fort Stevens and Fort Slocum. The Fort Circle green spac…

2210 RCE-2 POLICY FOCUS AREAS 2210.1 The Comprehensive Plan has identified eight areas in Rock Creek East as Policy Focus Areas, indicating that they require a level of direction and guidance above that given in the prior section of this Area Element and in the Citywide Elements …

2211 RCE-2.1 TAKOMA CENTRAL DISTRICT 2211.1 Takoma is a unique community in Washington DC. It shares its history and its name with Takoma Park, Maryland. Both communities embody classic pedestrian-scale streets and a rich architectural legacy. The area’s principal business distri…

2212 RCE-2.2 GEORGIA AVENUE/PETWORTH METRO STATION AREA 2212.1 The Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro Station Focus Area extends from Decatur Street NW on the north to Euclid Street NW on the south. The text below addresses the area between Decatur Street and Spring Road NW, including…

2213 RCE-2.3 UPPER GEORGIA AVENUE NW 2213.1 The Upper Georgia Avenue NW corridor extends more than 2.5 miles from Decatur Street north to Eastern Avenue. The corridor includes local and community-serving retail uses, gas stations, car dealerships, small offices, public and instit…

2214 RCE-2.4 KENNEDY STREET NW 2214.1 Kennedy Street NW spans the Brightwood Park and South Manor Park neighborhoods. The street is mixed-use in character, with low-density storefront commercial uses as well as residential uses. Apartment buildings, row houses, and single-family …

2215 RCE-2.5 ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME/ WASHINGTON HOSPITAL COMPLEX 2215.1 The AFRH, formerly known as the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home, is a functioning home for almost 500 veterans of the U.S. military. It occupies a 272-acre site in the southeast part of the Planning Are…

2216 RCE-2.6 RIGGS ROAD AND SOUTH DAKOTA AVENUE 2216.1 The area surrounding the Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue NE intersection was historically part of the Civil War defense of Washington, DC, with nearby Fort Totten and Fort Slocum preserved as open spaces by the NPS. The br…

2217 RCE-2.7 CENTRAL 14TH STREET NW 2217.1 The segment of 14th Street NW from Spring Street to Longfellow Street NW has a 100-year history of planned settlement. The 14th Street streetcar extension in the early 20th century played a major role in the growth and development of the…

2218 RCE-2.8 FORMER WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER SITE 2218.1 For over 100 years, WRAMC housed the main U.S. Army General Hospital that served wounded soldiers and veterans. In addition to establishing a strong legacy of service and medical innovation that achieved an internati…

2300 OVERVIEW 2300.1 The Rock Creek West Planning Area encompasses 13 square miles in the northwest quadrant of Washington, DC. The Planning Area is bounded by Rock Creek to the east, Maryland to the north/west, and the Potomac River and Whitehaven Parkway to the south. Its bound…

2301 HISTORY 2301.1 The first settlements in Rock Creek West developed along roads connecting the port of Georgetown to the countryside north and west of Washington, DC. One of the first settlements was at the juncture of Georgetown Pike (now Wisconsin Avenue) and River Road, whe…

2302 LAND USE 2302.1 Statistics on existing land use are estimated from current lot-by-lot property tax data together with additional information on housing units, employment, District and federal land ownership, parks, roads, water bodies, etc. They are not comparable to the sta…

2303 DEMOGRAPHICS 2303.1 Basic demographic data for the Rock Creek West Planning Area is shown in Figure 23.2. Compared to other areas in the District, Rock Creek West experienced only a modest population growth of nearly 8,500 people between 2000 and 2017. The 2017 population wa…

2304 HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 2304.1 In 2017, 29.3 percent of the housing units in Rock Creek West were single-family detached homes, and 11.2 percent were single-family (one-unit) attached homes (row houses, semi-detached homes, and townhouses). The percent of single-family detac…

2305 INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT 2305.1 Data from the District Department of Employment Services (DOES) and the Office of Planning (OP) indicates that there were 48,684 jobs in Rock Creek West in 2015, primarily in professional offices, international organizations, local-serving busine…

2306 PROJECTIONS 2306.1 Given its largely built-out land area, Rock Creek West is projected to be among the slowest growing areas of Washington, DC over the next 30 years. About 7,000 additional households are forecast for the 2017-2045 period, increasing from 41,061 to approxima…

2307 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES 2307.1 This section summarizes the opportunities and challenges residents and stakeholders prioritized during the 2006 Comprehensive Plan revision. During large community workshops, residents shared their feedback on District-wide and neig…

2308 RCW-1.1 GUIDING GROWTH AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION 2308.1 The following general policies and actions should guide growth and neighborhood conservation decisions in Rock Creek West. These policies and actions should be considered in tandem with those in the Citywide Element…

2309 RCW-1.2 CONSERVING AND ENHANCING COMMUNITY RESOURCES 2309.1 Policy RCW-1.2.1: Urban Design Focus Focus urban design efforts in the Rock Creek West Planning Area on its commercial centers and major avenues, historic landmarks, historic districts, and areas with significant en…

2310 RCW-2 POLICY FOCUS AREAS 2310.1 The Comprehensive Plan has identified three areas in Rock Creek West as Policy Focus Areas, indicating that they require a level of direction and guidance above that in the prior section of this Area Element and in the Citywide Elements. These…

2311 RCW-2.1 CONNECTICUT AVENUE CORRIDOR 2311.1 From the Taft Bridge across Rock Creek, Connecticut Avenue NW extends 3.5 miles northwest to the Maryland state line. Along the way, the avenue passes through the Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, and Van Ness/UDC commercial districts (…

2312 RCW-2.2 WISCONSIN AVENUE CORRIDOR 2312.1 Wisconsin Avenue extends 4.5 miles north from the Georgetown waterfront to the District border, where it continues beyond the state line into Bethesda, Maryland. The road pre-dates the 1791 L’Enfant Plan. At one time, it was one of th…

2313 RCW-2.3 VAN NESS COMMERCIAL DISTRICT 2313.1 At the Van Ness Metro station on the Connecticut Avenue corridor, the commercial district is a multi-neighborhood center with a shopping district, institutional and office buildings, and several mid- to high-rise residential buildi…

2400 OVERVIEW 2400.1 The Upper Northeast Planning Area encompasses 8.7 square miles and includes about two-thirds of the District’s northeastern quadrant. The Planning Area’s western boundary is formed by North Capitol Street (north of Rhode Island Avenue) and the CSX railroad tr…

2401 HISTORY 2401.1 Upper Northeast began as a series of land grants made by British King Charles I to George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. During the 1700s and early 1800s, early settlers enjoyed meadows, woodlands, farms, and open countryside. Tracks for the Baltimore and …

2402 LAND USE 2402.1 Statistics on existing land use are estimated from current lot-by-lot property tax data together with additional information on housing units, employment, District and federal land ownership, parks, roads, water bodies, etc. They are not comparable to the sta…

2403 DEMOGRAPHICS 2403.1 The Upper Northeast area has grown at a moderate pace since 2000. Currently, the population is 70,613 residents, an increase of more than 10,000 people in 17 years. The population is expected to grow over the next several decades to a population exceeding…

2404 HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 2404.1 Half the housing units in Upper Northeast are single-family homes. According to the 2017 Census, about 19 percent of the units were single-family detached homes, and 31 percent were row houses and townhomes. Both of these figures exceed the Dis…

2405 INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT 2405.1 According to the 2017 Census, median household income in Upper Northeast was $62,605 compared to a District-wide median of $77,649. Approximately 18 percent of the area’s residents lived below the federal poverty level. This is slightly higher th…

2406 PROJECTIONS 2406.1 Based on an analysis of approved development, available land, regional growth trends, and local planning policies, the population decline experienced in Upper Northeast from the 1950s to the early 2000s has come to an end. In fact, the Planning Area is pro…

2407 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES 2407.1 This section summarizes the opportunities and challenges residents and stakeholders prioritized during the 2006 Comprehensive Plan revision. During large community workshops, residents shared their feedback on District-wide and neig…

2408 UNE-1.1 GUIDING GROWTH AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION 2408.1 The following general policies and actions should guide growth and neighborhood conservation decisions in Upper Northeast. These policies and actions should be considered in tandem with those in the Citywide Element…

2409 UNE-1.2 CONSERVING AND ENHANCING COMMUNITY RESOURCES 2409.1 Policy UNE-1.2.1: Streetscape Improvements Improve the visual quality of streets in Upper Northeast, especially along North Capitol Street, Rhode Island Avenue, Bladensburg Road, New York Avenue, Eastern Avenue, Mic…

2410 UNE-2 POLICY FOCUS AREAS 2410.1 This Area Element includes more detailed policy direction for seven specific areas (see Map 24.1 and Figure 24.3). Each area requires direction and guidance beyond that provided by the Citywide Elements and the earlier part of this Area Elemen…

2411 UNE-2.1 NORTHEAST GATEWAY 2411.1 Northeast Gateway includes the neighborhoods of Ivy City and Trinidad, as well as the Florida Avenue Market, Gallaudet University, and the West Virginia Avenue Public Works Campus (Carver Terrace, Langston Terrace, Arboretum, and Hechinger Ma…

2412 UNE-2.2 LOWER BLADENSBURG ROAD/HECHINGER MALL 2412.1 Bladensburg Road extends from the starburst intersection at H Street and Benning Road approximately 2.7 miles northeast to the District/Maryland border. The road is an important community gateway, providing access to the N…

2413 UNE-2.3 NEW YORK AVENUE CORRIDOR AND BRENTWOOD 2413.1 The New York Avenue corridor/Brentwood area includes the expansive industrial and commercial area on both sides of New York Avenue between Florida Avenue and the Maryland state line. On the north, the corridor abuts the B…

2414 UNE-2.4 UPPER BLADENSBURG ROAD/FORT LINCOLN 2414.1 The Upper Bladensburg corridor has experienced disinvestment for many years. While still dominated by automotive repair shops, auto parts shops, car lots, and vacant businesses, there has been some retail activity in recent …

2415 UNE-2.5 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE METRO STATION 2415.1 This focus area includes the Metro station vicinity and the 2.7-mile corridor extending from North Capitol Street east to the Maryland line. The Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metro station opened in 1976 and was one of the fir…

2416 UNE-2.6 BROOKLAND METRO STATION AREA 2416.1 The Brookland-CUA Metro station is located between the Brookland commercial district (12th Street NE) on the east and the CUA/Trinity University campuses on the west. The station is abutted by low-density residential uses on the ea…

2417 UNE 2.7 FORT TOTTEN METRO STATION AREA 2417.1 The Fort Totten Station is served by the Metro’s Yellow, Green, and Red lines. As the transfer point between two intersecting lines, the station area has strategic importance in plans for the District’s growth. Presently, Fort To…