Dec. 1, 2022

The Hon. Anita Bonds, Chairperson
Committee on Housing & Executive Administration
District of Columbia Council 

John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004 via: housing@dccouncil.gov

RE: Bill B24-0802: Green New Deal for Housing Amendment Act of 2022 – pursue goals with a refined approach

Dear Chair Bonds:

Please accept this letter on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). CSG is the leading non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish. 

We have worked for many years to strengthen DC’s policy and funding response to its critical affordable housing needs. We helped lead the coalition that won Inclusionary Zoning, and then strengthened it. We helped lead the effort that secured the strong affordability requirements for public land dispositions which provides rental homes for DC households at 30 and 50% Median Family Income. We also won permanent affordability requirements in IZ and public land dispositions, and made permanent affordability commitments a priority in the Housing Production Trust Fund allocations. We have worked to ensure that our 2021 update to the Comprehensive Plan prioritizes affordable housing, preventing displacement, and advancing racial equity. We helped shape the Comp Plan update to ease the approval of affordable and mixed income housing, and promote the equitable distribution of affordable housing throughout the District. We have also supported Douglass Community Land Trust as it expands its work to provide DC residents with sustained, community-based shared equity homeownership opportunities and affordable rental home options.

Regarding B24-0802, we would like to endorse the testimony by Melissa Bondi, Policy Director Enterprise Community Partners – Mid Atlantic, Nov. 22, 2022 (attached). Like Enterprise, we support the goals advanced in the bill, but also share the concern that the bill needs substantial refinement to address a number of important questions and issues.

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CSG on Bill B24-0802 – pursue goals with refined approach

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,

Cheryl Cort
Policy Director

Attachment: Enterprise Communities Partners Testimony on Bill B24-0802