Development Equity Scoring

About the Development Equity Score

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The need for affordable housing and the failure of the market to supply housing to match the need is putting the Washington metropolitan area on a continued course of displacement, an affordability crisis, and gentrification. This is widely acknowledged. This rubric relies on standards from various housing expert organizations to build more equitably.

  • Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments - A planning group including Washington-area elected officials for the DC metropolitan region unanimously passed a resolution that three-quarters of new housing should be affordable to low- and middle-income households. As the only government to commit to a numerical goal, DC has pledged to build 36,000 units by 2025. One-third of these is slated be affordable housing, a standard that is inadequate to meet the need for affordable housing. Read More

  • Executive Order - On May 10, 2019, Mayor Bowser signed a Mayor’s Order directing District agencies to look at a variety of approaches to accelerate housing production while addressing the housing needs of specific populations, including families, older adults, residents with special needs, and across income levels in Washington, DC.

  • Zoning Commission Chair Anthony Hood - "...from my standpoint and I've said this previously, affordable housing, it seems like the more housing we get the more the price goes up. ....We increase the supply, and it goes up. And that's Anthony Hood's opinion. I'm a realist. I'm going by what I see, not what I hear."

  • Southwest Neighborhood Plan (pg 5) - "Southwest will remain an exemplary model of equity and inclusion - a welcoming and engaged community that celebrates and retains a mix of races, ages and income levels and enhances well-being for all amidst neighborhood growth and change."

  • Southwest Neighborhood Plan (ANC letter) - "The community’s concern with maintaining social diversity, combined with the broad consensus in the District on the crisis in affordable housing, should elevate the issues to a principle focus throughout the Plan"

  • Southwest Neighborhood Plan (ANC6D letter) - "As of 2017, just under 52 percent of the Lower Anacostia/Near Southwest Planning Area’s residents were white, which is a significant increase from 24 percent in 2000. In 2017 just under 40 percent of the Planning Area’s residents were black, which is a decrease from 67 percent in 2000. Some of this change in demographics can be attributed to the net gain in developable land and subsequent new construction of residential units attracting residents to the area,. Additionally, most of the new residential buildings have primarily consisted of market rate one- bedroom units attracting more young professionals to the area for the first time."

Southwest Voice Development Equity Rubric

A+

Fulfills the SW Neighborhood Plan for development as a "model of exemplary model of equity and inclusion". All units are affordable and reflects bedroom mix up to four bedrooms. Affordability reflects a reasonable definition of AMI.

  • 1550 First Street SW* - Led by TM Associates with United Planning Organization (UPO) will offer 76 all affordable units from studios to four-bedrooms units for households earning up to 50% of area median income (AMI), with the exception of 16 deep affordable units ("permanent supportive housing") up to 30% AMI. An additional 101 affordable units will be delivered in the second phase. (*Final designation pending)

A

Properties that further MWCOG Guidelines which dictate that new housing be made up of 75% of affordable to low- and middle-income households. We consider middle-income or workforce housing to be 50 - 80% AMI and should to be no more than 25% of total project, while low-income or working class households (<50% AMI) should be at least 50% for each development. Scoring will drop an additional level(s) (from A- to B+) if affordable bedroom mix limited to studios or one-bedrooms and an additional level if limited to certain demographic groups (e.g. seniors).

A-

Property is made of up at least one-third workforce housing, one-third affordable, and one-third market. Middle-income or workforce housing (80 - 100% AMI) should be no more than 25%, while low-income or working class households (<80% AMI) should be at least 50% for each development. Scoring will drop an additional level(s) (from A- to B+) if affordable bedroom mix limited to studios or one-bedrooms and an additional level if limited to certain demographic groups (e.g. seniors).

B

Property is 50% affordable for large development. Middle-income or workforce housing (80 - 100% AMI) should be no more than 40% of all affordable, while low-income or working class households (<80% AMI) should be at least 50% for each development.

C

Property meets the Bowser administration's goal of producing one-third affordable units.

  • Waterfront Station (next to CVS) - Planned for 2022, it will only have 137 affordable units out of 456 units. This is a Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) property, meaning that it is public land, which Hoffman & Associates is leasing for 99 years.

D

Development meets IZ requirements, but barely exceeds it and is a large development (>75 units) that will negatively affect neighborhood affordability given size.

  • 4th and M St - 50 units will be dedicated to families making 60% median family income. These represent about 11% of the development, by floor area.

F-

Development does not offer any affordability.

  • South Capitol St and M St (7-Eleven site) - This JBG Smith proposal presented two plans : 1) a mixed use and 2) all residential plan. One plan calls for 8 of 615 units to be affordable. "It has no aesthetic relationship to Southwest," said ANC6D Commissioner Rikki Kramer. The ANC6D voted on September 14 to oppose at the October 1 Zoning Commission meeting. At that meeting, JBG Smith is expected to present one of the two plans. The ANC6D can only comment on design due to by right.