Zoning reforms in Alexandria pave the way for more housing in what are now single-family neighborhoods in the city of 160,000.
The city council early Wednesday approved the Zoning for Housing plan, which will allow for buildings with up to four housing units in any residential neighborhood.
The aim of the initiative is to increase the housing supply and affordability. Single-family zoning makes up about one-third of Alexandria’s housing.
The changes, the city hopes, will “broaden the population diversity in all single-family zones.”
And the housing plan goes hand-in-hand with Alexandria’s efforts to expand transit-oriented development in the city’s West End and Duke Street corridor.
Part of the plan approved rolls back rules that require off-street parking at residential buildings near Metro stations and rapid bus transit stops, and loosens requirements how many off-street parking spots buildings need to have, according to The Washington Post.
Overall, Alexandria has said the plan could result in up to 2,800 new units in the next decade, moving toward the city’s goal of 3,000 new housing units by 2030. The city wants 75 percent of those units, or 2,250 of them, to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households. “Zoning for Housing will greatly assist in achieving this goal,” according to city planning documents.
But the plan is less ambitious that Arlington’s “missing middle” plan that allows duplexes, townhouses, and multiplexes to be built in neighborhoods that have traditionally been single family homes. That plan allows up to six units on a lot, compared to Alexandria’s four.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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