INDUSTRIAL LAND IN A POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY District of ...

District of Columbia Industrial Areas Study DC Office of Planning
Prepared by Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc.
The proposed new zoning framework for the District of Columbia’s industrial areas is as follows:
4.1.1 C-M DISTRICTS
Only minor modifications are proposed to the C-M district regulations. The general intent of the
district—to permit a variety of retail, office, and industrial/PDR uses—remains unchanged.
However, the following amendments are proposed:
Prohibiting high-impact industries such as intermediate materials recycling and solid
waste handling facilities, to limit the possibility of land use conflicts.
Prohibiting certain community uses that detract from the commercial or PDR nature of
the area and which present immediate conflicts with their PDR neighbors, specifically,
charter schools and emergency shelters.
Making retail uses above a certain size (say, 50,000 square feet) special exception uses
to provide more control over their location.
Bulk standards in the C-M-1, C-M-2, and C-M-3 district can be left unchanged subject to further
review. Continued C-M zoning is contemplated for areas where a mixing of industry, office and
retail is appropriate, such as the New York Avenue corridor in the vicinity of the Hecht Building.
4.1.2 M DISTRICT
The M district should be retooled to serve as an industry-only district specifically permitting
heavy and intense industrial uses such as cement and asphalt batching, and prohibiting other
categories of commercial use. These uses would be subject to strict performance and location
standards (not within certain distances of residential districts, for example). The M district would
find limited application in the few areas where such intense use is already found. An example is
the area south of Fort Totten Metro, where cement and asphalt batching, as well as a municipal
waste transfer station, are found.
4.1.3 IP INDUSTRIAL PARK DISTRICT
The IP district would be a new district specifically geared towards healthy industrial areas that
would benefit from more coordinated planning. It would differ from suburban industrial park
zoning in that bulk and coverage regulations would be tailored for older industrial areas
characterized by low height and high site coverage. It differs from the Chicago PMD model in
that it does not overlay existing zoning, but instead creates a new designation with its own use
and bulk restrictions. Like the M district, this new IP district would emphasize industry at the
expense of other commercial uses. However, certain types of office and retail would be
permitted:
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