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The Committee of 100 on the Federal City today published responses from the three leading candidates for Mayor of the District of Columbia to its mayoral questionnaire on their positions on land use issues, including zoning, parking, public land use, affordable housing, and transportation. “The intent of the questionnaire was to explore whether a candidate would do anything different than current practice regarding a host of land use issues,” said Nancy MacWood, Chair, Committee of 100.
Regarding development, Carol Schwartz and Muriel Bowser stated that the Comprehensive Plan should guide development decisions, but Schwartz added that if its policies are being ignored for certain developers perhaps campaign finance laws should be tightened. Bowser responded that zoning exceptions “should be granted sparingly.” David Catania described the Comprehensive Plan “as a strong foundation … to promote appropriate development throughout the city” and he noted that zoning waivers should not be standard practice but, like Bowser, he said the benefits may outweigh the merits of adhering to zoning rules.