Use the form below to send a letter now!

Now's your chance to edit our draft letter so you can send your message to City officials:
(edit as necessary)

SUBJECT LINE:

MAIL MESSAGE [edit as necessary]:
Dear Chairman Mendelson, and Councilmembers, I am writing about Bill B23-736 and the Mayor's proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan to which I am opposed. A whole neighborhood approach to planning means taking into account population growth and the considerations of increased social services like more parks and open green space, more libraries, schools, clinics, additional utiliy needs, better emergency response capacity. It also means making sure the city can develop without having its people and culture obliterated and displaced. I am seeking a whole neighborhood approach to planning, something so far yet missing from OP's mechanisms and posture. To remedy the ongoing displacement of Black families by the tens of thousands, and to lift up actual planning beyond just touting #BuildMore housing, I ask the Council do at least the following four things: 1. Strengthen language that has been weakened throughout the bill -- for example where directives that 'ensure that' or 'must' have been turned to 'should' 2. Incorporate language that reflects the Housing Justice Priorities of the DC Grassroots Planning Coalition - including preserving and improving public housing, expanding rent control and housing subsidies, providing housing for the homeless, and promoting community-led equitable development. The full Housing Justice Priorities document is on the record can be found here: http://www.dcgrassrootsplanning.org/priorities/ 3. Require analysis of real housing needs (existing low-income housing needs vs perceived future needs), reporting of vacancy rates, discrepancies in population growth projections, and use a Whole Neighborhood Approach (Comp Plan Policy Policy H-1.4.6) to study of the impact of new development on other systems (education, transportation, environment, etc), as well as consider the impact of COVID-19 on the city's changing development needs. And, to bring justice into this amendment process, the recent Racial Equity law ('REACH Act') must be applied to the Comp Plan prior to passing any changes to the Plan into law. 4. Reject changes to the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) that have not been vetted by the community and supported through Small Area Planning and other community-engagement processes. Developer-driven FLUM changes undermine communities' ability to negotiate community benefits including deeper affordability. Proposed FLUM changes to the historic Alexander Crummell School in Ivy City and the Barry Farm community undermine residents' ongoing organizing efforts. By doing at least the above four things, you can help retain DC's central planning document as a critical tool of accountability by our elected legislature of the executive. Respectfully,

First Name
Last Name
Email
Phone
Address
City, State
Zipcode

Ward 1 Ward 2 Ward 3 Ward 4 Ward 5 Ward 6 Ward 7 Ward 8 Virginia Maryland I Don't Know Other Ward (if in District)