FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DC for Reasonable Development, Chris Otten, 202-810-2768
DC for Reasonable Development, Chris Otten, 202-810-2768
January 8, 2026
Behind Rhetoric of Ward 3 “Exclusivity” – U Street ANC Considers Residential Deregulation That Likely Hits Wards 5, 7, and 8 Hardest
Washington, DC — Tonight, an ANC resolution is being considered by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B (ANC1B) that is being touted as a way to dismantle exclusionary zoning in wealthy neighborhoods like Ward 3. Housing advocates warn the proposal is far more likely to increase displacement and speculative redevelopment in Wards 5, 7, and 8.
The resolution (attached) — “Resolution Urging By-Right Gentle Density Throughout the District of Columbia,” whose language and policy framework closely track a recent housing deregulation report by the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) — was introduced by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B Commissioner Francois Barrilleaux and urges the District’s Office of Planning to embed sweeping zoning changes into the Comprehensive Plan.
If adopted by the city, the proposal would allow demolition and conversion of single-family homes into multi-unit housing “by-right”, removing community review and ANC advice for residential projects across large swaths of the city without any deeper affordability requirements.
Supporters argue the changes would open up high-income neighborhoods to more affordable housing, but the proposal makes no attempt to tie any of the extra density granted “by-right” to assurances of additional affordability or for more family-sized homes.
Critics counter that economic realities would make widespread redevelopment in places like Ward 3 unlikely, even with zoning deregulation. Anti-displacement advocates say the greatest impacts would fall on Wards 5, 7, and 8, where lower land costs, higher investor access, and by elimination of community review, fewer safeguards would make existing family homes more vulnerable to speculative acquisition and demolition.
“This is being sold as a challenge to exclusivity, but the market doesn’t work that way,” said Debby Hanrahan of Save DC Public Land. “By-right deregulation won’t remake Ward 3 — it will put more pressure on families in DC neighborhoods already at risk.”
The American Enterprise Institute, whose housing-policy efforts seek land use deregulation and expanded by-right development, is governed by a board that includes real estate developers, private equity executives, hedge fund managers, and property investors — sectors that would materially benefit from reduced zoning limits and the removal of community review.
AEI publicly credits 1B02 Commissioner, Francois Barrilleaux, a paid employee of the conservative right think tank, for research assistance on the report that informs the ANC resolution.
Barrilleaux has also stated publicly that his goal is to build a citywide coalition of ANCs to push these recommendations into District planning and zoning policy.
“The ANC Commissioner makes no attempt to look at the far reaching affects of this proposal especially on DC communities already reeling from the adverse impacts of 15 years of immense land speculation. Equitable housing policy should reduce displacement, not shift it,” Hanrahan said.
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Resolution-Urging-By-Right-Gentle-Density-Throughout-the-District-of-Columbia-v4-clean.pdf