Bonus Height For Affordable Housing Proposal Considered In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The City of Alexandria is considering a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to boost housing supply, notable affordable housing.

The city is seeking opportunities to boost affordable housing, as high demand in the DC region affects housing prices and creates a need for additional supply, according to the city's website. In 2019, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments estimated the DC region needs 320,000 more housing units added between 2020 and 2030, which is 75,000 more than is anticipated for this decade.

Alexandria is part of the Council of Government's 2020-2030 Regional Housing Initiative. The city's goal is to increase annual housing additions from 800 units to around 1100 units, the city's website states.

One draft text amendment calls for an expansion of building heights eligible for a bonus height allowance when affordable housing is provided. According to section 7-700 of the city's zoning ordinance, "no building located in any zone or height district where the maximum allowable height is 50 feet or less may be allowed to exceed such height limits." The city is proposing to change that to allow zones with 45-foot height limits to be eligible for a bonus height provision.

For any height bonuses, the ordinance states that height cannot be increased more than 25 feet above the permitted height.

A second proposed change would be creating affordable housing requirements for certain rezonings when applicants seek additional density. For this, City Council's adopted housing contribution policies for 2020-2021 would be added to the zoning ordinance in a new section of Section 7-700. City staff aim to have this proposal ready for public hearings in June.

A community meeting focused on the bonus height allowance will be held April 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to discuss the proposed text amendments. Residents can register through Zoom to attend the virtual meeting. The dial-in number will be 301-715-8592, the Zoom webinar ID will be 931 2631 4644, and the password will be 301653.

City staff also shared the proposal with the Planning Commission Thursday and will seek input from the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee in April. Public hearings can be expected in May.

Visit the bonus height web page for future updates.