Image by the author.

Text amendments to the zoning code do not usually make headlines, but DC’s Zoning Commission may take a technical proposal about how to measure space and effectively downzone neighborhoods across the District by 25 percent.

This all comes from a debate over how to define whether a partially below-grade story, often called an English Basement, is a “cellar” or a “basement” according to the zoning code. This matters because cellars do not count towards a measurement of the size of the building called “Gross Floor Area,” while basements do.

Right now, a story is a cellar when its ceiling is fewer than four feet above the adjacent outside landscaping. However, some developers were putting in low ceilings and piling up earth or even building planter boxes to turn basements into cellars. In response, the Office of Planning proposed changes which would remove much of the flexibility.

Neil Flanagan covered this in detail a few months ago. In short, the changes would:

Clarify the definition of a cellar to be about bulk, not whether a space is can be lived in;

Change the measurement to use the original landscaping if it is lower (to prevent mounding or “berms”); and

Change the measurement to use the floor above (which can less easily be lowered) rather than the ceiling below. A cellar would then exist when the landscaping is five feet or fewer from the first floor (five, to leave room for the floor itself) rather than four feet or fewer to the ceiling of the lower level.

The changes are relatively reasonable. They eliminate much of the ability for developers to manipulate a building and its surroundings to count basements as cellars, but they don’t substantially change the way zoning works.

Image by the author.

Some people, however, want the Zoning Commission to legally get rid of cellars in their entirety, significantly downzoning the entire city.

Some want to get rid of cellars

At February 23 zoning hearing on the Office of Planning’s proposal, groups including Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C (Adams Morgan) and the Dupont Circle Citizens Association asked the DC Zoning Commission to count cellars in Gross Floor Area, just like basements, if they included living space.

Alan Gambrell, a former ANC Commissioner in Adams Morgan stated, “[Gross Floor Area is] not just a matter of measurement. Rather, these terms are intended to capture the impact of the occupancy, of density of people, of demand on the infrastructure.” In addition, he said, “spaces that serve as habitable living spaces should be included in density formulas.” (95)

Susan Flinn, an Adams Morgan resident who testified at the hearing, also asked for cellars to be counted in Gross Floor Area, saying, “I oppose any language that would enable space that's designated as a cellar or an attic to be used as independent living space.” (95)

Their argument stems from the fact that, in one part of the zoning code, the term “habitable room” is defined with relation to basements and attics. Advocates for changing the rules have thus argued, wrongly from a legal standpoint, that this should mean any habitable space must be a basement (and thus counted in Gross Floor Area), despite the text of the existing code and the long-standing interpretation that cellars do not count.

Counting cellars would impact living spaces and affordable housing

In historic, predominantly rowhouse zones like Dupont Circle, zoning limits development to 60 percent lot occupancy and 1.8 Floor Area Ratio. If cellar with the “habitable room” standard did count as Gross Floor Area for the purpose of density calculations, many three-story buildings with cellars would suddenly stop conforming to the code if they had living space or separate apartments in what is now a cellar and the existing building was already maxed out.

But this regulation applies across all zones, so even without apartments, a rec room or guest bedroom in the cellar of a single family house would would count, making thousands of houses too big for their zoning, so would tens of thousands of units in apartment buildings. And cellar apartments are naturally lower-cost.

Image by the author.

John Miller, an affordable housing developer, said such a change would impact affordable housing. He said, “We would lose units from a 100 percent affordable development plan. Our city has an affordable housing crisis and we must retain the ability to build cellars to responsibly add to the city's density.” (3:22)

Cellars are a way to make housing out of previously wasted space which doesn’t affect the visible form or bulk of buildings.

Unfortunately, for some of the opponents, it’s not just about preserving buildings. They don’t want more people in the neighborhood, because they might try to use the “infrastructure,” as Gambrell said — the parks or the schools or the buses (or, most likely, people are really worried about competition for parking spaces).

This also isn’t just about row houses being cut into four or eight units. Owners of whole houses often use their below-ground floors for living purposes. Is it really right for someone to have a cellar they use for storage but tell them it’s illegal to put a child’s playroom, guest bedroom, or rec room down there? Or build another unit to rent out and make additional money, and help meet the city’s housing need?

The Zoning Commission mulled downzoning most of the city at a stroke

At the hearing, members of the Zoning Commission (a hybrid federal-local board with three mayorally-appointed members and two federal ones) did not clearly signal if they want to change the definition of cellars. However, several said they felt the commission should at least make a deliberate decision instead of leaving the existing interpretation intact.

Peter May, who represents the National Park Service, said,

We have taken it for granted for a long time and have accepted the thought that cellars are basically free … [Gross Floor Area] and a free story. I don't recall at any point having given that a very thorough consideration. We just sort of all accepted that that’s the way it is. … And that may all be perfectly reasonable, to continue it that way, but I think that from a policy perspective we need to have a rationale for that, if we stick with it. But I also think we should give consideration of whether it needs to be changed in some fashion. … I think that we are creating this incentive to add stories when you could get a free story if it's more than 5 feet below the level of the ground floor. And I think that we need to be mindful of what that incentive creates. I would also be note that, if we do end up clamping down too hard we could wind up incentivizing other problematic development patterns such as popbacks, right? If people can't push up, they're more likely to push back. I know we have limits on those things in RF neighborhoods, but we don't have those in every single zone. So I think that's a consideration across the board. (3:32)

May mused about other options like counting cellar space at 50 percent of GFA or the like.

This is all pretty confusing, so the commission asked for a matrix

Commissioners weren’t ready to decide on this issue at the February hearing, so they asked for more information. Commissioner Robert Miller asked for a matrix analyzing the changes. He said, “If we're going to make a change where we're counting space that as part of GFA that hasn't been counted previously, I'd like to run some analysis of what the consequences are.” (3:42).

The Zoning Commission decided to continue the discussion on April 30. In the meantime, the Office of Planning will prepare further analysis. If the commission decides to count cellars in Gross Floor Area, the Office of Planning will likely draft text amendments and the Zoning Commission will hold another hearing.

With the District on track to have a million people by 2045, every little bit of housing helps and the Zoning Commission should not get rid of the ability to use cellars as living space.

As the Office of Planning creates its matrix, it should also include the effect of various options on the housing supply, on how the supply correlates with the expected one million person demand, and what various options will do to housing prices in the future.

GGWash sometimes organizes around issues affecting our region. Should we consider advocacy around this topic? Let us know!