Disrupting building as usual by inserting community voices into aspects of land use decision-making where they have long been excluded.

Our Goals 

• Develop and propose zoning amendments that advance community-led equitable development.

• Support impacted communities with successfully navigating, planning and zoning processes including, negotiating and enforcing community benefit agreements, and shaping short and long-term land use decisions by engaging in planning initiatives including Small Area Plans and the Comprehensive Plan.

• Influence development decisions, particularly those affecting public land and low-income tenants, to ensure community needs are prioritized.

Our Work & Impact

Empower DC’s current equitable development work includes:

Resident-led Planning 

Resident participation in the Ivy City Small Area Plan, NY Ave Vision Framework and Industrial Land Use Study — all affecting Ward 5 residents in Ivy City and Brentwood — advocating that industrial land be concentrated. 

Zoning Reform 

Opposition to changes in DC zoning regulations which would limit public participation, and advocacy for measures to make the zoning process more equitable.

Site Fights

Ongoing engagement of Ivy City residents in the planning and development process for the new community center at the Alexander Crummell School in Ivy City and supporting neighbors of 1617 U St, NW to navigate the zoning process for that proposed development.

Watch Guests from the Office of Attorney General's Equitable Land Use Division discuss proposed zoning text amendments that harm public participation

From 2017-2021, Empower DC led the DC Grassroots Planning Coalition (DCGPC) and engaged over 1,500 residents in DC’s Comprehensive Plan amendment process, achieving important new requirements that city planning and zoning adopt a “racial equity lens,” and strengthening language around low-income housing. The DCGPC is on hiatus now, but Empower DC continues to monitor the implementation of Comp Plan policies and prepare for the upcoming Comp Plan rewrite in 2025-2026.