• By Stephen Staudigl
• January 05, 2024

NCPC Updated on Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative

At its January 4, 2024 meeting the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) heard a progress update on the Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative, a joint federal-District effort to revitalize the 1.2 mile stretch of the Avenue between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and transform it into an inspiring public space destination. In 2023 NCPC entered into a partnership with the National Park Service, General Services Administration, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, DowntownDC Business Improvement District, and Events DC to prepare a New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan. The partners have a vision of the avenue as a beautiful street designed for people and as a venue for national events.

On behalf of the partners, NCPC recently released two Request for Proposals (RFP) for consultant teams that will coordinate and develop critical components of a new plan. The first RFP (released in September with submissions currently under review) focuses on an implementation program including a program of requirements for special events, economic modeling, and recommendations for a new stewardship entity. The second (released in December with submissions due on March 1, 2024) focuses on the physical design, public spaces, and infrastructure improvements.

It is anticipated that in 2025 the public will have an opportunity to provide input on initial concept design alternatives. The goal is to have a draft New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan for Commission review in 2026, the year of America’s Semiquincentennial.

The Commission then learned about a new Pollinator Best Practices Resource Guide to be used by project applicants and NCPC staff in the plan review process. Staff developed the guide to clarify how NCPC utilizes federal guidance to support pollinator habitats in its review of proposed projects. It is not a policy document. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and moths are extremely important for the health and longevity of the human and natural environments. Pollinator habitats include plants that provide food, shelter, nest sites, and larval hosts for pollinators.

The guide, which will be available on NCPC's website, focuses on best practices for selecting plants that support healthy pollinator habitats in both meadow and non-meadow designed landscapes. It clarifies existing guidance and brings together existing best practices in one place. Its primary takeaway is that biodiversity is key to both a healthy pollinator habitat and a healthy ecosystem.

Staff then gave an overview of NCPC’s Centennial. In 2024, NCPC will celebrate 100 years as an agency and the Centennial will provide an opportunity to reflect on the agency’s history and examine the evolution of planning in Washington and the region. It will acknowledge inequities created by past planning practices and consider lessons learned to inform planning today and into the future.

Several exciting educational products and events will engage diverse audiences on NCPC’s historic role in the region’s planning. The first is One Night, 100 Years, an online program on Tuesday, January 23 from 6:00-7:30 pm. Six thought-provoking professionals from the region will each discuss an item from NCPC’s new online planning library, developed with the DC Office of Planning, that showcases maps, plans, legislation, and studies from the past 100 years. This event is co-sponsored by the National Capital Area Chapter, American Planning Association.

A physical exhibit, developed in partnership with the DC Public Library, will open in June at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. A forthcoming online exhibit will expand upon the physical exhibit. The Centennial website is the go-to location with links to the digital library, information about events, and oral history transcripts of interviews done with former NCPC Commissioners and staff.

Commission actions and related materials are available online.

The Commission approved two items on the Consent Calendar (no presentations were made). Unless otherwise noted, all projects are in Washington, DC.
1. Final site and building plans for the National Institutes of Health Multi-Level Parking Garage 12, 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland.
2. Final site and building plans for The Children's Inn Renovation and Expansion, 7 West Drive Bethesda, Maryland.

The Executive Director approved one item under authority delegated by the Commission. The project is in Washington, DC.
1. Comments to the Council of the District of Columbia for the Request to Close a 10-Foot Unimproved Public Alley in Square 3701 - S.O. 23-06220, 5321 1st Place, NE. (8512)