D.C.’s top two leaders disagree on how to save downtown

D.C.’s high two leaders aren’t seeing eye-to-eye about how one can revive downtown, with Council chair Phil Mendelson opposing Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposals to lift constructing peak limits and enhance growth.

Why it issues: The stark variations portend a stalemate between the mayor and the council over how one can revitalize the District within the aftermath of the pandemic.

Driving the information: Bowser and Mendelson spoke final night time at an occasion hosted by the planning advocacy group Committee of 100.

• Bowser reiterated her help for elevating the federal Top Act from 130 ft to 160 ft in some areas to permit for extra dense buildings and make room downtown for 15,000 new residents by 2028.
• Mendelson mentioned “growth shouldn’t be the answer” and that D.C. can reverse its stalled inhabitants progress by bettering public training, supporting cultural and dwell occasions, and getting federal employees again to the workplace.

One level of settlement: D.C. mustn’t completely ban vehicles in some zones, each leaders mentioned. It’s an concept impressed by some European cities and floated by pedestrian advocates.

Context: Cuneyt beforehand reported on the icy ties between Bowser and Mendelson. Each have had hassle hashing out their variations, impeding progress on subjects comparable to the way forward for RFK Stadium.