Greater Greater Washington sends candidates for ANC seats a questionnaire as part of their endorsement process. They warn that Surveymonkey won’t save partial answers, so they recommend drafting responses in a separate document…this is (and, although the submitted answers are now posted (PDF), remains) that document, both for my own records and the benefit of anyone else who might be interested… The first several questions are basic contact and what seat are you running for, so this starts at #5.
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Where in your Advisory Neighborhood Commission, not just your SMD, do you think density should be increased to accommodate the construction of new housing?
All of it, and not just ANC 1B but all of Ward 1. Not only is DC in a housing crisis, we are in a climate crisis and a traffic safety crisis, and for all of these reasons, places well-served by transit like the U Street corridor, the Georgia Ave corridor, and the 16th Street corridor must make more space for more neighbors.
First of all, we need to create more homes for the people who are here, and then we need to make more homes for the people who are coming. DC and the region continue to grow, and will continue to grow–and if we want to do anything about our high and rising prices, we need to make more homes for those people.
But beyond that, we are in a climate crisis. Our world is burning—DC has set records for heat this summer, and, as a recent US DOT report states, “America cannot meet its [climate change] goals…without reducing how much Americans drive” [https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/07/29/feds-warns-congress-that-americans-need-to-drive-less-to-survive-climate-change]. It is imperative that we make more housing, and make housing more affordable, in places where people can take the bus, ride a bike, and walk for most commuting, errands, and exercise.
Further, we are in a road safety crisis. 2023 saw the most traffic fatalities in DC since 2007, and as August dawns we are on pace to meet or exceed last year’s total [https://mpdc.dc.gov/node/208742]. We must make our roads safer, and again part of doing that is giving people the ability to live where they don’t need to drive.
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I consider affordable housing to be (check all that, in your opinion, apply):
- Costing no more than 30 percent of one’s household income
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I consider market-rate housing to be (check all that, in your opinion, apply):
- Not means-tested or income-restricted
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The District’s inclusionary zoning law "requires that eight to 10 percent of the residential floor area be set-aside for affordable units in most new residential development projects of 10 or more units." The cost of doing so is paid by a project’s developer, and IZ units are income-restricted. Because the number of IZ units is tied to floor-area ratio, the larger a building is, the more IZ units will be built. Conversely, if the initial density proposed by a developer is reduced during the approvals process, rather than maintained or increased, fewer IZ units will be built.
ANC commissioners are likely to hear from some constituents concerned by a project’s potential impact—real or assumed—on traffic, parking, views, and property values and rents, and whether it fits the character of the neighborhood. While it is not a guarantee that a development proposal including IZ units will come before your ANC, if one does, what would you do, given the likelihood of at least some pushback?
- I would encourage developers to maximize the height and density of the project.
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Planned unit developments are projects in which developers are able to exceed the height and density allowed by the District’s zoning code up to the density allowed by its Future Land Use Map (typically a modest increase in scale) in exchange for a community benefits agreement. While it is not a guarantee that a PUD will be proposed in your ANC, if one is, the commission is likely to be the party negotiating that community benefits agreement with a developer.
The following are examples of benefits that an ANC might push for in such an agreement. Please rank them in the order in which you would prioritize them.
- More income-restricted, subsidized units than are required by District law
- Income-restricted, subsidized units restricted to lower income levels than initially proposed by the developer
- Income-restricted, subsidized units with more than one bedroom
- Parks, landscaping, and/or public art
- Improvements or repairs to, or replacement of, streets and sidewalks
- A Capital Bikeshare station
- Direct cash payments to local schools and youth programs
- Direct cash payments to local organizations, such as civic associations and ANCs
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Check any of the below combinations of features that you would consider social housing.
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a District agency and managed by a District agency
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a District agency and managed by a private property-management company
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a private construction company and managed by a District agency
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a private construction company and managed by a private property-management company
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Should apartments be legal to build District-wide?
- Yes.
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Which statement do you agree with most?
- New housing should be built both along major corridors and throughout existing residential neighborhoods, in buildings of all sizes.
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Which of these statements best describes your feelings about historic districts in the District?
- Historic districts are important, but they are also problematic. We have the right number of historic districts and landmarks and shouldn’t be adding more.
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The District is likely to begin a rewrite of its Comprehensive Plan, its foundational land-use document, in 2025. In a rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan, which of these three options would be your top priority?
- Creating opportunities for new housing in my commission’s area
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My ANC, not just my SMD, has:
- Just the right amount [of bars and restaurants]
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Do you think there are not enough cars, enough cars, or too many cars in the District?
- Too many cars
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The Sustainable D.C. 2.0 plan includes a target of reducing commuter trips made by car to 25 percent. Do you agree that incentivizing residents and visitors to drive less should be an explicit policy goal of the District?
- Yes
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Incentives for people to drive less and nudges to make them drive safely can prevent drivers from killing other people, but research shows such "carrots" won’t be enough to curb the public health crisis of increasing traffic fatalities. Keeping people alive and safe on District roads requires policies that actively reshape our transportation systems and built environment to decrease single-occupancy vehicle trips, and to slow down drivers when they do make those trips. Please rank the following policies in the order that you would like to see the District government pursue them.
- Building more housing and affordable housing in the District proximate to transit and job centers
- Removing minimum parking requirements in new developments near transit
- Implementing road diets on arterial streets
- Regularly removing travel lanes for bus lanes
- Regularly removing travel lanes for bike lanes
- Increasing the cost to own a car in the District, including RPP and parking registration
- Regularly removing parking lanes for bus lanes
- Regularly removing parking lanes for bike lanes
- Making some streets, especially residential streets, car-free
- Regional reciprocity for automated traffic enforcement
- Implementing a road-pricing program
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The above question asks about systemic policies to reduce trips by car that the District?s executive and legislative branches would need to initiate. As a commissioner, your powers are only advisory, but the intensely local nature of the role means that you can direct your attention to shepherding improvements to the built environment in your neighborhood that, while smaller in scale than changing District law or instituting a new citywide program, are no less important to making all road users safer. Please rank the following initiatives in the order you would be most enthusiastic about your ANC considering a resolution concerning them.
- The removal of parking spaces near crosswalks to increase the visibility of pedestrians to drivers, referred to as “daylighting”
- The installation of raised crosswalks with high-visibility signage to alert drivers to pedestrians
- The removal of parking spaces as part of a project to widen sidewalks
- The removal of residential parking spaces to enable short-term parking for delivery drivers
- The removal of parking spaces as part of a project to build a bus-priority lane
- The removal of parking spaces as part of a project to build a protected bike lane
- The installation of speed bumps to slow down drivers
- The temporary or permanent closure of certain streets to single-occupancy vehicles to create zones for pedestrians
- The installation of more automated traffic enforcement cameras to ticket drivers for speeding or running red lights and stop signs
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On-street parking occurs in public space. This means that an on-street parking spot does not belong to a specific individual, and people park in different places at different times. What do you consider a reasonable rule of thumb for deciding if a neighborhood has enough street parking?
- A resident is able to find an available public street parking space within two to three blocks, in any direction of their residence (about a five- to seven-minute walk), most of the time
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The District’s goal to be carbon-free by 2050 requires most of the reduction of its transportation emissions to come from residents turning existing single-occupancy vehicle trips into transit, walking, and biking trips. Please describe at least one trip you currently take by car (even if you, yourself, are not driving) that you can commit to taking on foot, by bus, by train, via a mobility device, or by bike instead.
I already minimize my driving within the city—I commute, socialize, and run nearly all errands on transit, bike, or foot. Nearly all of my current car use is to go with my partner to visit our families, who live in places that are not (yet) accessible by Amtrak within a reasonable span of time or at a reasonable hour.
I fully support the District’s goals to reduce trips by car, and already work professionally to help communities across the Mid-Atlantic become easier to get around on foot and by bike. I look forward to working as a Commissioner to make it easier for neighbors in ANC 1B and across DC to reduce their car use, both by supporting more transit, biking, and walking infrastructure, and by supporting bringing more housing, jobs, groceries and so forth within walking and biking distance of each other.
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What do you feel is the biggest issue in your neighborhood, and what is your position on it? And, given the limited scope of commissioners’ and commissions’ authority, what would you, most realistically, do about that issue if you are elected?
- I feel the biggest issue in my neighborhood is, and my position on it is:
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I feel the biggest issues in my neighborhood are housing costs, traffic violence, and climate change, which, as I have already described, are interlinked.
But I think the biggest issue not already addressed is the seeming inability of DC Government agencies to function under this administration. DDOT is unable to make repairs to sidewalks and bikeways in a timely manner, and can’t or won’t enforce or provide Safe Accommodations at construction sites, including its own. DPW doesn’t have the resources to ticket or tow scofflaw drivers, but also doesn’t focus its resources on those who do the most harn, spending its staff time instead on easy targets like overstayed meters and people without residential parking permits. DPW also would rather remove “abused” public trash cans than empty them frequently enough (or investigate why residents, particularly of multifamily buildings, put their trash in them rather than their home cans and dumpsters). And OUC, particularly 9-1-1, is melting down.
- If elected, I would:
- I look forward to working with fellow Commissioners and our colleagues across the Ward and across the District to push agencies to be more responsive to our constituents, and to working with our Councilmembers to hold agency leaders responsible, find the systemic issues causing these problems, and create solutions and the oversight to ensure they are implemented, both during Performance Oversight/Budget in the spring and throughout the year.
- ANC commissioners represent about 2,000 constituents and, when sworn in, commit to upholding the District of Columbia’s interests, not solely your commission’s or single-member district’s. With the understanding that you are not going hear from every single one of your constituents during your term, and that commissioners are sworn to act in the interest of the entire District, describe how you might make decisions as an elected representative.
- Why do you think you are the right person to serve as an ANC commissioner for your SMD?
Transportation
I intend to invite people to email me, and will consider having a periodic ‘office-hours’ for people to come meet me in person and putting out newsletters, but even those efforts will never reach every single constituent.
I will make decisions based on what I believe is best for the District and its residents, particularly what is most likely to reduce traffic violence, housing prices and homelessness, and the impacts of climate change, and to improve transit service, walking, and biking and create increased housing and tree canopy.
I am a transportation planner by profession, and as mentioned above work across the region to improve public spaces and places for people walking and biking. I’m also a member of DC’s Pedestrian Advisory Council, and was recently enthusiastically reappointed to my second three-year term as Ward 1 Representative. I’ve testified at Council both on behalf of the PAC and for myself, including about Safe Accommodations, DPW priorities, and problems at OUC.
I’ve held board positions both in professional organizations (DC chapters of Young Professionals in Transportation, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals) and community organizations (Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Asssoc., Better Streets Lawrenceville [Pittsburgh]), have organized DC’s edition of the Ride of Silence memorial bike ride for victims of traffic violence since 2019, and was recently appointed as a Member at Large of the board of Ex Lapide, Virginia Tech’s Society for queer alumni and allies.
I am deeply curious and collaborative, so I have both knowledge of and connections throughout the District and its agencies, and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission, at Council, and across the District, rather than against them.
Citation
@online{swiderski2024,
author = {Swiderski, J. I.},
title = {GGW {Endorsement} {Questionnaire} {Answers}},
date = {2024-08-11},
url = {https://jski.net/posts/GGWANC.html},
langid = {en}
}