B 26-0543

                         COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
                              ROBERT C. WHITE, JR., CHAIR
                           COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
December 12, 2025
Nyasha Howard, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Howard,
District residents deserve access to quality, affordable homes in every Ward. In the District and
across the country, affordable housing development projects receive generous government subsidies,
but also face unique regulatory burdens. 1 Today I’m introducing my Housing Acceleration bill
package to help increase the supply of affordable housing by speeding up construction and
preservation.
Please find details below regarding the Green Housing Coordination Amendment Act of 2025, the
Housing Permit Streamlining Amendment Act of 2025, and the Powering Local Utility Guidance in
Housing Act of 2025 (also known as the PLUG in Housing Act).
The Green Housing Coordination Amendment Act of 2025, which I am introducing with
Councilmembers Trayon White, Sr., Brooke Pinto, and Matthew Frumin, builds on my Greener
Government Buildings Amendment Act of 2022 (GGBA). It ensures that net zero energy (NZE)
requirements for subsidized housing stay aligned with best practices, striking a balance between
tomorrow’s energy standards and today’s economy.
NZE standards require buildings to produce as much energy as they consume, using renewable
technologies and minimizing fossil fuel use. As Mayor Bowser has said, “we must do much more to
reduce, and ultimately eliminate, our greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring access to clean
energy is equitable and affordable.” 2 However, applying NZE requirements to renovated housing
can be costly due to things like upgrading the entire electrical system. Since the GGBA took effect,
the Council has passed temporary bills to give affordable housing providers, especially those doing
renovation projects, a clear and practical path to sustainability. Today’s bill is a longer-term version
of our temporary compromise legislation that the Council passed on October 7. The bill would:
1 See Chris Cunningham and Anthony W Orlando, “How Long Does It Take to Build Multifamily Housing?”
at 11 (June 2024), Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Policy Hub, https://www.atlantafed.org/-
/media/documents/research/publications/policy-hub/2024/06/18/04--how-long-does-it-take-to-build-
multifamily-housing.pdf; see also Steve Thompson, “These publicly funded homes for the poor cost $1.2
million each to build,” WASH. POST (June 7, 2025), https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-
va/2025/06/06/these-publicly-funded-homes-poor-cost-12-million-each-develop/ (citing, inter alia, complexity
of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing, multi-bedroom unit needs, and special amenities).
2 See D.C. Dep’t of Energy & Envt., “Clean Energy DC: the District of Columbia Climate and Energy Action
Plan,” Letter from Mayor Muriel Bowser (2018), https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/-
ddoe/page_content/attachments/Clean Energy DC - Full Report_0.pdf.
         The John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 114
                                  Washington, DC 20004
      Require developers who want Housing Production Trust Fund dollars for new construction
  to design to Enterprise Green Communities Certification Plus standards, which incorporate
  net zero readiness features.
      Push developers of both new construction and substantial rehabilitation projects to add
  rooftop renewables wherever feasible, since builders can typically finance solar systems at
  little to no cost.
      Require the Executive to push toward final NZE rules that will apply to private as well as
  public and subsidized housing.
This version also addresses some concerns that Council colleagues raised in October by restoring
net zero requirements for District government shelter facilities and delegating more of the rooftop
solar feasibility determinations to administrative agency experts.
The Permit Streamlining Amendment Act of 2025, which I am introducing with
Councilmembers Brianne K. Nadeau, Charles Allen, Trayon White, Sr., Brooke Pinto, and Matthew
Frumin, gives affordable housing projects in high-cost areas discounted access to the Department of
Buildings’ (DOB) Accelerated Plan Review program, speeding up permit approvals.
Affordable housing operates on razor-thin margins. People of all incomes should be able to afford to
live throughout the city, but it’s harder to build income-restricted housing in neighborhoods with
higher property values. 3 Although DC has met the Mayor’s housing production goal of 36,000 units
by 2025, the Capitol Hill, Near Northwest, and Rock Creek West Planning Areas have produced less
than half the affordable units necessary to stay on track for 15% affordability in every area by 2050. 4
Meanwhile, 54% of all affordable units built since 2015 are in just 3 Wards: 5, 7, and 8. 5
We must do more to build affordable housing development in high-cost areas. Navigating
government processes shouldn’t be for the very projects we need most. Our bill helps level the
playing field and open more of the District to affordable projects.
The Powering Local Utility Guidance in Housing Act of 2025 (PLUG in Housing Act), which
I am introducing with Councilmembers Brianne K. Nadeau, Charles Allen, Trayon White, Sr.,
Brooke Pinto, and Matthew Frumin, will help affordable housing development projects navigate the
utility approval portion of the permitting process. Both affordable housing providers and our
executive branch partners have shared that one of the most challenging parts of building affordable
housing is getting clearance from utility companies. They cite inspection scheduling challenges and
unexpected adverse findings that lead to costly pauses or even redesigns.
3 See Patrick McAnaney, “DC struggles to build affordable housing in wealthy neighborhoods. Here’s one
reason why.” GREATER GREATER WASH. (Apr. 24, 2024), https://ggwash.org/view/93410/dc-struggles-to-build-
affordable-housing-in-wealthy-neighborhoods-heres-one-reason-why.
4 See Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development (DMPED) 36,000 by 2025 Dashboard, “New
Affordable Housing Units Since 2019 by Planning Area” https://open.dc.gov/36000by2025/ (last visited
December 3, 2025); DMPED, “Housing Equity Report: Creating Goals for Areas of Our City” (Oct. 2019),
https://housing.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/housingdc/page_content/-
attachments/Housing%20Equity%20Report%2010-15-19.pdf.
5 See DMPED 36,000 by 2025 Dashboard, “Affordable Units Produced Since 2015 by Ward.”
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To address this, our bill will task the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
with 3 important responsibilities. First, DHCD will offer administrative assistance such as
appointment coordination to affordable housing development projects to make sure they get prompt
attention from utility partners in the permitting process. Second, DHCD will make technical expert
consultants available to these same projects to reduce how often utility connection design issues
catch them off guard. And finally, DHCD staff will spearhead a coordinated effort between
government agencies and utilities to integrate the utilities’ permitting updates into existing
government data systems for tracking permit issues.
With the help of this new housing utility readiness team at DHCD, the housing projects that we rely
on to meet our affordability needs will be on the fast track to move-in.
I appreciate the collaboration from executive branch agency experts, Council colleagues, and public
stakeholders that has already gone into these bills, and I look forward to the Council’s prompt
consideration to move them forward. Together we’ll eliminate roadblocks to an abundance of energy-
efficient housing that residents can afford.
Please contact the Committee on Housing staff at housing@dccouncil.gov with any questions.
Sincerely,
Robert C. White, Jr.
Councilmember At-Large
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2   Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau  Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
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7    Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.  Councilmember Charles Allen
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12    Councilmember Matthew Frumin  Councilmember Brooke Pinto
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16A BILL
17__________
18
19IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
20__________
21
22 To amend the Department of Buildings Establishment Act of 2020 to provide discounted
23accelerated plan review permitting services to affordable housing proposals.
24
25BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
26 act may be cited as the “Housing Permit Streamlining Amendment Act of 2025”.
27Sec. 2. The Department of Buildings Establishment Act of 2020, effective April 5, 2021
28 (D.C. Law 23-269; D.C. Official Code § 10-561.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new section
29 109 to read as follows:
30“Sec. 109. Affordable housing accelerated plan review fees.
31“(a) For purposes of this section, the term:
32“(1) “APR” means the Department’s Accelerated Plan Review program of
33 personalized, streamlined, accelerated plan review for a subset of District permit applicants, or
34 any substantially similar successor program.
35“(2) “Area affordability target” means:
36“(A) The number of units listed as a Planning Area’s 2025 Affordable
37 Housing Production Goal in Appendix 2 to the District’s Housing Equity Report published in
38 2019; or
39“(B) A comparable geographic goal that the Office of Planning establishes
40 as a successor metric to the goals identified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for the purpose
41 of tracking equitable distribution of affordable housing.
42“(3) “Qualifying affordable housing application” means an application that
43 satisfies the criteria in subsection (c).
44“(b)(1) The Department shall offer at least a 50% fee discount to qualifying affordable
45 housing applications that apply for any APR program that the Department offers
46“(2) The Department may adjust its APR fee schedule to offset any revenue
47 impact of the discount described in paragraph (1) of this subsection by increasing fees for
48 projects other than qualifying affordable housing projects.
49“(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Department shall
50 recognize an application as a qualifying affordable housing application if the application is for a
51 site in an area that has not attained its area affordability target and the applicant submits at least
52 one of the following to the Department:
53“(A) Documentation proving that the applicant has secured financing or
54 funds from the District or federal government that is conditioned on the applicant
55 providing income-restricted affordable housing units for a period of at least 15 years;
56“(B) A sworn certification that the applicant intends to apply for financing
57 or funds from the District or federal government that would be conditioned on the applicant
58 providing income-restricted affordable housing units for a period of at least 15 years; or
59“(C) A recorded property covenant that requires income-restricted
60 affordable housing units in amounts exceeding the requirements of the Inclusionary Zoning
61 Program as that term is defined in section 101(4) of the Inclusionary Zoning Implementation
62 Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-275; D.C. Official Code § 6-
63 1041.01(4)); provided, that the Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia
64 Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code §
65 2-501 et seq.), may issue rules specifying a deeper level of affordability that a project must meet
66 to satisfy this subparagraph.
67“(2) An applicant that determines that the documentation submitted pursuant to
68 paragraph (1) of this subsection is no longer applicable, including because of a change in
69 government funding availability, government funding criteria, or planned unit affordability, shall
70 notify the Department within 10 business days. Upon determining that an application is no
71 longer a qualifying affordable housing application, the Department shall either collect any
72 difference between the applicant’s discounted fee and the full APR fee applicable to such
73 application or cease to provide APR services for the application.”.
74Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
75The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
76 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
77 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
78Sec. 4. Effective date.
79This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
80 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as
81 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
82 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
83 Columbia Register.