FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Dec 10, 2025
Contact: Debby Hanrahan, Save DC Public Land, debby@savedcpublicland.org, 202-462-2054
DC Residents Seek Transparency Regarding Possible Coordination Between Local Officials and Right-Wing Growth Agenda; Recent FOIAs Highlight Need for Openness in DC Housing Policy Discussions & Decisions
Washington, DC — Residents with Save DC Public Land: The 1617 Project have filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests recently.
FOIA #1 — The first FOIA was delivered to the DC Zoning Office to better understand why its taken more than a year for the DC Zoning Commission to issue a written order regarding the future of 1617 U Street – ZC Case No. 23-02.
FOIA #2 — The second FOIA seeks records from ANC 1B02 Commissioner Francois Barrilleaux regarding his recent drafting and introduction of “A Resolution Urging Gentle Density Throughout the District of Columbia” (available at page 36 of the ANC 1B December agenda PDF).
FOIA requesters note that none of the proposed ANC Gentle Density resolution’s recommended land use changes would require the creation of affordable, family-sized homes, despite the city’s acute need for lower-cost three- and four-bedroom units. And, the proposal would unironically eliminate ANC consultation on the teardowns of single family homes and small apartment rebuilds.
FOIA requestors seek communications that the proposing-Commissioner may have had while drafting the resolution with representatives of Greater Greater Washington, the American Enterprise Institute (where Commissioner Barrilleaux is employed), among others.
“When a local ANC resolution mirrors proposals from organizations promoting market-first approaches and wholesale housing-policy deregulation, the public deserves to know how it was shaped and why,” said Marcy Logan, one of the FOIA requestors who has property on Seaton Street.
The controversial “gentle density” proposal would grant DC’s real estate industry broad new by-right permissions to demolish single-family homes and replace them with rowhouses or small apartment buildings of 4 to 6, possibly 8, units—without specifying affordability outcomes and with no further community dialogue (“by-right”).
At a recent meeting, 1B neighbors warned that such policy changes could have far-reaching adverse effects on residential areas across the city, particularly in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8, where neighborhoods are more vulnerable to speculative displacement:
“The discussion seems to show that if these policies were enacted, they really wouldn’t have much of an impact on ANC1B or our ward,” stated Howard Kurtzman, 1B neighbor and member of the 1B Economic Development Committee. “They would have an impact on other wards and neighborhoods like Cleveland Park and Crestwood and elsewhere. … Residents of those neighborhoods will not take kindly to these proposed policies. … My preference would be to just table it because it’s just not in the domain of this ANC.”
I think it’s absolutely wrong for [ANC1B] to take a position and issue something that if it was done to us in the reverse, we would definitely not appreciate it. So, I think that that is not the way we should go… to move forward without any input of the people that [this proposal] would actually affect is problematic,” stated Tania Shand, 1B neighbor and participating member of the ANC 1B Economic Development Committee.
The FOIA cites notable similarities between the draft ANC resolution and recent policy positions advanced by both GGW and AEI—organizations known for market-driven deregulation and pro-growth housing proposals, typically promoting increased density without meaningful race- or class-impact analysis.
The FOIA request also references long-standing concerns about displacement in the District over the past two decades.
US Census: 60,000 Black Residents Gone From DC Since 2000 & One in Four Black Residents Displaced from Ward 1 Over Past Decade Alone.
FOIA requestors are seeking all communications, emails, messages, and documents from August 1 to December 4, 2025, to and from Commissioner Barrilleaux in his official capacity as an ANC commissioner regarding the proposed “Gentle Density” resolution.
Save DC Public Land is an organization advocating for greater affordability and the production of family-sized housing using DC’s limited public land and assets, including a proposed social-housing pilot on the 2 acres of public land at 1617 U Street NW. www.savedcpublicland.org/the1617project
The campaign emphasizes that transparency is essential in the lead-up to the Comprehensive Plan 2050 update, where zoning concepts included in the resolution may be considered on a citywide scale. [www.dc2050.com]
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