DC attorney general urges shrinking the 1,300-page Comprehensive Plan | The Locally Times
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A white paper released October 20, 2026 recommends cutting the plan's length and clarifying land use guidance to avert zoning challenges.
DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb on October 20, 2026 released a white paper recommending that the District shorten and restructure its Comprehensive Plan, the land use document that governs development across the city. The paper offers the Office of the Attorney General's initial recommendations for DC 2050, the next Comprehensive Plan, which the Office of Planning is currently drafting. The current plan runs over 1,300 pages and includes 956 policies and 600 associated actions in its citywide elements alone, according to the white paper. OAG recommends adopting a structure used by other cities that identifies three overarching goals and links them to thematic topics, policy objectives, and implementation actions. It also recommends moving supplemental information to appendices or supporting documents. A second recommendation calls for clearer land use guidance to help prevent legal challenges during the zoning process. Under DC law, zoning decisions must not be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and the paper states the plan should eliminate ambiguities that can spur lengthy legal disputes. The recommendations have been shared with the Office of Planning, according to the release. OAG says the paper draws on its participation in the District's land use process, including interventions in Zoning Commission cases, research on other jurisdictions, and best practices identified by the American Planning Association.