1May 16, 2016
An article in the Washington Post today on DC zoning changes that The Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Micro Showcase helped promote through years of the zoning rewrite- new backyard accessory dwelling units (ADU’s- which can be micro homes) are finally about to come to DC! Check out the full article here. More background on […]
2Feb 11, 2015
Originally a rather cool modern quonset project was planned to house tools and materials for the DC students tiny house build that will start in February. Alas, DCRA (DC zoning) was not inclined to allow a second, 336 ft2 small shed on a huge 5500ft2 alley lot, despite some earlier signs that this would be entirely possible. No matter, we’ll […]
3Feb 6, 2014
DC’s zoning has not been comprehensively updated since 1958. After 6 years of drafting and public input, the Office of Planning is about to finalize a new set of zoning regulations that could transform the city by allowing accessory dwelling units (ADU’s- carriage houses and microhomes behind an existing house, or basement apartments), as well […]
4Oct 11, 2012
Kudos to DC’s Urban Turf for continuing to cover the state of play with DC microhousing. From today’s article “Is DC Ready for 275-Square Foot Housing?“, it is clear that in some respects DC is far ahead of the country in terms of minimum size regulations. While other cities such as San Francisco contentiously debate […]
5Oct 1, 2012
*Updated Feb 2014* Currently the majority of tiny homes are built to accept pressurized water hookup from a hose. Simple, but also quite limiting if the house is ever moved for a few days (or longer) to somewhere where there is no pressurized water hookup- a music festival, or, say, a vacant alley lot. The […]
6Jul 6, 2012
Part of the mission of Boneyard Studios is to support changes to DC zoning and building codes to allow higher density, affordable housing in the District. Currently there are some excellent proposals on the table to allow for accessory dwelling units (typically carriage houses and basement apartments) in low-density parts of town. The accessory dwelling […]
7Jun 15, 2012
Some pictures from the lot taken over the past couple weeks – Brian and Tony are almost done with the fencing, compost was delivered, garden beds are being built, and some of the fruit trees are planted already! Plus, Brian installed his birdfeeder and hammock hooks are going up soon. Lee returned from Brazil excited […]
8May 8, 2012
Without a registered address, it is not possible to do very much on an un-named alley lot (even if it has a lot/square number) apart from cleaning it up, as no city permits can be granted to a lot without a street address. After five meetings at DCRA, I have formal word from the Chief Building […]
9Feb 22, 2012
How does one get a reliable supply of water to garden a forlorn alley lot in DC? There seem to be 5 options: Tap the water. So, how complicated could it be to install a water spigot 100 ft from a DC water main? Off to DC Water office for 2 hours to pull maps […]