DC resident: "the conversion of residences into multi-unit flats results in no where to park!"

See Washington Business Journal reporter Michael Neibauer's comments from earlier this week on the popular activity nowadays of converting a single family dwelling (SFD) into a two-family flat.  
              
Converting single-family rowhouses here in Bloomingdale, mostly zoned R-4, either into a basement rental unit and a main unit upstairs -- or simply into two or more condominium units -- is quite common.
                                                                                                                 
What do YOU think?
 

Apr 8, 2013, 10:40am EDT UPDATED: Apr 8, 2013, 12:11pm EDT

In permits, new apartments and flats are everywhere

Michael Neibauer
Staff Reporter- Washington Business Journal

                    

I received an email Friday from an irate District resident demanding that the city prohibit homeowners from converting their residences into multiunit flats. 
                                                                                                        

Five times she wrote, "There is no where to park!!!" She suggested a suspension of building permits, as well as gas and electrical work. She blamed suburban landlords. She alleged a failure of "urban engineering." She claimed there is no vision for sustainability. All because of parking.
             

I have noticed a substantial number of conversions in permits the last few months. There were five more on Friday alone. They have become so commonplace I rarely mention them in this space anymore.

The District currently controls "accessory dwelling units" and multiple flats through zoning regulations. There are restrictions — how many, minimum size, what zoning districts — and even though the city's proposed zoning rewrite opens the door to more of them, there will continue to be limits. As there should be.

We've written much about the booming apartment market in the District. Home-based rentals often provide a more affordable option than the high-end residential towers going up in Capitol Riverfont, NoMa and Mount Vernon Triangle. This is what the market demands.

D.C.'s zoning regulations require one parking space for every two units. While not every tenant will have a car (many will not), parking will always be a challenge in residential neighborhoods. It is a valid concern for existing neighbors. The solution, however, should not be to limit the healthy growth of those neighborhoods or to overtly restrict the rights of property owners to host a tenant and earn a little extra income.