A Proposed DC Bill Would Offer Library of Pre-Approved Housing Plans

• October 1st

by UrbanTurf Staff

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A new bill from Councilmember Robert White would give DC builders a shelf of ready-made housing plans that the city has already checked. 

Under the Pre-Approved Housing Plans Act of 2026, introduced earlier this week, the Department of Buildings (DOB) would make a set of ready-to-permit plans available for common types of small housing: rowhouses, townhouses, duplexes and small apartment buildings. Because the plans would already meet the building code, they wouldn't need to be reviewed from scratch each time. DOB could design the plans itself or hire firms, and it would also let builders reuse plans that have already been approved within three years. The plans would be designed to be adjusted for different lots without starting over, which White says would make small-scale development more predictable and affordable.

The idea is already in use elsewhere. A Pew Charitable Trusts report found that roughly 40 jurisdictions have some form of pre-approved plan program. Pew estimates the plans can cut architectural and engineering costs and shorten permitting timelines by moving much of the technical review to the front end. In Seattle, ADU permitting more than doubled after the city published seven pre-approved designs in 2019. In South Bend, Indiana, homes built from the city's plans made up about 7% of new units permitted over three years. 

White and Councilmember Brooke Pinto are co-leading the bill, and Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Charles Allen, Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George and Matthew Frumin are also sponsors. It joins a busy run of housing legislation from the same group of members this year, including Pinto's HOMES omnibus bill.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/a-proposed-dc-bill-would-offer-library-of-pre-approved-housing-plans/25055.