On June 11, 2026, Executive Director Yesim Sayin was quoted in CoStar News:
“In order for the city to grow, it requires all types of housing, not just multifamily,” Yesim Sayin, D.C. Policy Center executive director, told CoStar News. “You need start-up units, maybe small townhouses and single-family, low-rise multifamily. Those things are extremely difficult to build in D.C. right now because there is simply no room.”
A report released last month by Sayin’s group calls for doubling the share of the city’s land area where multifamily housing is permitted to 50%. In areas where only single-family houses are currently allowed, the report said, this could generate 4,500 new residences over 10 years in small buildings with two to four units.
The group also backs eliminating parking requirements, allowing smaller lots and encouraging accessory dwelling units — smaller units located on the same lot as a primary residence — to stimulate new construction. And it said the city should allow residential buildings in certain neighborhoods up to the limits of the federal Height Act, or 90 feet. The law restricting the height of buildings in Washington dates back to 1910.
Read more: Experts evaluate housing pledges in DC mayoral race: ‘A target is not actual policy’
Additional reading: Breaking the scarcity-subsidy cycle: A new housing vision for the District of Columbia