Ellen M. McCarthy*

Practice Areas

Ellen McCarthy is the director of planning and land use for the firm. She has more than 30 years of experience in the planning field, with a focus on zoning, neighborhood planning and historic preservation.

*Ellen is not a member of the legal profession.

Previous Work

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Ellen was the director of planning and land use for a large US law firm. She advises clients in all aspects of zoning and development review before the Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment including planned unit developments, rezonings, variances, and special exceptions. She also assists clients with land use entitlements such as street closings, alley closings, antennas, roof structure reviews, downtown development district compliance and transfers of development rights.

Previously, Ellen was the director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, where she managed a 60-person team to provide a wide range of services for District of Columbia citizens. While there, her projects included getting city council adoption of a new Comprehensive Plan, the re-engineering of the development review function, and the crafting of a strategy to revitalize dilapidated affordable housing projects into lively, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods while retaining existing low-income residents. She also directed the integration of the Historic Preservation Office into the Office of Planning from the permitting department, revamping its financial accountability system, and oversaw planning efforts for the Anacostia Transit Station Area, Northeast Gateway, Shaw/Convention Center Area, NoMA and Georgia Avenue, along with completion of new zoning for waterfront districts and numerous large development projects.

Professional Activities

Ellen has been involved in several civic and professional organizations. She currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Washington office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and on the Housing Council of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. In addition, she co-chairs the Task Force on Public Policy and Regulatory Reform for the Washington effort of the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Workforce Housing Initiative. Ellen served on the boards of directors of the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (low-income housing finance organization) and DC Preservation League as well as on Board of Trustees of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, and she was active in the Citizens Planning Coalition. She was elected president of the National Capital Area Chapter, American Planning Association, and co-chair of the Coalition for a Living Downtown.

Publications, Presentations and Recognitions

Ellen has been recognized with an Outstanding Performance Award by the US Department of Transportation, a Chapter Service Award from the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association and a Fannie Mae Housing Fellowship.

For the Real Estate Review:

“Revitalizing Downtown DC”, Real Estate Review, forthcoming issue, 2008

For the Urban Land Institute:

• "Center Cities," Land Use in Transition, co-authored with Richard H. Bradley and Gayle L. Berens,
• "The Management and Organization of Ridesharing Programs," Transportation Research Board Special Report, co-authored with Richard Bradley, 1985

For the Transit Cooperative Research Program:

• Subcontractor to Project for Public Spaces for The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities, National Academy Press, l997

For the US Department of Transportation:

• Integration of Paratransit with Conventional Transit Systems, Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology Inc.
• Institutional Framework for Integrated Transportation Planning, Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.
• Transportation Planning and Impact Forecasting Tools, Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.
• Manual for Planning and Implementing Priority Treatments for High-Occupancy Vehicles, co-authored with Gary Hebert, Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.

For the American Public Transit Association: 

• "An Analysis of the US Department of Transportation's National Transportation Policy," 1975

For the World Congress on Transport Research for Social and Economic Progress:

• "A New Role of Transportation System Managers: Public Entrepreneurs," Proceedings, World Congress on Transport Research for Social and Economic Progress, 1980

Education

Harvard University, Department of City and Regional Planning, MCP, 1974
University of Maryland, BA (Phi Beta Kappa, with high honors), 1972

Life Beyond the Law

Ellen is an active volunteer in community efforts, and enjoys biking with her husband, reading, gardening and knitting. She especially enjoys visiting her two children at college.