Introduction of the District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act. This bill would give the District of Columbia the authority to appoint all members of the D.C. Zoning Commission (Commission). Currently, the membership of the Commission consists of two federal officials the (the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) and the Director of the National Park Service (NPS)) and three members appointed by the D.C. mayor, subject to D.C. Council approval. Federal officials are members of the Commission even though the Commission has no authority over federal property.
Land use is a quintessential local matter. Despite the D.C. Home Rule Act, which gave D.C. authority over local matters, 40 percent of the members of the Commission are federal officials, who are not accountable to the more than 700,000 D.C. residents. The federal government would lose nothing under this bill because the federal government's land-use interests in the Nation's capital are protected by federal law and federal agencies.
The Commission creates the zoning maps and regulations, which must ``not be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan for the national capital.'' The mayor is responsible for the local elements of the comprehensive plan, subject to Council approval. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is the central planning agency for the federal government in D.C. and approves federal projects in D.C., is responsible for the federal elements of the comprehensive plan. This bill would not alter the comprehensive plan process or the authority of NCPC and the Commission.
This bill would immediately remove the AOC and the NPS Director from the Commission, and the Commission would, at least initially, consist solely of three mayoral appointees. D.C. would have the authority to reconstitute the membership of the Commission through local legislation.
This bill is an important step to increase D.C. home rule. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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