§ 2–1002. National Capital Planning Commission created; composition; officers and employees; advisory and coordinating committees; duties.

(a)(1) The National Capital Planning Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission”) is created as the central federal planning agency for the federal government in the National Capital, and to preserve the important historical and natural features thereof, except with respect to the United States Capitol Buildings and Grounds as defined in §§ 10-503.11 and 10-503.26, and to any extension thereof or additions thereto, or to buildings and grounds under the care of the Architect of the Capitol.

(2) The Mayor of the District of Columbia (hereinafter referred to as the “Mayor”) shall be the central planning agency for the government of the District of Columbia (hereinafter referred to as the “District”) in the National Capital. The Mayor shall be responsible for coordinating the planning activities of the District government and for preparing and implementing the District elements of the comprehensive plan for the National Capital, which may include land use elements, urban renewal and redevelopment elements, a multi-year program of public works for the District, and physical, social, economic, transportation, and population elements. The Mayor’s planning responsibility shall not extend to federal or international projects and developments in the District, as determined by the Commission, or to the United States Capitol Buildings and Grounds as defined in §§ 10-503.11 and 10-503.26, or to any extension thereof or additions thereto, or to buildings and grounds under the care of the Architect of the Capitol. In carrying out his responsibility under this section, the Mayor shall establish procedures for citizen participation in the planning process, and for appropriate meaningful consultation with any state or local government or planning agency in the National Capital region affected by any aspect of a comprehensive plan (including amendments thereto) affecting or relating to the District.

(3) The Mayor shall submit each District element of the comprehensive plan, and any amendment thereto, to the Council for revision or modification, and adoption, by act, following public hearings. Following adoption and prior to implementation, the Council shall submit each such element or amendment to the Commission for review and comment with regard to the impact of such element or amendment on the interests or functions of the federal establishment in the National Capital.

(4)(A) The Commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of such a District element of the comprehensive plan, or amendment thereto, from the Council, certify to the Council whether such element or amendment has a negative impact on the interests or functions of the federal establishment in the National Capital. If within such 60 days the Commission takes no action with respect to such element or amendment, such element or amendment shall be deemed to have no such negative impact, and such element or amendment shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan for the National Capital and shall be implemented.

(B) If the Commission finds, within such 60 days, such negative impact, it shall certify its findings and recommendations with respect to such negative impact to the Council. Upon receipt of the Commission’s findings and recommendations, the Council may: (i) Reject such findings and recommendations and resubmit such element or amendment, in a modified form, to the Commission for reconsideration; or (ii) accept such findings and recommendations and modify such element or amendment accordingly. If the Council accepts such findings and recommendations and modifies such element or amendment under clause (ii) of this subparagraph, the Council shall submit such element or amendment to the Commission for it to determine whether such modification has been made in accordance with the Commission’s findings and recommendations. If, within 30 days after receipt of the modified element or amendment, the Commission takes no action with respect to such element or amendment, it shall be deemed to have been modified in accordance with such findings or recommendations, and shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan for the National Capital and shall be implemented. If within such 30 days, the Commission again determines such element or amendment to have a negative impact on the functions or interests of the federal establishment in the National Capital such element or amendment shall not be implemented.

(C) If the Council rejects the findings and recommendations of the Commission and resubmits a modified element or amendment to it under clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the Commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of such modified element or amendment from the Council, determine whether such modified element or amendment has a negative impact on the interests or functions of the federal establishment within the National Capital. If the Commission finds such negative impact it shall certify its findings (in sufficient detail that the Council can understand the basis of the objection of the Commission) and recommendations to the Council, and such element or amendment shall not be implemented. If the Commission takes no action with respect to such modified element or amendment within such 60 days, such modified element or amendment shall be deemed to have no such negative impact and shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan and it shall be implemented. Any element or amendment which the Commission has determined to have a negative impact on the federal establishment in the National Capital, and which is submitted again in a modified form not less than 1 year from the day it was last rejected by the Commission shall be deemed to be a new element or amendment for purposes of the review procedure specified in this section.

(D) The Commission and the Mayor shall jointly publish, from time to time as appropriate, a comprehensive plan for the National Capital, consisting of the elements of the comprehensive plan for the federal activities in the National Capital developed by the Commission, and the District elements developed by the Mayor and the Council in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(E) The Council may grant, upon request made to it by the Commission, an extension of any time limitation contained in this section.

(F) The Commission and the Mayor shall jointly establish procedures for appropriate meaningful continuing consultation throughout the planning process for the National Capital.

(b) The National Capital Planning Commission shall be composed of: (1) Ex officio, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, the Mayor, the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Chairmen of the Committees on the District of Columbia of the Senate and the House of Representatives, or such alternates as each such person may from time to time designate to serve in his stead, and in addition; (2) five citizens with experience in city or regional planning, 3 of whom shall be appointed by the President and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor. The citizen members appointed by the Mayor shall be bona fide residents of the District of Columbia and of the 3 appointed by the President at least 1 shall be a bona fide resident of Virginia and at least 1 shall be a bona fide resident of Maryland. The terms of office of members appointed by the President shall be for 6 years, except that of the members first appointed, the President shall designate 1 to serve 2 years and 1 to serve 4 years. Members appointed by the Mayor shall serve for 4 years. The members first appointed under this section shall assume their office on January 2, 1975. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom he shall succeed. The citizen members shall each receive compensation at the rate of $100 for each day such member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commission in addition to reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of such duties.

(c) The President shall designate the Chairman of the Commission and the Commission may elect from among its members such other officers as it deems desirable. The Commission is authorized to employ a Director, an Executive Officer, and such other technical and administrative personnel as it may deem necessary. Further, without regard to § 2-225.05 [repealed], the civil service and classification laws, or § 3109 of Title 5, United States Code, the Commission may employ, by contract or otherwise, the temporary or intermittent (not in excess of 1 year) services of city planners, architects, engineers, appraisers, and other experts or organizations thereof, as may be necessary to carry out its functions, and in any such case the rate of compensation shall be fixed by the Commission so as not to exceed the rate usual for similar services.

(d) The Commission may establish, with the consent of each agency concerned as to its representation, such advisory and coordinating committees composed of representatives of such agencies of the federal and District of Columbia governments as may be necessary or helpful to obtain the maximum amount of cooperation and correlation of effort among the various agencies of such governments, in order that the National Capital may be developed in accordance with the comprehensive plan. As it may deem appropriate, the Commission may invite representatives of the planning and developmental agencies of the environs to participate in the work of such committees.

(e) As hereinafter more specifically described in §§ 2-1003 to 2-1006, it shall be among the principal duties of the Commission to:

(1) Prepare, adopt, and amend a comprehensive plan for the federal activities in the National Capital and make related recommendations to the appropriate developmental agencies;

(2) Serve as the central planning agency for the federal government within the National Capital region, and in such capacity to review their development programs in order to advise as to consistency with the comprehensive plan; and

(3) Be the representative of the federal and District governments for collaboration with the Regional Planning Council, as hereinafter provided.

(June 6, 1924, 43 Stat. 463, ch. 270, § 2; July 10, 1952, 66 Stat. 782, ch. 949, § 1; Sept. 25, 1962, 76 Stat. 575, Pub. L. 87-683; Dec. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 779, Pub. L. 93-198, title II, § 203(a), (b).)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 1-2002.

1973 Ed., § 1-1002.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 1-306.01 and § 2-1225.31.

Cross References

National capital comprehensive plan, District and land use elements, see §§ 1-306.01 and 1-306.02.

Small area action plans, mayor authorized to prepare, see § 1-306.03.

Transfer of Functions

All functions of the Commissioner of Public Buildings and of the Commissioner of Public Roads were transferred to the Administrator of General Services, and the Public Roads Administration, to be known as the Bureau of Public Roads, was transferred to the General Services Administration by § 103(a) of the Act of June 30, 1949, 63 Stat. 380. The office of the Commissioner of Public Buildings was abolished by § 103(b) of that Act. The Bureau of Public Roads was transferred to the Department of Commerce to be administered by the Commissioner of Public Roads subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of Commerce under the provisions of 1949 Reorganization Plan No. 7, § 1, 14 F.R. 5228, 63 Stat. 1070. The Commissioner of Public Roads was redesignated the Federal Highway Administrator by the Act of August 3, 1956, 70 Stat. 990, ch. 937, § 2. Section 3(f)(4) of the Department of Transportation Act provided for the transfer of the office of Federal Highway Administrator to and continuation within the Department of Transportation under the title of Director of Public Roads. Section 3(e) of the same Act established within the Department of Transportation a Federal Highway Administration, headed by an Administrator. A Public Buildings Service, under the direction of a Commissioner, was established December 11, 1949, by the Administrator of General Services, to supersede the abolished Public Buildings Administration. All functions of all other officers of the Department of the Interior and all functions of all agencies and employees of such Department were, with 2 exceptions, transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorganization Plan No. 3, §§ 1 and 2, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262.

References in Text

The “civil service and classification laws”, referred to in subsection (c) of this section, are set forth in Title 5, United States Code.

Section 2-225.05, referred to in subsection (c), was repealed by D.C. Law 11-259, § 405, 44 DCR 1423, effective April 12, 1997.

Editor's Notes

Regional Planning Council abolished: The Regional Planning Council, referred to in paragraph (3) of subsection (e), was abolished by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1966, 31 F.R. 11857.

Termination of advisory committees: Section 14 of the Act of October 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 776, Pub. L. 92-463, provided that advisory committees in existence on January 5, 1973, were to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period following January 5, 1973, unless, in the case of a committee established by the President or an officer of the federal government, such committee was renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a committee established by the Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by law. Advisory committees established after January 5, 1973, were to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of their establishment, unless, in the case of a committee established by the President or an officer of the federal government, such committee was renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a committee established by the Congress its duration is otherwise provided by law.

Assignment of planning responsibilities under Pub. L. 93-198: Commissioner’s Order No. 74-146, dated June 29, 1974 delegated the responsibility to develop local elements of the comprehensive plan and to coordinate the planning activities of the District of Columbia to the Director of the Office of Planning and Management, directed the designation of planning liaison officers in all departments and agencies of the District government, provided for the appointment of and staff support for a citizens’ panel to advise the Director of Planning and Management in the preparation of the comprehensive plan, and designated the Director of Planning and Management as the alternate for the Mayor-Commissioner on the National Capital Planning Commission. These planning responsibilities were subsequently assigned to the Municipal Planning Office by Organization Order No. 50. The Municipal Planning Office was abolished by Mayor’s Order No. 79-8, dated January 2, 1979, and the duties, functions, and resources of the Municipal Planning Office were transferred to the Office of Planning and Development by Mayor’s Order No. 79-9, dated January 2, 1979.

Comprehensive plan goals and policies: Act of March 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-134, established the goals and policies of the District of Columbia as the first District element of the comprehensive plan for the National Capital.

Section 4 of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76) repealed the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Goals and Policies Act of 1978 (D.C. Law 2-134).

District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan of 1984: Section 3 of D.C. Law 5-76 sets forth titles I through X adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia entitled “The District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan for 1984,” and was reprinted in its entirety in 31 DCR 1049 and is contained in the 10 DCMR compilation. On April 5, 1984, the National Capital Planning Commission adopted a resolution finding that “the District elements adopted and amended by the Council by D.C. Act 5-112 do not have a negative impact on the interests or functions of the Federal Establishment in the National Capital.”

Section 2 of D.C. Law 8-129, as amended by § 201 of D.C. Law 8-132, amended Titles I through VIII, X and XI, and added Title XII to the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan of 1984, adopted by D.C. Law 5-76. D.C. Law 8-129 was reprinted in its entirety in 37 DCR 55. Amended Titles I through VII, X, XI, and new Title XII will be codified at Title 10 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. D.C. Law 8-132 is found at 38 DCR 2213.

Repeal of § 2 of D.C. Law 5-187: Section 3(a) of D.C. Law 12-275 provided that § 2 of D.C. Law 5-187 is repealed effective April 27, 1999. Section 2 of D.C. Law 5-187 had added a new title XI to the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan of 1984 adopted by D.C. Law 5-76.

Definitions applicable: The definitions contained in § 1-201.03 apply to terms appearing in this section.

Concurrence with Preservation and Historic Features Element of Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: Section 6 of D.C. Law 5-76 provided that the Council of the District of Columbia concurs with the Preservation and Historic Features Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital adopted by the National Capital Planning Commission to the extent the Preservation and Historic Features Element is consistent with titles I and VIII of the act.

Review of District elements by National Capital Planning Commission: Section 8(b) of D.C. Law 5-76, § 6(b) of D.C. Law 5-187, and § 4(b) of D.C. Law 8-129, provided that no District element of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital shall take effect until it has been reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission as provided in subsection (a) of this section and § 1-244(a) [§ 1-204.23, 2001 Ed.].

Conformance of federal plan to amendment of District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan: Section 5 of D.C. Law 5-187 provided that the Council concurs in the adoption of an amendment to conform the federal Preservation and Historic Features Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital to the amendment made to § 808 of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan by § 3(c) of the act, which directed certain additions to the network of special streets and places.

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.