District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act
This bill, the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act, would change how the District of Columbia’s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) is staffed. It requires the BZA to be made up solely of five members appointed by the Mayor of DC with the advice and consent of the DC Council, and all members must be District residents. The bill preserves a specific exception for cases involving foreign missions (chanceries): in those situations, certain federal officials would serve on the Board instead of a DC-appointed member, to be designated by the President. The act also amends federal law to reflect these changes for matters involving foreign missions. The amendments would take effect 90 days after enactment. In short, the bill moves the BZA to exclusive local (DC) appointment, except for foreign-mission chancery cases where federal officials participate, aligning BZA composition with DC home rule while preserving federal involvement in international chancery matters.
Key Points
- 1The BZA would be composed of 5 DC-appointed members, to be chosen by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the DC Council, and each member must be a DC resident.
- 2The current (pre-bill) BZA composition would be replaced so that, generally, all members are DC-appointed rather than including non-DC appointees.
- 3For BZA functions involving foreign missions (locations, expansions, or replacements of chancery buildings), federal officials would join the Board in place of one DC-appointed member: the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of General Services, or the Director of the National Park Service (designated by the President) would serve as a Board member in lieu of one DC-appointed member; and the Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission would also serve as a member in lieu of another DC-appointed member.
- 4The changes are implemented through revisions to the DC code (and related federal authorities) and become effective 90 days after enactment.
- 5The bill is titled to reflect increased DC home-rule authority over the BZA, with a specific, limited federal role retained for foreign-mission chancery matters.