District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act
This bill, District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act (H.R. 4088), would change the composition of the District of Columbia Zoning Commission so that all of its members are appointed by the Government of the District of Columbia (i.e., by the Mayor and, by extension, the DC Council). It removes federal appointees (specifically the Architect of the Capitol and the Director of the National Park Service) from the Zoning Commission and eliminates references to appointments by the Mayor in certain sections. The bill also makes a conforming amendment to the State Department Basic Authorities Act to specify which federal officials should serve on the Board of Zoning Adjustment in matters relating to foreign missions, preserving a role for certain federal offices in those foreign-missions proceedings. Overall, the bill moves DC zoning governance further toward home rule and local control, while maintaining some federal involvement in foreign-mission issues through the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Key Points
- 1The Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia would be composed solely of members appointed by the Government of the District of Columbia (local control), removing federal appointment of Commission members.
- 2The bill strikes the references to federal offices (the Architect of the Capitol and the Director of the National Park Service) as members of the Zoning Commission.
- 3The second sentence of subsection (a) and subsections (b) and (c) that previously referenced appointments by the Mayor would be amended to remove that language, further consolidating appointment authority with DC local government.
- 4A conforming amendment to the State Department Basic Authorities Act (Section 206(i)) ensures that, when the Board of Zoning Adjustment handles matters for foreign missions, certain federal officials (Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior, Administrator of General Services, Director of the National Park Service or their designated alternates) serve on the Board in place of the Zoning Commission representative; the National Capital Planning Commission’s representative would be the Executive Director of that Commission.
- 5The bill is titled to reflect a shift toward local (DC) home rule for zoning decisions, aligning DC zoning governance with the broader District control established by the DC Home Rule framework.