USC Subchapter III

USC Subchapter III
in effect

40 U.S.C. § 8721 Comprehensive plan for the National Capital

(a) Preparation and Adoption by Commission.—The National Capital Planning Commission shall prepare and adopt a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated plan for the National Capital. The plan shall include the Commission’s recommendations or proposals for federal developments or projects in the environs and District elements of the comprehensive plan, or amendments to the elements, adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia and with respect to which the Commission has not determined a negative impact exists. Those elements or amendments shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan without change. The Commission may include in its plan any part of a plan adopted by any planning agency in the environs and may make recommendations of collateral interest to the agencies. The Commission may adopt any part of an element. The Commission shall review and may amend or extend the plan so that its recommendations may be kept up to date. (b) Review by District of Columbia.—The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall submit each District element of the comprehensive plan, and any amendment, 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 element or amendment to the Commission for review and comment with regard to the impact of the element or amendment on the interests or functions of the federal establishment in the National Capital. (c) Commission Response to Council Action.—(1) Period of review.—Within 60 days after receiving an element or amendment from the Council, the Commission shall certify to the Council whether the element or amendment has a negative impact on the interests or functions of the federal establishment in the National Capital. (2) No negative impact.—If the Commission takes no action in the 60-day period, the element or amendment is deemed to have no negative impact and shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan for the National Capital and implemented. (3) Negative impact.—(A) Certification to council.—If the Commission finds a negative impact, it shall certify its findings and recommendations to the Council. (B) Response of council.—On receipt of the Commission’s findings and recommendations, the Council may—(i) accept the findings and recommendations and modify the element or amendment accordingly; or (ii) reject the findings and recommendations and resubmit a modified form of the element or amendment to the Commission for reconsideration. (C) Findings and recommendations accepted.—If the Council accepts the findings and recommendations and modifies the element or amendment, the Council shall submit the element or amendment to the Commission for the Commission to determine whether the modification has been made in accordance with the Commission’s findings and recommendations. If the Commission does not act on the modified element or amendment within 30 days after receiving it, the element or amendment is deemed to have been modified in accordance with the findings and recommendations and shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan for the National Capital and implemented. If within the 30-day period the Commission again determines the element or amendment has a negative impact on the functions or interests of the federal establishment in the National Capital, the element or amendment shall not be implemented. (D) Findings and recommendations rejected.—If the Council rejects the findings and recommendations and resubmits a modified element or amendment, the Commission, within 60 days after receiving it, shall decide whether the modified element or amendment has a negative impact on the interests or functions of the federal establishment within the National Capital. If the Commission does not act within the 60-day period, the modified element or amendment is deemed to have no negative impact and shall be incorporated into the comprehensive plan and implemented. If the Commission finds a 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 the element or amendment shall not be implemented. (d) Resubmission Deemed New Element or Amendment.—Any element or amendment which the Commission has determined has a negative impact on the federal establishment in the National Capital which is submitted again in a modified form not less than one year from the day it was last rejected by the Commission is deemed to be a new element or amendment for purposes of the review procedure specified in this section. (e) Review, Hearings, and Citizen Advisory Councils.—(1) Review.—Before the comprehensive plan, any element of the plan, or any revision is adopted, the Commission shall present the plan, element, or revision to the appropriate federal or District of Columbia authorities for comment and recommendations. The Commission may present the proposed revisions annually in a consolidated form. Recommendations by federal and District of Columbia authorities are not binding on the Commission, but the Commission shall give careful consideration to any views and recommendations submitted prior to final adoption. (2) Hearings and citizen advisory councils.—The Commission—(A) may provide periodic opportunity for review and comments by nongovernmental agencies or groups through public hearings, meetings, or conferences, exhibitions, and publication of its plans; and (B) in consultation with the Council, may encourage the formation of citizen advisory councils. (f) Extension of Time Limitations.—On request of the Commission, the Council may grant an extension of any time limitation contained in this section. (g) Publishing Comprehensive Plan.—As appropriate, the Commission and the Mayor jointly shall publish 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 this section. (h) Procedures for Consultation.—(1) Commission and mayor.—The Commission and the Mayor jointly shall establish procedures for appropriate meaningful continuing consultation throughout the planning process for the National Capital. (2) Government agencies.—In order that the National Capital may be developed in accordance with the comprehensive plan, the Commission, with the consent of each agency concerned as to its representation, may establish advisory and coordinating committees composed of representatives of 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. As it considers appropriate, the Commission may invite representatives of the planning and developmental agencies of the environs to participate in the work of the committees.

40 U.S.C. § 8722 Proposed federal and district developments and projects

(a) Agencies To Use Commission as Central Planning Agency.—Agencies of the Federal Government responsible for public developments and projects shall cooperate and correlate their efforts by using the National Capital Planning Commission as the central planning agency for federal activities in the National Capital region. To aid the Commission in carrying out this function, federal and District of Columbia governmental agencies on request of the Commission shall furnish plans, data, and records the Commission requires. The Commission on request shall furnish related plans, data, and records to federal and District of Columbia governmental agencies. (b) Consultation Between Agencies and Commission.—(1) Before construction plans prepared.—To ensure the comprehensive planning and orderly development of the National Capital, a federal or District of Columbia agency, before preparing construction plans the agency originates for proposed developments and projects or before making a commitment to acquire land, to be paid for at least in part from federal or District amounts, shall advise and consult with the Commission as the agency prepares plans and programs in preliminary and successive stages that affect the plan and development of the National Capital. After receiving the plans, maps, and data, the Commission promptly shall make a preliminary report and recommendations to the agency. If the agency, after considering the report and recommendations of the Commission, does not agree, it shall advise the Commission and provide the reasons why it does not agree. The Commission then shall submit a final report. After consultation and suitable consideration of the views of the Commission, the agency may proceed to take action in accordance with its legal responsibilities and authority. (2) Exceptions.—(A) In general.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to projects within the Capitol grounds or to structures erected by the Department of Defense during wartime or national emergency within existing military, naval, or Air Force reservations, except that the appropriate defense agency shall consult with the Commission as to any developments which materially affect traffic or require coordinated planning of the surrounding area. (B) Advance decisions of commission.—The Commission shall determine in advance the type or kinds of plans, developments, projects, improvements, or acquisitions which do not need to be submitted for review by the Commission as to conformity with its plans. (c) Additional Procedure for Developments and Projects Within Environs.—(1) Submission to commission.—Within the environs, general plans showing the location, character, and extent of, and intensity of use for, proposed federal and District developments and projects involving the acquisition of land shall be submitted to the Commission for report and recommendations before a final commitment to the acquisition is made, unless the matter specifically has been approved by law. (2) Commission action.—Before acting on any general plan, the Commission shall advise and consult with the appropriate planning agency having jurisdiction over the affected part of the environs. When the Commission decides that proposed developments or projects submitted to the Commission under subsection (b) involve a major change in the character or intensity of an existing use in the environs, the Commission shall advise and consult with the planning agency. The report and recommendations shall be submitted within 60 days and shall be accompanied by any reports or recommendations of the planning agency. (3) Working with state or local authority or agency.—In carrying out its planning functions with respect to federal developments or projects in the environs, the Commission may work with, and make agreements with, any state or local authority or planning agency as the Commission considers necessary to have a plan or proposal adopted and carried out. (d) Approval of Federal Public Buildings.—The provisions of the Act of June 20, 1938 (ch. 534, 52 Stat. 797) shall not apply to federal public buildings. In order to ensure the orderly development of the National Capital, the location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of federal public buildings in the District of Columbia and the provision for open space in and around federal public buildings in the District of Columbia are subject to the approval of the Commission. (e) Approval of District Government Buildings in Central Area.—Subsection (d) is extended to include public buildings erected by any agency of the Government of the District of Columbia in the central area of the District (as defined by concurrent action of the Commission and the Council of the District of Columbia), except that the Commission shall transmit its approval or disapproval within 30 days after the day the proposal was submitted to the Commission.

40 U.S.C. § 8723 Capital improvements

(a) Six-Year Program of Public Works Projects.—The National Capital Planning Commission shall recommend a six-year program of public works projects for the Federal Government which the Commission shall review annually with the agencies concerned. Each federal agency shall submit to the Commission in the first quarter of each fiscal year a copy of its advance program of capital improvements within the National Capital and its environs. (b) Submission of Multiyear Capital Improvement Plan.—By February 1 of each year, the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall submit to the Commission a copy of the multiyear capital improvements plan for the District of Columbia that the Mayor develops under section 444 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93–198, 87 Stat. 800). The Commission has 30 days in which to comment on the plan but may not change or disapprove of the plan.

40 U.S.C. § 8724 Zoning regulations and maps

(a) Amendments of Zoning Regulations and Maps.—The National Capital Planning Commission may make a report and recommendation to the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia, as provided in section 5 of the Act of June 20, 1938 (ch. 534, 52 Stat. 798), on the relation, conformity, or consistency of proposed amendments of the zoning regulations and maps with the comprehensive plan for the National Capital. The Planning Commission may also submit to the Zoning Commission proposed amendments or general revisions to the zoning regulations or the zoning map for the District of Columbia. (b) Additional Report by Planning Commission.—When requested by an authorized representative of the Planning Commission, the Zoning Commission may recess for a reasonable period of time any public hearing it is holding to consider a proposed amendment to the zoning regulations or map so that the Planning Commission may have an opportunity to present to the Zoning Commission an additional report on the proposed amendment. (c) Zoning Committee of National Capital Planning Commission.—(1) Establishment and composition.—There is a Zoning Committee of the National Capital Planning Commission. The Committee consists of at least three members of the Planning Commission the Planning Commission designates for that purpose. The number of members serving on the Committee may vary. (2) Duties.—The Committee shall carry out the functions vested in the Planning Commission under this section and section 8725 of this title—(A) to the extent the Planning Commission decides; and (B) when requested by the Zoning Commission and approved by the Planning Commission.

40 U.S.C. § 8725 Recommendations on platting and subdividing land

(a) By Council of the District of Columbia.—The Council of the District of Columbia shall submit any proposed change in, or addition to, the regulations or general orders regulating the platting and subdividing of lands and grounds in the District of Columbia to the National Capital Planning Commission for report and recommendation before the Council adopts the change or addition. The Council shall advise the Commission when it does not agree with the recommendations of the Commission and shall give the reasons why it disagrees. The Commission then shall submit a final report within 30 days. After considering the final report, the Council may act in accordance with its legal responsibilities and authority. (b) By Planning Commission.—The Commission shall submit to the Council any proposed change in, or amendment to, the general orders that the Commission considers appropriate. The Council shall treat the amendments proposed in the same manner as other proposed amendments.

40 U.S.C. § 8726 Authorization of appropriations

Amounts necessary to carry out this subchapter may be appropriated from money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated and from any appropriate appropriation law, except the annual District of Columbia Appropriation Act.

Starting a business? Corpus forms LLCs in all 50 states and DC.