D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1010
1010.1 Preservation of historic properties in Washington, DC begins with its historic plans. The L'Enfant Plan, drawn by Pierre L'Enfant in 1791, has served as an enduring symbol and armature for growth of the national capital, but the District's character has also been shaped by many other contributors over more than two centuries. Generations of civil engineers, architects, and artists contributed buildings, landscapes, public works and monuments that define the District's built form. In the 1870s, municipal planners devised rules that created a unified landscape on District streets, known as public parking, comprised of green front yards and small federal park reservations. In the 1890s, city planners extended L'Enfant's pattern of grid streets and avenues to fill the entirety of Washington, DC.
1010.2 After its first hundred years, the plan was reinvigorated according to City Beautiful principles in the McMillan Plan of 1901. Regulated building heights, first introduced by the District in 1894, further supported its enhancement and embellishment. The CFA and NCPC were created to oversee those improvements and to guide the continued development of federal buildings and parkland.
1010.2a Text box: Plan of the City of Washington
The L'Enfant and McMillan Plans established a design framework for the national capital that remains one of the world's great examples of urban planning. Collectively, these plans and related 19th century refinements are known as the Plan of the City of Washington.
1010.3 The District's Office of the Municipal Architect dates from this same era, and for the next half century it gave cohesion to the District through consistent design of local public buildings. With these many influences on its character, the Plan of the City of Washington is now protected as a historic landmark in the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register. Current planning reaffirms its historic significance and seeks to repair eroded sections of its fabric.
Preserve the defining features of the Plan of the City of Washington. Work jointly with federal agencies to maintain the public squares, circles, and major reservations as landscaped open spaces that provide a means to experience the legacy of the plan. Preserve the historic pattern of streets, associated minor reservations, and landscape features. Protect these historic rights-of-way from incompatible incursions and intrusions.
Protect the generous open space and reciprocal views of the L'Enfant Plan streets, avenues, and reservations. Protect the integrity and form of the L'Enfant system
of streets and reservations from inappropriate new buildings and physical incursions. Reinforce the spatial definition of the historic street plan by aligning main building facades along the street right-of-way lines and applying traditional rules for building projections. Support public and private efforts to provide and maintain street trees and continuous front yard landscaping to help frame axial views and reinforce the District’s historic landscape character.
Reinforce the historic importance and continuity of the streets as public thoroughfares through sensitive design of sidewalks and roadways. Avoid inappropriate traffic channelization, obtrusive signage and security features, and other physical intrusions that obscure the character of the historic street network. Work jointly with federal agencies to preserve the historic statuary and other civic embellishments of the Plan parks, and where appropriate, extend this tradition with new civic art and landscape enhancements of the public reservations.
Adhere to the design principles of the Plan of the City of Washington in any improvements or alterations to the street plan. Where intrusions and disruptions have damaged the character of the historic plan, promote restoration of the plan through coordinated redevelopment and improvement of the transportation network and public space. At the earliest opportunity, restore or rehabilitate historic streets and reservations that were inappropriately disrupted, or closed, to their original right-of-way configuration.
Preserve, rehabilitate, and enhance the character of the extensions of the original street plan and the pattern of reservations throughout the District created by the 1893 Permanent System of Highways.
Complete the documentation and designation of the Plan of the City of Washington as a National Historic Landmark.
Complete the documentation and evaluation of the significant features of the Plan of the City of Washington, including added minor streets. Survey the extensions of the original street plan and the pattern of reservations throughout the District, and evaluate elements of the 1893 Permanent System of Highways for their historic potential.
Ensure early consultation with the HPRB and other preservation officials whenever master plans or proposed redevelopment projects envision alterations to
features of the Plan of the City of Washington.
An appropriate level of consultation with the SHPO should occur before undertaking the design and construction of public space improvements in the Plan of the City of Washington.
See the Urban Design Element for additional policies and actions on the historic planning legacy of Washington, DC.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).