D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1017
1017.1 While preservation planning is a well-established function in Washington, DC, more work needs to be done to effectively integrate the District’s preservation and resilience programs. This should include greater consideration of how natural hazards and the effects of climate change threaten the District’s ability to preserve its historic and culturally significant properties using traditional means.
1017.2 Strong resilience policies will enable the District to go beyond ordinary emergency preparedness plans. They can also help owners of historic properties to plan for and either avoid or reduce major property damage from flooding and other hazards. Such policies and implementation tools need to be in place before an unexpected hazard event or disaster forces an urgent need for widespread repair and restoration.
1017.3 The following policies and actions are intended to increase resilience and adaptive capacity in ways that can help ensure the long-term preservation of historic resources, despite challenging future conditions. They are also meant to enhance coordination between the SHPO and the District’s State hazard mitigation officer in the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) on the development and administration of flexible, integrated resilience programs that work together before and after disaster strikes.
Develop resilient design principles for historic and cultural resources, with guidance on resilience planning and project implementation. Encourage owners of at-risk historic properties, both public and private, to assess their vulnerability to current and projected hazards, and to implement reasonable adaptation measures.
Integrate consideration of historic and cultural resources into hazard mitigation and climate adaptation planning. Develop resilience strategies and implement related initiatives through a coordinated effort involving the SHPO and the District’s Hazard Mitigation Officer. Address both preventive improvements for historic properties and post-disaster preservation procedures.
Involve both the SHPO and the District’s Hazard Mitigation Officer in preparing and implementing flexible, coordinated policies that work effectively to enable swift protection and emergency repair of cultural and historic resources during disaster recovery.
Complete an inventory of historic and culturally significant sites threatened by climate change. Give priority to these at-risk sites in developing hazard mitigation plans. Coordinate with key stakeholders to maximize use of available funding for mitigation and disaster response projects.
Incorporate a strategy for historic and cultural resources into the District Hazard Mitigation Plan. Identify key hazard areas, assess the vulnerability of historic properties to disasters and climate change, propose adaptation alternatives for resources at risk, and identify capability limitations that need to be addressed.
Develop guidelines to enable expeditious stabilization, repair, and rehabilitation of historic properties following disaster events or hazard impacts. Include procedures to streamline permitting, such as expedited design review and reduced fees for post-disaster repairs, while adhering to the applicable requirements under the District’s historic preservation law.
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)).