211.1 When the District received limited Home Rule in 1973, it incurred a variety of cost burdens, including the responsibility for providing many services that are typically provided by states. Revenue restrictions also were imposed, including the inability to impose a "commuter tax" on income earned in the city by non-residents. Moreover, a large amount of land in the city is owned by the federal government and therefore not subject to property tax. Indeed, 61 percent of all property in the District is nontaxable, and more than two-thirds of the income earned in the District cannot be locally taxed. These burdens and restrictions are estimated to cost the District well over $1 billion per year.

211.2 A well-publicized target of adding 100,000 residents to the city's population, set in 2003 as a way to boost the number of taxpaying residents, has been largely successful. Economic and population growth has dramatically expanded our tax revenues, and fiscal discipline has improved the District's credit rating and funded a $1.3 billion reserve. Growth and an expanded tax base have enabled the District to direct additional resources toward vulnerable populations in need of affordable housing, workforce development, and human services. The District has also worked to increase the income of current residents, which can in turn lift families out of poverty, generate tax revenues, and reduce social-service costs. A key component of improving the city's fiscal health as well as the economic prosperity of its residents, is to increase the number of employed residents and thus the economic and tax base of the city.

211.3 Fortunately, economic growth in the city has helped improve the District's fiscal standing. In the 1990s, the District was on the brink of bankruptcy. The situation has improved markedly, as a result of actions taken by the Government of the District of Columbia. Despite the optimistic forecasts of the Comprehensive Plan, there is no guarantee that this good fortune will last. Prudent action and fiscal responsibility are needed to avoid problems should future downturns take place.

211.4 The District's fiscal situation will continue to influence land-use and economic development choices. It is currently driving the redevelopment of large former federal sites with tax-generating uses, creation of new retail centers that reduce the "leakage" of sales-tax dollars to the suburbs, and mixed-use development downtown and elsewhere. Such efforts mitigate fiscal challenges, but do not eliminate them. The most effective strategies will combine revenue-raising strategies like population and job growth with strategies investing in people - like breaking the cycle of poverty in District neighborhoods.

211.5 A key consideration is that the city has benefitted from increasing revenues as a result of growth, while not experiencing increasing costs to the same degree. Between 2006 and 2016, the city had the ability to grow into its under-utilized

infrastructure, such as schools, transit and electrical networks, that had largely been developed and paid for prior to the 1980s. The same cannot necessarily be counted on going forward. Already, significant reinvestment was required to resolve long-deferred maintenance and create high-value assets such as DC Public Schools and DC Public Libraries. These investments have left the District with a relatively high debt-per-capita level. Moving forward, the District must creatively address infrastructure financing to maintain and build capacity for anticipated future growth.

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 Framework Amendment Act of 2019, effective August 27, 2020 (D.C. Law 23-127; 67 DCR 001360 (February 14, 2020)).