D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 319
319.1 When streets and highways are subtracted out, about one-third of the land area of the District is owned by the federal government. Most of this land is managed by the NPS, but a significant amount—more than 2,700 acres—consists of federal installations, offices, military bases, and similar uses. This acreage includes nearly 2,000 buildings, with more than 95 million square feet of floor space. Federal uses occupy a range of physical settings, from self-contained enclaves, such as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, to grand office buildings in the heart of Downtown Washington, DC. Federal uses operate in all quadrants of the District, often amid residential neighborhoods. Since they are largely exempt from zoning, coordination and communication are particularly important to ensuring land use compatibility.
319.2 Many of the District's federal uses have unique security requirements and operational needs. This became particularly apparent after September 11, 2001, as streets around the U.S. Capitol were permanently closed and major federal offices and monuments were retrofitted to improve security. Security needs are likely to create further changes to the District's landscape; the ongoing relocation of thousands of Homeland Security workers to the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital is just one example.
319.3 The size of the federal workforce in the District is not expected to grow substantially during the next decade, following more than 25 years of downsizing. The District supports continued adherence to a 1968 federal policy to maintain 60 percent of the region's federal employees within Washington, DC. At the same time, the federal government is in the process of transferring several tracts of land to the District, potentially reducing the land area for expansion. This suggests the need for even greater coordination on the planning and development front. Several successful joint planning efforts have recently been completed, including plans for the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Poplar Point, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Efforts like these must continue as the future of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Labor Department buildings, RFK Stadium, and other large federal sites is resolved.
319.4 Major federal activities in the District are shown on Map 3.8. Priorities for the use of these lands are expressed in the Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. The Federal Workplace Element of that Plan includes policies to reinforce the preeminence of the monumental core through future siting decisions, give preference to urban and transit-served sites when siting new workplaces, and emphasize the modernization of existing structures before building new structures. The Federal Elements include guidelines on the types of federal functions that are appropriate within the Capitol Complex, CEA, federal installations, and other areas within the District, as well as elsewhere in the
region.
319.5 Map 3.8: Federal Lands, 2017
319.6 Policy LU-3.5.1: District/Federal Joint Planning Coordinate with NCPC, NPS, GSA, AOC, and other federal agencies to address
planning issues involving federal lands, including the monumental core, the waterfront, and the park and open space network. Encourage the use of master plans, created through participatory planning processes, to guide the use of large federal sites.
Support expansion of the federal workforce and redevelopment of federal sites in a manner that is compatible with neighborhood revitalization, urban design, housing, economic development, environmental quality, and socioeconomic equity goals. Federal land uses should strive to maintain land use compatibility with adjacent neighborhoods.
Encourage the federal government to abide by local planning and zoning regulations to the maximum extent feasible. Ensure federal partners are aware of local priorities and goals, and when decisions require the input or actions of federal agencies, encourage swift decision-making so as not to delay achievement of local goals.
Strongly support the implementation of Federal Element policies for federal workplaces calling for parking guidelines that align with local guidelines, sustainable design, energy conservation, additional low- and moderate-income housing, and creation of job opportunities in underserved communities within the District.
Consistent with the Federal Elements, ensure that federal security measures do not impede the District’s commerce and vitality, excessively restrict or impede the use of public space or streets, or affect the health of the existing landscape. Additional street closures are to be avoided to the maximum extent possible.
Avoid locating and operating federal facilities that produce hazardous waste or increase the threat of accidental or terrorist-related release of hazardous materials in heavily populated or environmentally sensitive areas.
Actions relating to federal facility sites may be found in the Comprehensive Plan Area Elements.
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)).