11020.1 A waterfront setback to any building or structure shall be provided in accordance with the following provisions:

1. (a) The waterfront setback shall be a minimum of seventy-five feet (75 ft.) in depth, except as noted in individual zones;
2. (b) The waterfront setback shall be measured inland from the bulkhead or the mean high water level, whichever results in the larger waterfront setback;
3. (c) Parking spaces, passenger drop-off areas, access to parking spaces, and access to loading areas shall not be located within the required waterfront setback area;
4. (d) The waterfront setback shall apply to all buildings, structures, parking spaces, loading areas, and passenger drop-off areas, other than:
5. (1) Water-taxi ticketing/information booth;
6. (2) Structures directly associated with a publicly accessible wharf, dock, or pier; or
7. (3) Public nature education center located on Kingman Island;
8. (e) Twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of the required waterfront setback area, for the full width of the lot along the water, shall be reserved for a public pedestrian and bicycle trail along the waterfront. The property owner shall align the trail reservation area with the reservation on adjacent properties;
9. (f) The Board of Zoning Adjustment may approve as a special exception a waterfront setback of less than amount required in Subtitle C § 1101.1(a), pursuant to the general special exception criteria of Subtitle X and the criteria of Subtitle C § 1102.1(g); and
10. (g) The following criteria shall be considered by the Board of Zoning Adjustment when evaluating an application for a waterfront setback less than otherwise required and when evaluating a special exception use in the MU-11 zone:
11. (1) The buildings, structures, and uses will enhance the visual and public recreational opportunities offered along the waterfront;
12. (2) Buildings, structures, and uses on land will be located and designed to minimize adverse impacts on the river and riverbank areas;

(3) Buildings, structures, and uses on, under, or over water will be located and designed to minimize adverse impacts on the river and riverbank areas;

(4) All structures and buildings will be located so as to not likely become objectionable to surrounding and nearby property because of noise, traffic, or parking, and so as not to limit public access along or to the waterfront, other than directly in front of the principal building or structure of a boathouse, marina, yacht club, or other water-dependent use;

(5) Impervious surfaces will be minimized, and buildings and all other impervious surfaces will be designed and sited to prevent surface storm water run-off directly into the river;

(6) Accessory or non-accessory parking spaces, including the location of entrances and exits and any screening or fences, will be designed to minimize visual or physical impacts on adjacent parkland and the waterfront; and

(7) Emergency access will be provided to any buildings, structures, or other space devoted to active public use.

11020.2 Where the L'Enfant street grid exists in the vicinity of a waterfront lot, no buildings or structures may be built within the area defined by the street right-of-way lines extended to the water.

11020.3 Where no L'Enfant street grid exists in the vicinity of a waterfront lot, no buildings or structures may be built to a length, as measured parallel to the water, of greater than three-hundred feet (300 ft.).

1102.4 The following uses shall be permitted as a special exception within a one hundred (100)-year floodplain, if approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment under Subtitle X, Chapter 9 and subject to the conditions in Subtitle C § 1102.5:

(a) Residential uses with only one (1) or two (2) dwelling units;

(b) Animal sales, care, and boarding;

(c) Community-based institutional facilities;

(d) Daytime care;

(e) Education;

(f) Emergency shelter;

(g) Hospital; and

(h) Lodging.

1102.5 The following conditions shall apply to any application for a special exception use under Subtitle C § 1102.4:

(a) The application shall include an analysis that provides the following:

(1) A site plan showing the one hundred (100)-year floodplain boundaries and base flood elevations for the property that is certified by a registered professional engineer, architect, landscape architect, or other qualified person;

(2) A description of how the project has been designed to meet applicable flood resistant design and construction standards that is certified by a registered professional engineer, architect, landscape architect, or other qualified person;

(3) An evacuation plan that describes the manner in which the property would be safely evacuated before or during the course of a one hundred (100)-year flood event; and

(4) A description of how the proposed use would not result in any adverse impacts to the health or safety for the project's occupants or users due to the proposed use's location in the floodplain; and

(b) The Office of Zoning shall refer the application to the following agencies for their review and recommendation if filed to the case record within the forty (40)-day period established by Subtitle A § 211:

(1) District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE);

(2) District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department (FEMS);

(3) Metropolitan Police Department (MPD); and

(4) The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA).

1102.6 Parking space requirements for the waterfront areas are as follows:

(a) Parking spaces, passenger drop-off areas, access to parking spaces, and access to loading areas, whether required by zoning or not, shall not be located within the waterfront setback area required in Subtitle C § 1102.1 (a); and

(b) Where parking is required, parking spaces for boathouses, marinas, yacht clubs, or other recreational uses to be located elsewhere than on the same lot or part of the lot on which the principal use is located and not located in accordance with Subtitle C § 701.8(b), may be permitted as a special exception, in accordance with the provisions of Subtitle X, Chapter 9 and the applicant demonstrating that one (1) or more of the following criteria are applicable:

(1) The parking spaces will be located to furnish reasonable and convenient parking for patrons of the principal building;

(2) The parking spaces and any support facilities would result in significant adverse impacts on adjacent park land, or the waterfront because of noise, traffic, or other objectionable conditions;

(3) The parking spaces will be adequately screened from adjacent park space and from the waterfront, and shall be designed to prevent storm water run-off directly into the river;

(4) The lack of street frontage or the separation of the use from any publicly accessible street by public park space;

(5) Unusual topography, grades, shape, size, or dimensions of the lot;

(6) The lack of appropriate ingress or egress through existing or proposed streets;

(7) Strip zoning or shallow zoning depth;

(8) Restricted size of lot caused by adverse adjoining ownership or substantial improvements adjoining or on the lot;

(9) Traffic hazards caused by unusual street grades or other conditions;

(10) The type or location of the associated principal use results in diminished need for parking from what would otherwise be required

by zoning regulations;

(11) Reasonable and conveniently located alternatives to the required parking exist and are available to users with minimal impact on adjacent land or development; and

(12) All other requirements of Subtitle C, Chapter 7 will be met.

1102.7 The following structures and projections may encroach into any required waterfront setback:

(c) A structure, including a building, less than four feet (4 ft.) in height above the grade at any point. Any railing required by the Title 12 DCMR D.C. Construction Code, shall be calculated in the measurement of the structure's height;

(d) A fence or retaining wall constructed in accordance with the Title 12 DCMR D.C. Construction Code;

(e) Stairs leading to the first story of the building located entirely above grade, or to a story below grade. The stairs shall include any railing required by the provisions of the Title 12 DCMR D.C. Construction Code;

(f) An antenna that complies with all other requirements of this title; and

(g) The following elements or structures as defined below:

TABLE C § 1102.6(e):

PROJECTING ELEMENT OR STRUCTURE	MAXIMUM PROJECTIONS
Cornices and eaves.	2 ft.
Sills, leaders, belt courses, and similar ornamental or structural features.	6 in.
Awnings serving a window, porch, or door.	40 in.
A chimney, smokestack, or flue.	5 sq. ft.
A self-contained room air conditioner.	2 ft.
Building components or appurtenances dedicated to the environmental sustainability of the building.	4 ft.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 2447, 2712 (March 4, 2016 – Part 2); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 7904 (June 26, 2020).