Zoning Commission authorizes proposed rulemaking to publish technical corrections to zoning regulations (08-06R)

The Zoning Commission authorized publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking for Z.C. Case No. 08-06R, a set of technical corrections to 11 DCMR subtitles, by a 5-0 vote.

The Office of Planning filed the request and described the changes as typographical fixes and minor clarifications to the Zoning Regulations adopted in 2016 (ZR-16). Commissioner Wright told the commission that most corrections are editorial but highlighted one substantive clarification: explicitly stating a 130-foot building height for properties that do not front on Pennsylvania Avenue, consistent with the 1958 zoning regulations and the Height Act.

Commissioners agreed the corrections were appropriate for rulemaking. The commission voted to authorize the Office of Zoning to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking for a 30-day comment period. On the record, Office of Zoning counsel explained the administrative process: Office of Zoning will refer the notice to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for a 30-day review, publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the D.C. Register for a 30-day comment period, and return the item to the commission for final action after the comment period. If the commission takes final action later, a notice of final rulemaking will be published in the register.

The motion to publish the notice was made on the record by Commissioner Wright and the commission completed a roll-call vote (Wright, Hood, Miller, Stidham, Imamura) that resulted in a 5-0-0 vote to authorize publication. The Office of Planning report was entered in the record as Exhibit 2; other documents will be reviewed at final action as part of the rulemaking record.