This Act revises the composition of the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment, establishing a five-member board appointed by the Mayor with Council approval, and mandates the inclusion of federal representatives when reviewing applications from foreign missions.
Eleanor Norton
Representative
DC
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act revises the composition of the Board, establishing a five-member body appointed by the Mayor with Council approval, all of whom must be D.C. residents. However, when reviewing applications from foreign missions, the Board's membership temporarily shifts to include specific federal appointees instead of regular members. This Act standardizes the Board's structure while ensuring federal representation for sensitive chancery-related zoning decisions.
DC Zoning Board Gets New, All-Resident Lineup—Unless an Embassy Is Involved
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act is a bill focused entirely on changing who sits on the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA), the local body that handles zoning variances and appeals. Essentially, it streamlines the BZA’s makeup and tightens local control—until a foreign embassy needs something.
The New Local Lineup: Fewer Cooks, All DC Residents
For most zoning decisions—say, if a local business wants to expand or a homeowner needs a variance—the bill simplifies the BZA to exactly five members. These five members must all be residents of the District of Columbia, and the Mayor gets to appoint all of them, pending approval from the D.C. Council. This is a big deal because it wipes out the previous, more complicated rules about the Board’s composition (SEC. 2). For the average D.C. resident, this means that the people making decisions about local neighborhood development and variances will now all be required to live in the city, which ideally increases accountability. On the flip side, centralizing all five appointments under the Mayor gives that office significant control over a powerful regulatory body.
When the Feds Step In: The Embassy Exception
Here’s where things get complicated and a little less “Home Rule.” The bill carves out a major exception for any application coming from a foreign mission, like an embassy or consulate, regarding where they want to set up shop or expand. When the BZA sits down to review these specific cases, the regular five D.C. resident members temporarily step aside, and federal officials step in instead (SEC. 2. Special Rules for Foreign Missions).
Specifically, one seat goes to the Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission, and another seat goes to a person picked by the President from a list of high-level federal officials, including the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the Interior. Think about that: If you live next to a proposed embassy expansion, the local D.C. residents you might try to lobby or hold accountable are replaced by federal appointees—people whose priorities are focused on national security and foreign relations, not necessarily neighborhood traffic or noise levels. This means that for decisions affecting local neighborhoods but involving foreign policy, local control is temporarily handed over to the federal government.
What This Means for You
If you’re a D.C. resident, this bill has two faces. For 99% of local zoning issues, you get a smaller, simpler BZA composed entirely of your neighbors, which is a clear win for local representation. However, if a zoning issue involves a foreign mission—a common occurrence in D.C.—the decision-making power shifts to federal agencies. For D.C. residents concerned about the impact of embassies on their communities, this temporary loss of local control during critical reviews is a significant trade-off. These changes become effective 90 days after the bill is signed into law, so the clock will start ticking soon on this new two-tiered system.