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(1) PURCHASE
OR
CONDEMNATION
PROCEEDING.—The National
Capital Planning Commission may buy land when the land can be ac-
quired at a price the Planning Commission considers reasonable or by
a condemnation proceeding when the land cannot be bought at a rea-
sonable price.
(2) LAND IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—A condemnation pro-
ceeding to acquire land in the District of Columbia shall be conducted
in accordance with section 1 of the Act of December 23, 1963 (Public
Law 88–241, 77 Stat. 571).
(3) LAND IN MARYLAND OR VIRGINIA.—The Planning Commission
may acquire land in Maryland or Virginia under arrangements agreed
to by the Commission and the proper officials of Maryland or Virginia.
(c) CONTROL OF LAND.—
(1) LAND IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—Land acquired in the
District of Columbia shall be a part of the park system of the District
of Columbia and be under the control of the Director of the National
Park Service. The National Capital Planning Commission may assign
areas suitable for playground purposes to the control of the Mayor of
the District of Columbia for playground purposes.
(2) LAND IN MARYLAND OR VIRGINIA.—Land acquired in Maryland
or Virginia shall be controlled as determined by agreement between the
Planning Commission and the proper officials of Maryland or Virginia.
(d) PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The designation of all land to
be acquired by condemnation, all contracts to purchase land, and all agree-
ments between the National Capital Planning Commission and the officials
of Maryland and Virginia are subject to the approval of the President.
§ 8732. Acquiring land subject to limited rights reserved to
grantor and limited permanent rights in land ad-
joining park property
(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Capital Planning Commission in accord-
ance with this chapter may acquire, for and on behalf of the Federal Gov-
ernment, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation—
(1) fee title to land subject to limited rights, but not for business
purposes, reserved to the grantor; and
(2) permanent rights in land adjoining park property sufficient to
prevent the use of the land in certain specified ways which would essen-
tially impair the value of the park property for its purposes.
(b) PREREQUISITES TO ACQUISITION.—
(1) FEE TITLE TO LAND SUBJECT TO LIMITED RIGHTS.—The res-
ervation of rights to the grantor shall not continue beyond the life of
the grantor of the fee. The Commission must decide that the perma-
198
nent public park purposes for which control over the land is needed are
not essentially impaired by the reserved rights and that there is a sub-
stantial saving in cost by acquiring the land subject to the limited
rights as compared with the cost of acquiring unencumbered title to the
land.
(2) PERMANENT RIGHTS IN LAND ADJOINING PARK PROPERTY.—The
Commission must decide that the protection and maintenance of the es-
sential public values of the park can be secured more economically by
acquiring the permanent rights than by acquiring the land.
(c) PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL REQUIRED.—All contracts to acquire land
or rights under this section are subject to the approval of the President.
§ 8733. Lease of land acquired for park, parkway, or play-
ground purposes
The Secretary of the Interior may lease, for not more than five years,
land or an existing building or structure on land acquired for park, park-
way, or playground purposes, and may renew the lease for an additional five
years. A lease or renewal under this section is—
(1) subject to the approval of the National Capital Planning Com-
mission;
(2) subject to the need for the immediate use of the land, building,
or structure in other ways by the public; and
(3) on terms the Administrator decides.
§ 8734. Sale of land by Mayor
(a) AUTHORITY TO SELL.—With the approval of the National Capital
Planning Commission, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, for the best
interests of the District of Columbia, may sell to the highest bidder at pub-
lic or private sale real estate in the District of Columbia owned in fee simple
by the District of Columbia for municipal use that the Council of the Dis-
trict of Columbia and the Commission find to be no longer required for pub-
lic purposes.
(b) PAYING EXPENSES AND DEPOSITING PROCEEDS.—The Mayor—
(1) may pay the reasonable and necessary expenses of the sale of
each parcel of land sold; and
(2) shall deposit the net proceeds of each sale in the Treasury to the
credit of the District of Columbia.
§ 8735. Sale of land by Secretary of the Interior
(a) AUTHORITY TO SELL.—With the approval of the National Capital
Planning Commission, the Secretary of the Interior, for the best interests
of the Federal Government, may sell, by deed or instrument, real estate held
by the Government in the District of Columbia and under the jurisdiction
of the National Park Service which may be no longer needed for public pur-
199
poses. The land may be sold for cash or on a deferred-payment plan the
Secretary approves, at a price not less than the Government paid for it and
not less than its present appraised value as determined by the Secretary.
(b) SALE TO HIGHEST BIDDER.—In selling any parcel of land under this
section, the Secretary shall have public or private solicitation for bids or of-
fers be made as the Secretary considers appropriate. The Secretary shall sell
the parcel to the party agreeing to pay the highest price if the price is oth-
erwise satisfactory. If the price offered or bid by the owner of land abutting
the land to be sold equals the highest price offered or bid by any other
party, the parcel may be sold to the owner of the abutting land.
(c) PAYING EXPENSES AND DEPOSITING PROCEEDS.—The Secretary—
(1) may pay the reasonable and necessary expenses of the sale of
each parcel of land sold; and
(2) shall deposit the net proceeds of each sale in the Treasury to the
credit of the Government and the District of Columbia in the propor-
tion that each—
(A) paid the appropriations used to acquire the parcels; or
(B) was obligated to pay the appropriations, at the time of ac-
quisition, by reimbursement.
§ 8736. Execution of deeds
The Mayor of the District of Columbia may execute deeds of conveyance
for real estate sold under this subchapter. The deeds shall contain a full
description of the land sold as required by law.
§ 8737. Authorization of appropriations
An amount equal to not more than one cent for each inhabitant of the
continental United States as determined by the last preceding decennial cen-
sus may be appropriated each year in the District of Columbia Appropria-
tion Act for the National Capital Planning Commission to use for the pay-
ment of its expenses and for the acquisition of land the Commission may
acquire under section 8731 of this title for the purposes named, including
compensation for the land, surveys, ascertainment of title, condemnation
proceedings, and necessary conveyancing. The appropriated amounts shall
be paid from the revenues of the District of Columbia and the general
amounts of the Treasury in the same proportion as other expenses of the
District of Columbia.
CHAPTER 89—NATIONAL CAPITAL MEMORIALS AND
COMMEMORATIVE WORKS
Sec.
8901.
Purposes.
8902.
Definitions and nonapplication.
8903.
Congressional authorization of commemorative works.
8904.
National Capital Memorial Commission.
8905.
Site and design approval.
8906.
Criteria for issuance of construction permit.
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8907.
Temporary site designation.
8908.
Areas I and II.
8909.
Administrative.
§ 8901. Purposes
The purposes of this chapter are—
(1) to preserve the integrity of the comprehensive design of the
L’Enfant and McMillan plans for the Nation’s Capital;
(2) to ensure the continued public use and enjoyment of open space
in the District of Columbia;
(3) to preserve, protect and maintain the limited amount of open
space available to residents of, and visitors to, the Nation’s Capital;
and
(4) to ensure that future commemorative works in areas adminis-
tered by the National Park Service and the Administrator of General
Services in the District of Columbia and its environs—
(A) are appropriately designed, constructed, and located; and
(B) reflect a consensus of the lasting national significance of the
subjects involved.
§ 8902. Definitions and nonapplication
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) COMMEMORATIVE WORK.—The term ‘‘commemorative work’’—
(A) means any statue, monument, sculpture, memorial, plaque,
inscription, or other structure or landscape feature, including a
garden or memorial grove, designed to perpetuate in a permanent
manner the memory of an individual, group, event or other signifi-
cant element of American history; but
(B) does not include an item described in subclause (A) that is
located within the interior of a structure or a structure which is
primarily used for other purposes.
(2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means—
(A) a public agency; and
(B) an individual, group or organization—
(i) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and exempt from tax
under section 501(a) of the Code (26 U.S.C. 501(a)); and
(ii) authorized by Congress to establish a commemorative
work in the District of Columbia and its environs.
(3) THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND ITS ENVIRONS.—The term
‘‘the District of Columbia and its environs’’ means land and property
located in Areas I and II as depicted on the map numbered 869/86501,
and dated May 1, 1986, that the National Park Service and the Ad-
ministrator of General Services administer.