I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4121
To confirm limitations on the height of buildings and roof structures in
the District of Columbia, to expand the authority of the National Capital
Planning Commission to enforce such limitations, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 23, 1994
Mr. STARK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the District of Columbia
A BILL
To confirm limitations on the height of buildings and roof
structures in the District of Columbia, to expand the
authority of the National Capital Planning Commission
to enforce such limitations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia
Building Heights Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS IN DIS-
TRICT OF COLUMBIA.
(a) USE OF STREET WIDTH TO DETERMINE MAXI-
MUM HEIGHT OF BUILDING.—Section 5(a) of the Act en-
titled ‘‘An Act to regulate the height of buildings in the
District of Columbia’’, approved June 1, 1910 (sec. 5–
405(a), D.C. Code), is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘the course of which’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the alignment of which’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For
purposes of this subsection, a ‘street’ includes any
road, avenue, drive, cart way, or other route open to
the public as a regular right-of-way, but does not in-
clude an alley.’’.
(b) LIMITATIONS ON SIZE AND HEIGHT OF ROOF
STRUCTURES.—Section 5(h) of such Act (sec. 5–405(h),
D.C. Code) is amended by striking ‘‘Spires, towers,’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘the adjacent roof:’’ and inserting
the following: ‘‘Roof structures that are not constructed
or used for human occupancy (including structures hous-
ing machinery or equipment) may be erected to a greater
height than any limit otherwise prescribed in this Act if
approved by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, except
that in no event may a roof structure be higher than 18
1⁄2 feet above the roof upon which it is located: Provided,
that such structures when above such limit shall be fire-
proof: Provided further, that the area of such a structure
may not exceed 1⁄3 of the total roof area for those districts
where there is a limitation on the number of stories or
1⁄2 of the total roof area for any other districts: Provided
further, that there may be an increase in the allowable
floor area ratio for such a structure of not more than 0.25:
Provided further, that such a structure shall be set back
from the exterior or bounding walls of the building upon
which the structure is placed at distances equal to the
structure’s height above the adjacent roof: Provided fur-
ther, that for purposes of this subsection, an ‘exterior or
bounding wall’ of a building is any wall having a dimen-
sion of 4 feet or more in height or horizontal depth ex-
posed to the outside (without regard to whether the wall
abuts another structure), and a ‘roof’ is the exterior sur-
face and supporting structure on the top of a building:
Provided further, that for purposes of this subsection a
skylight shall not be considered a roof structure if it is
less than 5 feet in height:’’.
(c) INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.—
(1) GENERAL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION.—Sec-
tion 8 of such Act (sec. 5–408, D.C. Code) is
amended by striking ‘‘not less than $10 nor more
than $100 per day’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than
$10,000 per day’’.
(2) PENALTY
FOR
VIOLATION
OF
INJUNC-
TION.—Section 8 of such Act (sec. 5–408, D.C.
Code) is amended by striking ‘‘not less than $100
nor more than $500,’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than
$100,000,’’.
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN AUTHORITY OF NATIONAL CAPITAL
PLANNING COMMISSION TO ENFORCE BUILD-
ING HEIGHT LIMITATIONS.
(a) REQUIRING NCPC APPROVAL FOR ROOF STRUC-
TURES EXCEEDING GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(h) of the Act enti-
tled ‘‘An Act to regulate the height of buildings in
the District of Columbia’’, approved June 1, 1910
(sec. 5–405(h), D.C. Code), as amended by section
2(b), is amended by striking ‘‘Mayor of the District
of Columbia,’’ and inserting ‘‘Mayor of the District
of Columbia and the National Capital Planning
Commission,’’.
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 5(c)
of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act providing for a com-
prehensive development of the park and playground
system of the National Capital’’, approved June 6,
1924 (sec. 1–2004(c), D.C. Code; 40 U.S.C. 71d(c)),
is amended—
(A) by inserting after ‘‘the Council,’’ the
following: ‘‘and to include the approval of the
height of any roof structure of any building in
the District of Columbia (as described in sec-
tion 5(h) of the Act entitled ‘An Act to regulate
the height of buildings in the District of Colum-
bia’, approved June 1, 1910),’’; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ‘‘, and its approval or
disapproval respecting any such height within
45 days after the day it was submitted to the
Commission.’’.
(b) PERMITTING NCPC OR MEMBERS TO REQUEST
NCPC APPROVAL OF HEIGHT OF ANY BUILDING IN DIS-
TRICT.—Section 5(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act provid-
ing for a comprehensive development of the park and play-
ground system of the National Capital’’, approved June
6, 1924 (sec. 1–2004(c), D.C. Code; 40 U.S.C. 71d(c)),
as amended by subsection (a)(2), is amended by inserting
after ‘‘June 1, 1910),’’ the following: ‘‘and, at the request
of the Commission or any of its members, the determina-
tion of whether the height of any building proposed to be
constructed in the District of Columbia meets the require-
ments of such Act,’’.
(c) PROVIDING STANDING FOR NCPC OR MEMBERS
TO ENFORCE BUILDING HEIGHT LIMITATIONS.—
(1) AUTHORITY
UNDER
BUILDING
HEIGHTS
ACT.—Section 8 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to regu-
late the height of buildings in the District of Colum-
bia’’, approved June 1, 1910 (sec. 5–408, D.C.
Code), is amended—
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘his
assistants’’ and inserting ‘‘his assistants, or by
the National Capital Planning Commission or
any of its members,’’; and
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting
after ‘‘District of Columbia’’ the first place it
appears the following: ‘‘or the National Capital
Planning Commission or any of its members’’.
(2) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—Section 5 of
the Act entitled ‘‘An Act providing for a comprehen-
sive development of the park and playground system
of the National Capital’’, approved June 6, 1924
(sec. 1–2004, D.C. Code; 40 U.S.C. 71d) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) The Commission and each of its members shall
have standing to enforce any limitation on the heights of
buildings and structures in the District of Columbia de-
scribed in the Act entitled ‘An Act to regulate the height
of buildings in the District of Columbia’, approved June
1, 1910.’’.
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 11 of
the Act of June 20, 1938 (52 Stat. 801; sec. 5–427,
D.C. Code) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Nothing in this section shall be construed
to limit the standing of the National Capital Plan-
ning Commission or its members to enforce any limi-
tation on the heights of buildings and structures in
the District of Columbia pursuant to section 5(f) of
the Act entitled ‘An Act providing for a comprehen-
sive development of the park and playground system
of the National Capital’, approved June 6, 1924.’’.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to buildings or structures in the District of Colum-
bia for which building permits are issued on or after
March 23, 1994.
Æ